How it works

Signers’ details are locked in the browser. The site receives them without the account; the author can open them to deliver the petition.

How a signature works, in plain words

Imagine signing a petition on paper, but in a way that nobody along the way can read your page or tell which page is yours.

You fill in your details and seal them in an envelope that only the petition's author can open. The envelope is sealed on your own device before anything is sent, so this site only ever holds closed envelopes.
To post the envelope you need a stamp. The site stamps it without looking: like stamping a letter through a closed folder, the stamp is real but whoever stamps it never sees which letter it lands on. Each stamp works once.
Your device also shows a members' wristband: a sign that the envelope comes from someone with an account here, without showing which account. Every member's wristband looks the same.
The wristband leaves a small mark. It is the same whenever the same account signs the same petition, and different on every other petition. The author can see that two envelopes come from one account; nobody can follow you from one petition to another by it.
The site writes each envelope's reference code on a public list, so you can check that yours arrived. It never writes who sent it.
When the petition closes, the author opens the envelopes on their own device and prints the list for the people the petition is addressed to.
If you change your mind, your device sends a withdrawal note with the same mark. Only the author can read it.
This is why signing can take a moment on older phones: the envelope and the wristband are made on your device, not by the site.

What this does not hide: the site can see where your internet connection comes from, and whoever runs the site could change its code. These limits are explained here: What does the petitions site see?

What does the petitions site see?

This site is built to know as little as possible about you.

What the petitions site cannot see

Your signature details are locked on your device before leaving it. Only the petition author can open them.
Which petitions you signed: signatures arrive without your account.
Whether you signed a petition before: the site always answers the same way.
Your saved details and what you signed: they are locked with your passkey.

What the petitions site can see

Your email, if you choose to get the link by email. The email provider sees it too. The email never says which petition you signed.
That an account exists, and when it was created (the day only).
Petition texts, recipients, the responsible author’s public details and contact, and counts: they are public.

Limits you should know

The site cannot guarantee that each person participates only once. Repeated signatures may occur and the author should review them before delivery.
Equal document numbers mean the same number was typed twice, not that the same person signed twice.
Whoever runs the site could, with bad intentions, change the site's code. The public logs and the checking program help detect this.
Your internet connection shows where a request comes from. For more privacy, use another network.

Open source allows people to inspect how the site works. Public logs and independent verification help detect changes, but do not guarantee that the code served is safe.

Public logs