Privacy and data protection
How this archive protects the people in it, their families, and everyone who uses the site or sends us information.
In short
The Iran Massacre documents people killed, executed or imprisoned by the authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran, so that what happened to them is recorded, remembered and can be used to seek accountability. Publishing names is how this work is done; protecting the people involved is how it is done safely.
We publish only what a source supports, and we never guess. We collect as little as we can about the people who use the site or send us information. We never sell or trade it, and we never share it with any authority of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The standards we follow
This archive follows the principles the United Nations sets for documenting human rights violations:
- Do no harm: nothing we publish or do should put a victim, a family, a witness or a source at greater risk.
- Informed consent: what people send us is published only in the way they agreed to, and they can change their mind.
- Confidentiality: who sent us something is never shown on the site, and is known only to the editors who need to know.
- Accuracy and impartiality: every fact on a record comes from a source we can show, and every record is checked the same way.
- Self-identification: a person’s religion, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation or gender identity is recorded only as the person, their family or a source reports it — never inferred.
- Transparency and accountability: our method, our sources and our corrections are public, and anyone can ask us to correct a record.
What we publish about the people in the archive
For each person we publish what sources report about the violation: their name, age and town, the date and place, what happened, and the sources. We publish it in the public interest, to document serious violations of human rights.
A person who has died and a person who is alive are treated differently. For people in prison or under a sentence we publish only what is needed to document their case and to support campaigns for them. A family or a lawyer can ask for a case to be kept low-profile: it then stays out of search engines and campaigns.
We do not publish national ID numbers, home addresses, phone numbers, or the names of relatives who are not themselves public about the case.
Religion, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation and gender identity
The authorities have killed, executed and imprisoned people because of their religion or belief, their ethnicity, their nationality, or their sexual orientation or gender identity. Recording this can matter for justice. It can also put people at risk. So:
- it is recorded only when a source reports it, with that source — never inferred from a name, a town, a photograph or anything else;
- it is hidden by default, and an editor shows it only when it is already public and showing it cannot harm the person or their family;
- sexual orientation and gender identity are never shown for a person who is alive;
- it is never included in our downloads, our API, our share texts or our social media posts;
- a family can ask us to remove it at any time; it is then deleted, not just hidden.
Children
When a person was under 18 we take extra care with what is shown. We publish what documents the violation, and we remove details or photographs a family asks us to remove, without asking why.
What we collect from you
You can read the whole site without an account and without being tracked. We use no advertising or tracking cookies and no analytics that follow you across websites.
Like every website, our server keeps a short record of requests to keep the site running and to stop abuse. Where we store an IP address, we store it only as a one-way code (a hash) that cannot be turned back into the address.
When you send us information, we keep what you write and any file you attach. You do not need to give your name or an email address. If you give a way to reach you, we use it only to ask about what you sent. An editor checks every file before anything is shown, and the hidden data inside photos (the camera, the time and the place) is removed.
Staying safe when you send us something
If you or your family are in Iran, think about who could see your phone or computer. Use a device and an account that are not watched, delete what you sent if you need to, and leave out anything that identifies you unless you want us to contact you. You can also pass information through people you trust outside the country.
For families
A family can ask us to correct a record, to remove a photograph or a detail, to hide a grave, to stop showing “Javidnam” before a name, or to keep a case low-profile. Use the Families page or write to us. We act on these requests as soon as we can, and we never ask a family to justify a request to remove something.
How we protect information
The site is served only over an encrypted connection. Editors sign in with their own accounts, owners with two-step sign-in, and every change to a record is logged. Evidence files that are not published are stored encrypted, and only the editors who need them can open them.
How long we keep information
The records of people in the archive are kept for as long as the archive exists, because their purpose is remembrance and accountability. Information withdrawn at a family’s request is deleted. Contact details are deleted once they are no longer needed. Server records of requests are kept for a short time only.
Your rights
You can ask what information we hold about you, ask us to correct or delete it, or object to how we use it. A family can make the same requests about a relative who has died. Write to us at the address below; every request gets an answer.
Contact
For questions about privacy, or to ask us to correct, hide or delete information: info@theiranmassacre.com
Last updated 29 ottobre 2026.