Your data, in plain words

Va Va Voom is a small local experiment, started by Kev, Tim and Carl of the Better Men group in Godalming. Here's exactly what we keep and why.

What we collect, and when

Where's home: the town or village you type, so we can show what's near you.
What pulls you: the themes you tap and the things you'd come to, so we can plan what people round here want.
When you say "I'm in": we count it. If you choose to leave your first name and a mobile or email, the host can let you know about that event. That part is optional.
If you share something or offer to help: what you tell us, your first name and how to reach you.
Feedback: whatever you choose to tell us.
How the site's used: only if you say yes. We use PostHog to see which bits work. Anything you type is hidden from it. If you say no, we only count visits, anonymously, with no cookies.
Your experiment code: only if you say yes. See what we keep.
My picks (a page we're trying out): if you tap "Start my picks", your phone keeps a separate random code and secret name, and we keep what you score ("For me", "Maybe", "Not for me") and any reason you give, so the list can learn what you like. Your home place, or where you are if you choose that, stays on your phone: we only get "near", "a short drive" or "further afield". "Forget me on this phone" wipes it.

Your phone also remembers your name, home and choices, so you don't have to type them again. That stays on your phone.

What we keep, and one small cookie

Va Va Voom is an experiment, and you can help us learn. If you say "Yes, I'll help", your phone keeps a random code: a jumble of letters and numbers, not your name. To make it friendlier, the code becomes a secret name like Plucky Hare 15. It lets us see that the same person tapped Growing, then the sauna, then came back on Tuesday. That helps us work out what people round here want, so we can make it better for you.

Your secret name on the Pulse. Our Pulse page shows each secret name with an animal badge, how often it visited and which themes it picked. Never your real name, and never which events you're going to, so nobody can tell where you'll be.
One per phone or laptop. The code lives in the browser you said yes on. Say yes on your laptop too and you'll be a second animal there. That's fine, we'd just count you twice.
It isn't your name. It's made up at random on your phone. We never put it next to your name, number or email in our records.
Your taps and scrolls. With a yes, we also record how you move round the page, so we can spot what's confusing. Anything you type is hidden from it.
Where it goes. The code stays on your phone. Your taps go to our private Google Sheet and to PostHog, the tool we use to count them (its servers are in the EU).
No IP addresses. We don't keep them, in the sheet or in PostHog.
We don't sell it or share it for adverts. If that ever changed, we'd ask you first.
Say no, or nothing, and we can't link one visit to the next. Your phone only remembers your "no", so we don't keep asking. We still count the page anonymously, with a throwaway code that's gone when you close it.

Nobody likes cookies. Well, nobody likes the kind that follow you round the internet. Ours is more of a plain digestive: it stays on this site and goes nowhere else.

Rather ask a person? Grab Kev, Tim or Carl at any event.

Changed your mind?

Who sees it

Kev, and the host of anything you've said "I'm in" to, for that event only. An AI helper (Claude, made by Anthropic) also reads what comes in each morning to sort it and spot anything that shouldn't be there. It never contacts you and never shares your details. Other people only see your first name if you tick the box to show it. We never sell your details or share them for adverts.

Where it's kept

In a private Google Sheet and our PostHog account (EU), both protected with two-step login.

How long

While you're involved. If we haven't heard from you in 12 months, we delete your details.

Your rights

You can ask to see, change or delete anything we hold about you, any time, and we'll do it within a month. Tell Kev at any event, or reply to any message we've sent you.

This is an experiment

Things will change as we learn. If how we use your data changes, we'll update this page and tell you.

Last updated 30 October 2026 · Release Farncombe