Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

Effective date: October 15, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how the Personal Happiness Index (“the PHI,” “we,” “us”) collects, uses, and discloses personal information through its website (personalhappinessindex.org), which is intended for consumers in the United States. It is written to align with U.S. state privacy laws, including the California Consumer Privacy Act as amended by the CPRA and comparable laws in other states, and — for information related to health — Washington’s My Health My Data Act and similar consumer health data laws.

Who is responsible

• Business / responsible party: Francisco Javier Rodríguez Merino
• Address: Platja de Palma i Pla de Sant Jordi, 07007 Coll d'en Rabassa, Illes Balears, Spain
• Contact email: javier@personalhappinessindex.org

The PHI operates exclusively online and handles privacy requests through the email address above.

Educational disclaimer

The Personal Happiness Index and its results are provided for educational and self-reflection purposes only. They do not provide medical, psychological, therapeutic, or diagnostic advice, and are not a substitute for care from a qualified professional. Results should be interpreted as personal reflection tools, not as clinical conclusions.

Information we collect

We may collect the following categories of personal information:

• Identifiers — your email address, when needed to send your questionnaire result.
• Questionnaire responses — the answers you voluntarily provide in the Personal Happiness Index.
• Results — the scores derived from those answers across the nine dimensions of the Personal Happiness Index.
• Health and wellbeing information — some responses and the resulting inferences may relate to your physical or mental wellbeing. This may be treated as sensitive personal information and, in some states, as consumer health data.
• Internet and technical activity — IP address, browser type, device information, and data needed to operate and secure the site.
• Usage information — how you use the site, collected through cookies and analytics technologies.

We collect this information directly from you when you use the site and take the questionnaire, and automatically through cookies and similar technologies.

How we use your information

We use the information we collect to:

• Generate your Personal Happiness Map.
• Analyze your responses and present your results across the nine dimensions of the Personal Happiness Index.
• Provide personalized educational recommendations and offer reflections, content, or micro-practices related to the areas identified in the questionnaire.
• Deliver the requested result to the email address you provide.
• Improve the Personal Happiness Index through aggregated or anonymized analysis of the questionnaire, user experience, and methodology.
• Send informational or promotional communications, only when you have opted in to receive them.
• Operate, maintain, and secure the website.

We do not sell your personal information for money.

Your consent

Before submitting the questionnaire, we ask for your consent through two separate, unchecked checkboxes:

1. Questionnaire consent (required to receive your result). You expressly consent to our processing of the answers you provide, including any that may reveal information related to your health and wellbeing, in order to generate your Personal Happiness Map and offer you personalized recommendations.
2. Marketing consent (optional). Separately, you may choose to receive occasional reflections, tools, news, and content from the Personal Happiness Index.

Consent is given by an affirmative action and is never pre-checked. Providing your email to receive your result does not subscribe you to marketing — if you do not check the second box, you receive your result but are not added to our marketing list. You may withdraw either consent at any time.

How your results are generated

Your responses are used to calculate results across the nine dimensions of the Personal Happiness Index and to generate educational recommendations related to those dimensions. The purpose is to support personal reflection about different areas of life.

The Personal Happiness Index does not perform medical or psychological diagnoses, and its results are not used to make legal, employment, financial, insurance, or similar decisions about you. We do not make automated decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects about you.

Cookies, analytics, and your privacy choices

This site uses first-party cookies that are strictly necessary for it to function, and third-party analytics cookies (Google Analytics) that help us understand how the site is used. Consistent with U.S. practice, analytics cookies may load by default, and you can opt out at any time:

• Use the “Your Privacy Choices / Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information” link in the footer to turn off analytics and similar non-essential technologies.
• We honor Global Privacy Control (GPC) browser signals: if your browser sends a GPC signal, we treat it as a valid opt-out and do not load analytics.

Strictly necessary cookies cannot be turned off, as they are required for the site to work.

Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

We do not sell your personal information for monetary consideration. However, the use of analytics cookies may be considered a “sale” or “share” for cross-context behavioral advertising under some state laws. You can opt out of this at any time through the “Your Privacy Choices / Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information” link in the footer and through Global Privacy Control (GPC) signals, which we honor.

We do not use sensitive personal information or consumer health data for targeted advertising.

Your U.S. privacy rights

Depending on your state of residence (for example, California, Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Texas, and Oregon), you may have the right to:

• Know and access the personal information we hold about you.
• Delete your personal information.
• Correct inaccurate personal information.
• Obtain a portable copy of your personal information.
• Opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information and of targeted advertising.
• Limit the use and disclosure of your sensitive personal information.
• Not be discriminated against for exercising your rights.
• Appeal a decision on your request, where your state provides that right.

To exercise these rights, email javier@personalhappinessindex.org. We may need to verify your identity before responding, typically by confirming the email address associated with your result. You may use an authorized agent to submit a request on your behalf, subject to verification.

California privacy rights (CCPA/CPRA)

If you are a California resident, you have the rights described above, plus the following disclosures. In the preceding 12 months, we have collected the categories of personal information listed in “Information we collect” (identifiers, internet/technical activity, and sensitive information relating to health or wellbeing), and we may disclose those categories to our service providers for the business purposes described in this policy.

• Notice at collection: we collect the categories above for the purposes described in “How we use your information” and retain them as described in “Data retention.”
• Sensitive personal information: you may request that we limit the use of your sensitive personal information to what is necessary to provide the service.
• No sale: we do not sell personal information for monetary consideration.
• Shine the Light: we do not disclose personal information to third parties for their own direct marketing.

California residents may also contact the California Privacy Protection Agency or the California Attorney General regarding their rights.

Consumer health data

Because the questionnaire can involve information about your physical or mental wellbeing, some of it may qualify as “consumer health data” under laws such as Washington’s My Health My Data Act and similar laws in Nevada and Connecticut. For this information:

• We collect it only with your consent, given through the questionnaire consent described above.
• We obtain separate consent before sharing any consumer health data, and we do not share it for advertising.
• We do not sell consumer health data.
• You may access, delete, or withdraw your consent for this data at any time.

To exercise these rights, email javier@personalhappinessindex.org.

Data retention

We keep personal information only as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy and to meet legal obligations.

• Identifying data (name and email) tied to questionnaire results is kept for a maximum of 36 months from the date you take the test. After that period, this identifying data is automatically and irreversibly removed, and only anonymized responses are retained for statistical purposes.
• Data used for marketing is kept until you opt out.
• Anonymized data, which can no longer identify you, may be kept indefinitely for statistical purposes.

Aggregate data and the Global Happiness Map

We may use statistical information derived from the questionnaire to understand general patterns of wellbeing. When results are used for aggregate analysis or for the Global Happiness Map, they are presented only in aggregated and anonymized form, with no individual responses or information that could identify a person.

Service providers and where data is processed

We use trusted technology providers that act as our service providers or processors under contract and may only process data according to our instructions:

• SiteGround Hosting Ltd. (United Kingdom) — web hosting, data storage, and email delivery.
• Google (United States) — web analytics (Google Analytics).

As a result, your information may be processed in the United States and the United Kingdom. This list will be updated if providers are added or replaced.

Data security

We use reasonable administrative and technical safeguards to protect your information. However, no system is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Children’s privacy

This site is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, contact us at javier@personalhappinessindex.org and we will remove it.

Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with a revised date.

Contact

For privacy questions or to exercise your rights, contact Francisco Javier Rodríguez Merino at javier@personalhappinessindex.org (address in the “Who is responsible” section above).