Last Updated: 11 October 2026
At the West African Queer Dictionary (WAQD), community safety and digital security are our highest priorities. In a region where LGBTQIA+ identities are often heavily stigmatized or legally contested, we treat your privacy as a matter of survival, not just compliance. This policy explains how we collect, use, and fiercely protect your information.
1. Information We Collect
We collect the absolute minimum amount of data necessary to run the archive and verify community access.
- Contributions: We collect the linguistic data you provide when you contribute to the archive. Because these features work differently, the information collected depends on the method you use:
-Suggest a Word: This form is completely anonymous and does not collect any contact information.
– Add a Context: This feature currently directs you to send an email to WAQD. To protect your identity or for follow-up questions, you are entirely free to use a pseudonymous email address or reach out to us via the Session app for total anonymity.
- Access Requests: To access Restricted Community Terms safely, we require you to use the Session app for secure, encrypted communication. Please download the app and send a message to our Session ID: 05d611f1f22cae7edfc4ba4fee409a4d3db268fdef79abbd06301e33b4d987fb00. Once connected, you will be asked for certain information to verify your identity or community affiliation. This may involve answering a few brief verification questions or providing community references.
- Usage Data: We collect basic, anonymized analytics (such as general regional traffic) to understand how the dictionary is being used. We do not track individual IP addresses to specific user profiles.
2. How We Use Your Information
To review, verify, and contextualize word submissions.
To vet and approve requests for Restricted Community Terms.
To communicate with you regarding your submissions or access requests (only if you opted in).
To improve the platform’s security and user experience.
3. Anonymity and Safety
You have the right to interact with WAQD, suggest words, and read public entries without ever revealing your legal name or identity. For actions that require communication—such as adding context via email or verifying your community affiliation for access requests—we strongly encourage the use of pseudonymous email addresses or the secure, encrypted Session app to ensure your safety and privacy are never compromised.
4. Data Protection and Security
We implement strict security measures to protect against unauthorized access, weaponization of data, or digital targeting by bad actors.
- Data associated with restricted access requests is kept strictly confidential and is only accessible by vetted WAQD administrators.
- We regularly purge verification data once an access request has been approved or denied. We do not maintain a long-term, identifiable registry of our restricted-access users.
- Our platform uses encryption to secure data in transit.
5. Sharing Your Information
- We will never sell, rent, or trade your personal information.
- We do not share your data with third parties except:
- With trusted, secure service providers essential for running the website (who are bound by strict confidentiality agreements).
- If we are absolutely compelled by legal mandate—however, WAQD operates with a strong commitment to resisting broad or unjust legal requests that endanger the LGBTQIA+ community, and we intentionally minimize the data we store so that there is little to surrender in such events.
6. Your Rights
You have the right to request access to, correction of, or deletion of any personal contact data you have shared with us (such as an email address used to provide context, or a Session ID used for an access request). Because our standard “Suggest a Word” form is completely anonymous, no personal information is ever linked to your submissions by default. While verified words cannot be deleted from the archive once confirmed as shared community language, you can request the deletion of your private correspondence and contact records at any time.
7. Contact Us
For questions regarding your privacy, data security, or to exercise your rights, please reach out to us at:
thewestafricanqueerdictionary@gmail.com
(Note: We recommend using secure/encrypted email services like ProtonMail when discussing sensitive matters).