Privacy Policy for the ai‑dentities Project Website
Last updated: January 2026
Welcome to the aI‑dentities project website (aidentities.ch). This site is operated by researchers at the University of Zurich’s Department of Communication and Media Research. We are committed to protecting your privacy; this policy explains what personal data we collect, how we process and use it, and the measures in place to safeguard it, in accordance with applicable data protection laws. The site is a public-facing academic project platform intended for the general public, research participants, and the academic community. We do not require user accounts or login, and we do not target specific groups or collect any sensitive personal data via this website.
Personal Data
“Personal data” refers to any information relating to an identified or identifiable individual. This includes details such as names, email addresses, phone numbers, and IP addresses, among others. Protecting such data means we handle it lawfully and ensure your rights over your information are respected. We do not collect any special categories of personal data (e.g. biometric data, health information, or other sensitive data) through this website. The privacy measures described in this policy apply to all personal data collected via the ai‑dentities website.
Data Usage
When you browse, read or download information on our website, we only collect limited, anonymous data. For instance, our web server may record the numerical Internet Protocol (IP) address of the computer you are using; information about your browser and operating system; date and time of access; and the internet address and page which linked (referred) you to our site. In addition, we analyze traffic to the ai-dentities website in various ways, including using a service called Google Analytics. (Google Analytics is subject to the privacy policy of Google, Inc., which you can find on their website.) We use this information to generate statistics and measure website activity to improve the usefulness of the website to our visitors.
We collect the IP addresses of visitors, time of access, browser type, and web pages visited. We collect this information on an aggregate basis only. For example, we track which pages are most popular among visitors as a whole. We do not track information on which pages an individual user visits. We do not collect any other information without your knowledge and permission. If you search the website, your search requests may be logged. We use this information to measure the number of visitors to different sections of the website, diagnose and correct system errors, perform research, and improve the usability of the website.
Cookies
The ai-dentities website uses cookies only for functional and analytical purposes, not for advertising. Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit a website. Specifically, we may use:
- Session cookies: Temporary cookies that are essential for technical functionality (for example, to remember your language selection or to enable navigation). These cookies contain no personal details and are automatically deleted when you close your browser. They help ensure the site works efficiently for you.
- Analytics cookies: As part of our analytics, a couple of first-party cookies might be set to gather statistical information. These help us recognize if someone has visited before, so we can count unique visitors and see aggregate patterns. These cookies contain anonymized IDs and do not track your activity across other sites.
Links to External Websites
The ai-dentities website may contain links to external websites or resources that are outside our control (for example, links to academic publications, news articles, or partner institutions). Please be aware that this privacy policy applies only to the ai‑dentities project website. Once you click a link to an external site, their privacy policies and practices apply, not ours. We are not responsible for the content or data practices of external websites.
We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party sites you visit through links on our site. Nonetheless, we strive to only provide external links to reputable sources (such as university pages or established publications). If you find any issue with a link on our site (e.g., it appears unsafe or broken), feel free to contact us so we can address it.
Changes to this Policy
This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time, for example to reflect changes in the law, our data practices, or the content and features of our website. We reserve the right to amend this data protection statement at any time with future effect if required by new technologies or legal developments. The “Last updated” date at the top will be revised accordingly when changes occur.
Contact Information
If you have any questions about this privacy statement or the general terms of use of the site, you may contact us by email at at s.cortesi@ikmz.uzh.ch or by post to:
Sandra Cortesi
Department of Communications and Media Research
Andreasstrasse 15
8050 Zürich, Switzerland