Privacy Policy & Zero-Tracking Commitment
An architectural guarantee of zero tracking cookies, client-side state isolation, and statistical disclosure control to safeguard vulnerable populations.
Zero-Tracking Cookies Guarantee
The Ethiopia Migration & Displacement Observatory operates on a strict Zero-Tracking, Zero-Cookie architecture.
- No tracking cookies: We do not set any tracking cookies, session profiling cookies, or persistent device identifiers on your browser.
- No third-party ad tech or marketing pixels: We do not integrate Google Analytics, Meta Pixel, commercial telemetry trackers, or behavioral advertising scripts.
- No persistent user profiling: We do not record or monetize user visit histories, geographic browsing trails, or query logs.
1. Ephemeral Client-Side State Storage
Interactive controls across the observatory—such as selecting an administrative region, toggling displacement triggers, or choosing an assessment round—are managed strictly in-memory or synchronized through public URL search parameters (`?region=ET01&driver=drought`).
This allows users to bookmark and share specific views without transmitting or storing user identifiers in server-side databases.
2. Statistical Disclosure Control (SDC)
In accordance with humanitarian microdata protection guidelines, small-area demographic breakdowns and vulnerability matrices enforce a strict cell suppression threshold (SDC Threshold = 5).
Any demographic age-sex cohort or localized record with fewer than 5 individuals is systematically suppressed (`"<5"`) in visualizations and CSV/JSON data exports to eliminate the danger of deductive re-identification of vulnerable individuals.
3. Ephemeral Infrastructure Logging
Our web servers maintain standard technical access logs (containing client IP address, request method, request URI, and HTTP response code) strictly for the operational maintenance of network availability, mitigation of automated denial-of-service (DDoS) traffic, and debugging of server errors.
These logs are automatically rotated and purged in compliance with secure infrastructure retention standards and are never linked to personal identities.
4. Humanitarian Ethical Alignment
Our privacy posture aligns with international humanitarian data standards, including:
- OCHA Centre for Humanitarian Data — Working Draft on Data Responsibility in Humanitarian Action
- IOM Data Protection Manual (IN/138)
- UNHCR Policy on the Protection of Personal Data of Persons of Concern