What's changing (as of September 30 2026)
- A Platform Privacy Statement now appears the next time you load a page, explaining what Acorn collects about you and why. You confirm you have read it.
- If your organisation has added its own privacy statement, you will see that too, with its own tick box.
- If your Acorn site is hosted in the UK or EU, the same popup asks you to choose whether to allow two kinds of tracking: performance and error tracking (Datadog) and product analytics (Mixpanel). Both start switched off.
- You can change those two choices whenever you like, from Security Settings.
- Admins can add their own organisation's privacy statement, preview exactly what their users will see, and ask everyone to read and acknowledge the statements again.
Who sees it
Most people see it the next time they load a page. There is one exception:
- If you have already accepted a privacy statement in Acorn, you will not be asked again unless your admin asks everyone to re-read them.
Why it matters
You should be able to see what Acorn collects about you, and where the law gives you a choice it should be a real one.
If your site is hosted in the UK or EU, both tracking switches start off and stay off until you turn them on. Declining them costs you nothing: every part of Acorn works exactly the same either way.
One thing to be straight about. Turning them off stops Acorn collecting analytics tied to you and your browsing. It does not stop the background monitoring that keeps the platform running and secure. That monitoring carries no direct identifiers — no name, no email — but it does include technical information such as your IP address. The Platform Privacy Statement sets out what that covers.
How to use it
- Log in. If you haven't read and acknowledged a privacy statement in Acorn before, the popup appears on its own.
- Read the statement and tick "I have read and understand the Platform Privacy Statement". If your organisation has added its own statement, you'll see it above with its own tick box, and you'll need to tick both.
- If your site is hosted in the UK or EU, you'll also see Analytics Preferences with two switches: "Allow performance and error tracking of your browser sessions (Datadog)" and "Allow product analytics (Mixpanel)". Turn on either, both, or neither. This is a separate decision from acknowledging the statement, and leaving both off doesn't limit anything you can do in Acorn.
- Click Confirm.
- Changed your mind? Open Security Settings at any time and move the switches. Your new choice saves straight away and applies from your next page load.
For admins: your own organisation's privacy statement
- Go to Tenancy Management > Update Tenancy.
- Write or paste your text into the Organisation Privacy Statement field. This is optional. Leave it blank and your users see only Acorn's Platform Privacy Statement.
- Select Preview Privacy Popup to see what your users will see before you save. The preview shows both statements and their tick boxes. It does not show the two tracking choices, because those depend on where your site is hosted and who is signed in.
- To put the popup back in front of people who have already acknowledged it - after you've updated your statement, for example - tick "Require all users to re-read and acknowledge the privacy statements" and save. Everyone in your organisation sees the popup again next time they log in.This is a one-off action, not a setting that stays on. It won't change anyone's Datadog or Mixpanel choices: only the acknowledgment resets.
FAQ
Q: Do I have to allow the Datadog and Mixpanel tracking to use Acorn?
A: No. They're two separate choices, and neither is tied to acknowledging the privacy statement. Decline both and Acorn works exactly as it did before.
Q: What happens if I close the popup without ticking the box?
A: You'll see it again next time, and the reminders get more insistent the longer it goes unacknowledged. Keep dismissing it and Acorn will eventually sign you out until you acknowledge the statement. The analytics switches never do this - you can leave those off indefinitely.
Q: I turned a switch off, but tracking still looks like it's running.
A: Your choice saves the moment you make it, but the change lands on your next page load rather than in the tab you're already in. Refresh the page and it will have taken effect.
Q: Our organisation has been using Acorn for a while - why are we only seeing this now?
A: Because the statement itself is new - it went live for every Acorn site in the 9 September 2026 release. If you're seeing it for the first time, it's because you hadn't acknowledged a privacy statement before now. Nothing about your account or your data has changed - this is Acorn setting out what it collects, in one place, for the first time.
Q: Why haven't my users seen the new popup yet?
A: If someone has already read and acknowledged a privacy statement in Acorn, they aren't asked again automatically. To put the new statement in front of them, tick "Require all users to re-read and acknowledge the privacy statements" on the Update Tenancy screen and save.
Q: We're not in the UK or EU. Why don't we get the two switches?
A: The switches are offered where UK and EU law requires that choice to be offered. Everywhere else, Acorn still tells you plainly what it collects and why through the Platform Privacy Statement, which is what those regions' rules ask for. If your organisation has a specific legal requirement that isn't being met, raise it with your Acorn contact.
Q: We're in Canada. Does Quebec's Law 25 count?
A: Not at the moment. Canadian-hosted sites see the Platform Privacy Statement but not the two switches. Talk to your Acorn contact if this affects you.
Q: Which companies actually receive my data?
A: The Platform Privacy Statement describes the categories of organisation involved, such as infrastructure, operational monitoring and product analytics providers. Your Acorn contact can give you the current list of named sub-processors if you need it for a due-diligence or procurement review.
Q: Does everyone in my organisation see the same thing?
A: Everyone sees the same statements. The two analytics switches depend on where your site is hosted, so either everyone in your organisation sees them or nobody does. Whether an individual has them turned on is their own choice.