Privacy Policy

Introduction

TF2 Esports ("we", "our", or "us") operates tf2esports.com (the "Site"), a community platform for Team Fortress 2 competitive results, statistics, rankings, news, and discussion. This Privacy Policy explains what personal data we collect, why, who we share it with, how long we keep it, and the rights you have over it.

We aim to comply with the EU/UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and similar privacy laws. For the purposes of the GDPR, TF2 Esports is the data controller for the personal data described here. If you do not agree with this Policy, please do not use the Site.

Information We Collect

Account information you provide

When you create an account or use account features, we collect:

• Email address (from your chosen sign-in provider, or one you enter)
• Username, profile picture/avatar, and any bio you add
• A linked Steam ID, and optionally linked Discord, X (Twitter), Twitch, and YouTube handles
• Optional profile details you choose to add, such as game settings and peripherals
• For email/password accounts, a securely hashed password (we never store your password in plain text)

Information from sign-in providers

If you sign in with Steam, Google, Discord, or X (Twitter), that provider shares a limited set of profile information with us - typically your account identifier, display name, avatar, and (where applicable) email address - so we can create and secure your account. We do not receive your password for those services.

Information collected automatically

When you use the Site, we automatically collect:

• Your IP address, browser/user-agent string, and approximate technical details of your device, recorded for security, abuse prevention, and detection of duplicate accounts
• Aggregate, anonymous usage statistics (for example, which pages are popular) via our self-hosted, cookieless analytics
• Security and administrative logs of significant actions (for example, account changes and moderation actions)

Content you create

We store content you submit, such as forum threads and posts, comments, match predictions, votes, and API access requests, together with the account that created it.

Competitive player data

A core purpose of the Site is to compile a public historical record of TF2 competitive play. To do this we collect and display information about players from publicly available sources, including competitive leagues (such as RGL, ETF2L, ozfortress, and others), match-log services (such as logs.tf), community wikis (such as Liquipedia), and the Steam Web API. This may include a player's alias, real name where publicly published, country, avatar or photo, Steam ID, team history, and match statistics.

Most players listed on the Site have not registered an account with us. See Players who do not have an account below for the legal basis for this and how to request access, correction, or removal.

How We Use Your Information

• To create, operate, and secure your account
• To provide the Site's features and display competitive results and statistics
• To detect, prevent, and investigate abuse, fraud, and duplicate or banned accounts
• To understand aggregate usage and improve the Site
• To communicate with you about your account, security, and (if you opt in) activity you follow
• To comply with legal obligations and enforce our Terms of Service

Legal Bases for Processing

Where the GDPR applies, we rely on the following legal bases (Article 6):

• Performance of a contract - to create and operate your account and provide features you request.
• Legitimate interests - to keep the Site secure and prevent abuse (including logging IP addresses and detecting duplicate accounts), to measure aggregate usage, and to compile and publish a historical record of public competitive esports results. We balance these interests against your rights and freedoms.
• Consent - for any optional processing that requires it (for example, choosing to make a profile field public, or opting in to notifications). You may withdraw consent at any time.
• Legal obligation - where we must process data to comply with applicable law.

Cookies and Similar Technologies

We keep our use of cookies to a minimum. We do not use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies, and we do not sell your data.

• Strictly necessary storage - we use browser storage (such as localStorage) and a small number of cookies to keep you signed in and remember basic interface preferences (for example, sidebar layout and theme). These are required for the Site to work.
• Analytics - we use self-hosted, privacy-friendly analytics that do not set tracking cookies and do not identify individual visitors.
• Third-party video embeds - YouTube and Twitch players are not loaded automatically. They load only after you click to play, and only then may those services set their own cookies under their own privacy policies.

Do Not Track

Some browsers can send a "Do Not Track" (DNT) signal. There is no common industry standard for how sites should respond to it, so we do not currently change our behavior based on DNT signals. Because we do not use cross-site advertising trackers, this has limited practical effect on your privacy here.

How We Share Information

We share personal data only as needed to run the Site:

• Sign-in providers (Steam/Valve, Google, Discord, X/Twitter) and, where you link them, Twitch - to authenticate you and display linked profiles.
• Infrastructure and hosting providers that operate our servers and deliver the Site.
• Public display - information on your public profile (such as your username, avatar, linked game/social handles you mark public, and your posts and comments) is visible to other visitors. Your email address, private Discord handle, password, and IP address are never shown publicly.
• Legal and safety - where required by law or to protect the rights, safety, or property of our users or us.

We also read data from public sources (leagues, logs.tf, Liquipedia, Steam) to build competitive records; this is described above. Liquipedia content is used under its CC-BY-SA license with attribution.

International Transfers

Some of the providers above (for example, sign-in providers) are based outside the EEA/UK, including in the United States. Where we transfer personal data internationally, we rely on appropriate safeguards or the providers' own transfer mechanisms.

Data Retention

We keep personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes described in this Policy. Account data is retained while your account is active. Security data such as IP logs is retained only for as long as needed for abuse prevention and security. Content you post may remain on the Site after account closure but can be disassociated from your identity on request. We delete or anonymize data when it is no longer needed.

Your Rights

Depending on your location, you have some or all of the following rights over your personal data:

• Access - request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Rectification - correct inaccurate or incomplete data
• Erasure - request deletion of your data ("right to be forgotten")
• Restriction - ask us to limit how we use your data
• Portability - receive your data in a portable format
• Objection - object to processing based on legitimate interests, including the compilation of your competitive player record
• Withdraw consent - where we rely on consent, at any time
• Complain - lodge a complaint with your local data protection supervisory authority

You can exercise many of these rights yourself in your account settings (for example, editing or removing profile information). For anything else, contact us at [email protected] and we will respond within the time required by applicable law.

Players Who Do Not Have an Account

Many players appear on the Site without having registered, because we compile a public record of competitive results from publicly available sources. We rely on our legitimate interest (and the public interest in an accurate historical esports record) as the legal basis for this processing.

If a player profile concerns you, you may request access to the information we hold, correction of inaccuracies, or removal of your profile, by emailing [email protected]. Please include enough detail (for example, a profile link or Steam ID) for us to locate the record. We will assess each request and, where we honor a removal, take reasonable steps to prevent the profile from being re-created from public sources.

Children

The Site is not directed to children under 16, and we do not knowingly create accounts for them. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, contact us and we will delete it.

Security of Your Information

We use administrative, technical, and organizational measures to protect personal data, including hashing passwords, restricting access to sensitive fields (such as email addresses and IP addresses), and limiting who can view them. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but we work to protect your information and to address any incident appropriately.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post the updated version on this page and revise the "Last updated" date above. Material changes may also be communicated through the Site.

Complaints

If you have a concern about how we handle your personal data, please contact us first at [email protected] so we can try to resolve it. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection supervisory authority - for example, your national authority in the EEA, or the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) in the UK.

Contact Us

For privacy questions or to exercise your rights, contact us at: [email protected]. See also our Terms of Service.