Independence and privacy · Autessa Ethics Hotline
Anonymity protections
Autessa Ethics Hotline protects anonymous reporters by design. It never records an IP address or device details, needs no sign-in, keeps passphrases out of URLs, browser storage and logs (and stores them only as a hash), encrypts reports at rest, and sends emails that never contain report details.
Why it matters
Anonymity is only as strong as the weakest log
A hotline can promise anonymity and still leak it: through server logs of IP addresses, a passphrase in a link someone forwards, a notification email that quotes the report, or a browser that remembers what was typed. Ethics Hotline was built so those leaks have nothing to leak.
What you get
- No IP address or device details are recorded for reporters.
- No account, no sign-in and no identity at all for anonymous reports.
- Passphrases never appear in a URL, browser storage or a log; the hotline keeps only a hash.
- The case code and passphrase move between pages only in memory, so a reload or shared link shows nothing.
- Reports are encrypted at rest.
- Every email, to the committee or a reporter, leaves report details out.
- Bots are kept out with a hidden honeypot field and a minimum time on the form, not a puzzle.
- Submissions and case checks are rate limited.
How it works
How does anonymity protections work?
Arrive without a trace
The hotline runs without an account and records no IP address or device details.
Write without identifying yourself
Hints remind anonymous reporters to leave identifying details out of what they write.
Protect the report
The passphrase is made in the browser and sent only to be hashed.
Follow up the same way
Checking and replying use the code and passphrase, and Done clears them from the page.
Every option
What the hotline keeps and never keeps
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Kept | The report fields, the category, the case code, a hash of the passphrase, the timeline and messages. Encrypted at rest. |
| Kept for confidential reports only | The name and email the reporter chose to share. |
| Never kept | IP addresses, device details, browser fingerprints, or the passphrase in readable form. |
| Never in email | Report text, names, messages and outcomes. |
| Bot protection | A hidden honeypot field and a minimum time on the form. |
| Rate limits | Too many tries get “Wait 15 minutes and try again”. |
Permissions
Who can do what?
The hotline’s access rules are enforced on the server for every request, not just hidden in the interface.
| Who | What they can do |
|---|---|
| Reporter (anyone with the hotline link; no account, no sign-in) | Report and follow up without ever being identified by the hotline. |
| Ethics committee member | Read what the reporter wrote; never their IP address, device or passphrase. |
| Company admin who is not on the committee | Nothing on case content unless on the committee. |
FAQ
Questions about anonymity protections
Can an anonymous hotline report be traced back to me?
Not by the hotline. Autessa Ethics Hotline never records your IP address or device details, never asks who you are in Anonymous mode, and keeps your passphrase only as a hash. What you write could identify you, so the form reminds you to leave identifying details out.
Are hotline reports encrypted?
Yes. Reports are encrypted at rest, and Autessa’s wider security posture is published on the Trust Center.
Why does the hotline not use a CAPTCHA?
Puzzles add friction for people who are already nervous. The hotline uses a hidden honeypot field, a minimum time on the form and rate limits instead.
100% customizable, code and all
Make Autessa Ethics Hotline fully your own.
Use it out of the box, then change anything. Ask Autobot, Autessa’s AI builder, for a new field, screen, report, workflow or agent and it builds it into your copy of the app. Or open the code and edit it yourself. Nothing is locked: the app, its data and its code are yours.
Start free and make it yours