Legal:Explaining Wikipedia to New Users Survey Privacy Statement

From Wikimedia Foundation Governance Wiki

This statement describes how and when Wikimedia collects, uses, and shares the information we receive from survey participants.

Please note that this survey is powered by Google Forms, which means Google's use of your information is governed by their Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.

Purpose of Survey

We appreciate your feedback! This survey will help us better understand how to promote Wikipedia to new readers.

What Information We Collect

This survey collects the responses you provide to the questions asked; there are two types of answers: defined responses, and free-form responses.

Information Sharing and Disclosure

The results of this survey will be shared publicly, for the purpose of open analysis, research, and study, in the following manner. Aggregate data about the defined-response questions, and some anonymized raw answers to the free-form response questions, will be published on meta.wikimedia.org. For that reason, we strongly suggest that you do not provide your real name, username, email address, or other personal information in response to any questions.

The raw data collected will be shared with the Wikimedia staff who need to process this information, and with local community members who will assist us in our analysis, all of whom are subject to nondisclosure obligations. The following exceptions also apply.

We may disclose any collected information when required by law, when we have your permission, when needed to protect our rights, privacy, safety, users, or the general public, and when necessary to enforce our Terms of Use or any other Wikimedia policy.

Licensing of Survey Responses

By answering the free-form response questions, you agree that we may record your answers, and agree to donate them to the public domain.

Important Information

Wikimedia is a global organization committed to promoting free and open knowledge. By submitting your responses, you agree to the transfer, storage, and use of the collected information to the United States, and other locations that may have different or less stringent data protection laws than your country, as may be necessary to carry out the purposes and objectives discussed above.

Wikimedia understands the importance of user privacy. For this reason, we work to protect our users from the unauthorized disclosure or use of information we maintain. The results of this survey will be retained indefinitely. See our data retention guidelines for more information.


Thanks again for your feedback!


The Wikimedia Foundation

Please note that in the event of any differences in meaning or interpretation between the original English version of this Privacy Statement and a translation, the original English version takes precedence.