Restore Canvassing Help📖 Documentation
Welcome to Restore Canvassing
A complete guide to every feature of the Restore Canvassing political canvassing platform — organised by role.
Choose Your Role
Restore Canvassing has four roles, each with a different level of access. Select yours below to jump straight to what's relevant.
Canvasser
Door-to-door canvassers. Find addresses, record visits, log residents, follow routes, earn badges, and read policy articles.
Branch Manager
Full branch control. Manage users, create routes, monitor live canvassers on a map, approve tag suggestions, and access all reports.
Branch Assistant
Operational support. Can canvass, manage routes and literature, view live map, manage local parties and tags, and access all reports — but cannot manage users.
Administrator
Full system access. Manages all branches, parties, national tags, support levels, policy content, and every national report and audit trail.
Signing In
All users log in through the same screen. Your role is determined server-side — you don't select it at login.
1
Enter your email and password
Your account is created by an admin or branch manager. You set your own password either via an invitation email or after a manager creates the account and shares the temporary credentials.
2
Two-factor authentication (if enabled)
If you've set up TOTP two-factor authentication in your profile, you'll be prompted for your 6-digit authenticator code after your password.
3
Redirected to your home screen
Canvassers land on the address search and nearby screen. Branch managers, assistants, and admins land on the management dashboard — use Go Canvassing from the dashboard to access the canvasser interface.
Forgotten your password? Contact your branch manager or admin — they can reset it from the Users panel and share new credentials.
Permissions at a Glance
A quick-reference table showing which features are available to each role.
| Feature | Canvasser | Asst. | Manager | Admin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canvass addresses & record visits | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Add / edit / delete residents | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Follow routes & areas | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Badges, leaderboard & activity log | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Share live GPS location | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Suggest issue tags | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Policy articles (read & favourite) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Create & manage routes | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Manage branch literature | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| View branch reports | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Live map (canvassers on map) | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Manage local parties | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Manage local issue tags | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Write policy articles | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Approve / reject suggested tags | – | View | ✓ | ✓ |
| Invite & manage users | – | – | ✓ | ✓ |
| Edit branch settings | – | – | ✓ | ✓ |
| Manage all branches | – | – | – | ✓ |
| Import addresses (OS Places) | – | – | – | ✓ |
| Manage national issue tags | – | – | – | ✓ |
| Manage parties & support levels | – | – | – | ✓ |
| National policy articles | – | – | – | ✓ |
| Constituency overlay on live map | – | – | – | ✓ |
| Audit log | – | – | – | ✓ |
Your Profile
Every user can manage their own profile. Tap your avatar or name in the top-right corner to open profile settings.
Profile Photo
Upload an avatar which appears on the leaderboard and live-map beacons.
Name & Email
Update your display name and login email at any time.
Live Location Sharing
Opt in to share your GPS position while canvassing. Visible to branch managers and admins on the live map while a route is active.
Home Postcode
Set your home postcode to activate a 200-metre privacy radius. When within 200m of home, your exact GPS position is withheld — only an approximate nearby location is transmitted.
Change Password
Enter your current password then choose a new one meeting the strength requirements.
Two-Factor Auth
Set up TOTP 2FA with any authenticator app (Google Authenticator, Authy, etc.). Scan the QR code to link your device. Once enabled, a 6-digit code is required at every login.
Security & Privacy
Restore Canvassing is designed with the security and privacy of canvassing data as a first principle. Below is a plain-language summary of every mechanism in place to protect your organisation and the personal data you collect.
Application Security
Fully Siloed Installations
Each organisation runs its own dedicated Restore Canvassing installation with its own isolated database. There is no shared multi-tenant environment — your canvassing data, resident records, and supporter contacts are completely separated from every other organisation using the platform.
Credential Security
All passwords are hashed using bcrypt (cost 12) — plain-text credentials are never stored or transmitted. Session cookies are set
httponly, samesite=Strict, and secure on HTTPS to prevent session hijacking and cross-site request forgery. The server strips all sensitive fields (password hash, MFA secrets) from API responses before they reach the client.Regular Penetration Testing
The Restore Canvassing application and underlying infrastructure are subject to regular independent penetration testing, with findings remediated promptly. Every database query uses parameterised statements, protecting against SQL injection. Input validation and role-based access checks are enforced server-side on every API endpoint — there is no way to escalate privileges through the client.
Two-Factor Authentication
Time-based one-time password (TOTP) two-factor authentication is available to all users and can be enforced organisation-wide by administrators. After repeated failed MFA attempts, accounts are automatically locked to prevent automated attacks. We strongly recommend enabling 2FA for all branch managers and administrators.
Brute Force Protection
Login attempts are rate-limited by IP address. After 5 failed login attempts within a 30-minute window, further attempts from that IP are blocked. Failed login attempts, blocks, and account lockouts are all recorded in the audit trail. Invitation links expire after 24 hours and can only be used once.
Comprehensive Audit Trail
Every significant action in Restore Canvassing is logged: logins and logouts, failed login attempts, MFA events, user creation and deactivation, password resets, policy changes, data exports, and configuration updates. Audit logs are retained on the server and accessible to administrators, supporting accountability and compliance investigations.
Privacy Controls
You Own Your Data
The organisation that installs Restore Canvassing owns all data within their installation. Resident records, visit histories, supporter contact details, and canvassing analytics are yours entirely. No data is shared with, analysed by, or accessible to any central party. Full data export to CSV is available to administrators at any time from the Data Export panel.
Opt-In Location Sharing
Live GPS location sharing is entirely opt-in. Canvassers must explicitly enable location sharing in their profile settings — it is off by default. Branch managers can also disable GPS tracking for their entire branch from branch settings. When location sharing is off, no location data is collected, stored, or visible to managers on the live map.
Do Not Visit Flag
Households can be marked Do Not Visit when a resident requests no further contact. This flag is respected across all canvassing sessions and visible to all canvassers — they are not prompted to knock. This supports residents' right to opt out of canvassing contact and helps your organisation respect those wishes consistently.
Right to Erasure
Individual resident records can be permanently deleted from the platform by branch managers and administrators. This supports your organisation's obligations under UK GDPR Article 17 (right to erasure) when a resident requests that their data be removed.
Role-Based Data Access
Canvassers only see households and residents in their assigned branch. Branch managers can only access data for their own branch — they cannot view other branches' canvassing records, supporter data, or user details. Only administrators have cross-branch visibility, and their actions are logged. There is no mechanism in the client to bypass these restrictions.
Data Residency
Restore Canvassing is a managed platform — Restore Canvassing operates the infrastructure on your behalf, and your organisation's data is hosted in dedicated, isolated storage. For UK political parties, all data is held on UK-based infrastructure, directly supporting compliance with UK GDPR and ICO guidance on political canvassing data.
Canvassing data — including voter contact details and political opinions — is sensitive personal data under UK GDPR Article 9. Ensure your organisation has a lawful basis for processing it, has registered with the ICO as required, and has an appropriate privacy notice in place. Your Data Protection Officer should review your use of this platform before go-live.