On Signup4Peace, a person may select a country but does not have to. The choice is used only in the aggregate country counter. A country is not shown publicly until at least five voices have been recorded there.
The global total can therefore rise without the map changing. This is not an error. It is a deliberate attempt to show less when greater detail could increase risk for people.
Why can a small number be sensitive?
A number does not necessarily contain a name. A small count, a narrow geographic area and information already known by others can nevertheless make it easier to guess who is behind it.
Data-protection and statistical organisations describe this as a risk of indirect identification or statistical disclosure. Eurostat uses methods including suppression, rounding and interval publication to protect aggregate tables. United Nations statistical principles stress that outputs should not allow people to be identified directly or indirectly.
What does the threshold of five mean?
Once at least five voices have been recorded in the same country, the country may be highlighted and its total displayed. Lower counts remain part of the global total while the country stays hidden.
The threshold reduces the risk that one person's participation becomes visible as a separate geographic event. Five is not a magical anonymity number. A fixed threshold can reduce risk; it cannot eliminate it.
Why not show approximate counts instead?
Rounding and intervals can be useful in larger datasets. When totals are very small, even “1–4” reveals that someone has participated. For a peace declaration, the existence of activity in a country may itself be sensitive.
Complete suppression below the threshold is therefore a clear first safeguard. As the project grows, the method should be reviewed.
What the map can—and cannot—show
The map can show how many voices have been recorded globally, which countries have crossed the safety threshold and how voluntary participation develops.
It cannot show what an entire population believes, whether participation is representative, whether every voice belongs to a unique verified person, or why a country is not visible. A blank country may have zero voices or a count below the threshold.
Why not collect more data to prove more?
Stronger verification often requires more data: identity documents, addresses, phone numbers, persistent identifiers or detailed logs. Such information could improve duplicate control, but it would also make the database more valuable for surveillance, misuse or a breach.
Signup4Peace prioritises a low barrier and minimal identity data. The numbers therefore show recorded participation, not a verified census or opinion poll.
Privacy also means choosing not to display something
Transparency does not require every data point to be public. It also means explaining what is withheld, why it is withheld and where the limitations lie.
My grandfather, Bjørn Egge, experienced a system in which information, registration and power could be used against individuals. Today's digital privacy questions are not equivalent to his historical experience. His story has nevertheless made me particularly conscious that a peace project must treat people's safety as more than a technical detail.
A map designed to protect people first
The purpose is not to fill the map as quickly as possible. It is to make support for peace visible without demanding unnecessary personal information or exposing detail that may place someone at greater risk.
Read the method and limitations, guide to safer participation and why the project exists.