Privacy Policy

Last updated: July 31, 2026

The Penn Wharton Budget Model (PWBM) is a research initiative at the University of Pennsylvania. This privacy policy explains how we collect, use, and protect personal information through this website. We also follow the University of Pennsylvania Privacy Policy.

Information We Collect

Contact Forms

When you submit a contact form (media inquiry, analysis request, or general contact), we collect the information you provide, which may include:

  • Name, email address, phone number
  • Organization or affiliation
  • Message content and subject
  • File attachment metadata (name, size, type)

Certificate Program Forms

When you request information about or apply to our certificate program, we collect:

  • Name, email address(es), current position, and organization
  • Education and employment details (applications only)
  • A goals statement and resume/CV file (applications only)

Newsletter Subscriptions

If you opt in to our newsletter through a form on this site or subscribe via our newsletter page, we collect your email address and newsletter preferences. Newsletter delivery is managed through Mailchimp (see Third-Party Services below).

Website Analytics and Browser Storage

On the production website, we use PostHog to understand how visitors use the site. PostHog may automatically collect:

  • Pages viewed, referring pages, and the date and time of a visit
  • Interactions such as clicks, page departures, and form-submission events
  • Browser, operating system, device, screen, and language information
  • Network information, which may include an IP address and an approximate location derived from it
  • Pseudonymous device and session identifiers used to distinguish visits

PostHog stores a pseudonymous identifier in a first-party cookie and in your browser's local storage. We configure PostHog to create person profiles only for identified users, and PWBM does not use website analytics to identify general site visitors by name or email address.

We also store your theme preference (light or dark mode) in local storage. This functional preference is not transmitted to our servers. We do not use advertising trackers or use analytics data to target advertising.

How We Use Your Information

We use the personal information we collect to:

  • Respond to your inquiries and contact requests
  • Process certificate program applications
  • Send newsletter updates if you have opted in
  • Protect against spam and abuse (via honeypot fields and rate limiting)
  • Measure website traffic and understand how visitors navigate and interact with the site
  • Maintain and improve the site's content, performance, and usability

We do not sell, rent, or share your personal information with third parties for marketing purposes.

Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services to operate this site:

  • Convex — Serverless database for storing form submissions and subscriber data. Convex Privacy Policy
  • Mailchimp — Newsletter delivery and subscriber management. Mailchimp Privacy Policy
  • PostHog — Website analytics. On the production site, PostHog processes usage, device, network, and pseudonymous identifier data on our behalf through its U.S. cloud service. PostHog Privacy Policy
  • Trello — Internal tracking of contact inquiries (submission metadata only). Atlassian Privacy Policy

Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)

For visitors in the European Economic Area (EEA), we process your personal data under the following legal bases:

  • Consent — When you submit a form or opt in to our newsletter, you provide consent for us to process the data you supply for the stated purpose.
  • Legitimate interest — Anti-spam measures to protect the integrity of our services and limited website analytics used to maintain and improve the site.

Your Rights

Under the GDPR and other applicable data protection laws, you have the right to:

  • Access your personal data that we hold
  • Correct inaccurate or incomplete data
  • Delete your personal data
  • Withdraw consent at any time (e.g., unsubscribe from newsletters)
  • Data portability — receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format
  • Object to processing based on legitimate interest

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the information below. We will respond within 30 days.

Data Retention

Contact form submissions and certificate applications are retained for as long as necessary to fulfill their purpose. Newsletter subscriber data is retained until you unsubscribe. PostHog analytics data is retained only as long as reasonably necessary for website measurement and improvement and in accordance with our PostHog account settings.

The PostHog first-party cookie may remain on your device for up to one year. PostHog and theme-preference data in local storage remain until they are cleared by you, your browser, or the site. You may clear cookies and local storage through your browser settings and may request deletion of personal data at any time.

Children's Privacy

This site is not directed at children under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe we have inadvertently collected such information, please contact us and we will promptly delete it.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision.

Contact Us

If you have questions about this privacy policy or wish to exercise your data rights, please contact us at budgetmodel@wharton.upenn.edu.

For questions about privacy at the University of Pennsylvania, contact privacy@pobox.upenn.edu or call 1-888-BEN-TIPS (1-888-236-8477).