What we collect
We collect what we need to run the product and nothing we cannot justify. That means account details you give us, the content you submit, and technical data your browser sends when you load a page. We do not buy personal data from brokers and we do not build advertising profiles.
- Account data: display name, email address, and optional profile bio and avatar.
- Content data: submitted video links, guide drafts, comments, corrections, and quiz answers.
- Usage data: pages viewed, guide progress, and feature interactions, tied to your account when you are signed in.
- Technical data: IP address, browser and device type, and coarse location derived from IP for fraud prevention.
- Billing data: plan, invoices, and payment status. Card numbers are handled by our payment processor and never reach our servers.
How we use it
We use your data to provide the service: authenticating you, saving your checklist progress, running the review queue, attributing guides, and billing your subscription. We also use aggregated usage data to decide which games and categories to cover next and to find guides that readers abandon halfway through.
We send transactional email — submission status, review outcomes, billing receipts, and security notices. Product and community email is optional and you can turn it off in settings without losing transactional messages. We do not sell personal data, and we do not use your content to train third-party models without asking first.
Third-party processors
We rely on a short list of vendors to operate. Each one is bound by a data processing agreement, handles only the data needed for its function, and is reviewed before onboarding. Transfers outside the EEA use standard contractual clauses.
- Cloud hosting and database: application hosting, storage, and backups.
- Payment processing: subscription billing, invoices, and creator payouts.
- Transactional email: account, review, and billing notifications.
- Product analytics: privacy-preserving usage measurement, IP truncated at collection.
- Error monitoring: crash and exception reports, scrubbed of message content.
Your rights
If you are in the EEA or UK, the GDPR gives you the right to access your data, correct it, delete it, restrict or object to processing, and receive a portable copy. You can also withdraw consent where processing is based on consent, and lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority.
Most of this is self-service: your dashboard exports your guides and account data, and closing your account starts deletion. For anything else, email us and we will respond within thirty days. We keep account data while your account is open, and for a limited period afterwards where tax, fraud, or dispute-resolution obligations require it.
Contact
Questions about this policy, a data request, or a takedown notice go to privacy@guides-factory.com. Security reports go to security@guides-factory.com — we will confirm receipt within two business days.
This document is a working placeholder for the production privacy policy and is not legal advice. Final wording, controller details, and retention periods are reviewed by counsel before release.