Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

At The Sideline, we collect minimal information necessary to provide our services. This includes:

• User-generated content (team selections, game clicks, preferences, forum posts)
• Anonymous usage data and aggregate analytics
• Order information (name, address, email) when you make a purchase through our shop
• IP addresses for security, rate limiting, and fraud prevention
• Account information (email, username) if you register for an account

2. How We Use Your Information

We use collected information to:

• Provide, maintain, and improve our services
• Display leaderboards, game statistics, and community features
• Process orders and arrange product delivery via Printify
• Prevent abuse, spam, and unauthorized access
• Communicate with you about your orders, account, or support requests
• Comply with legal obligations

3. Content Aggregation

The Sideline aggregates sports news from public sources including ESPN, official school athletics communications, and RSS feeds from licensed sports media partners. We attribute and link to original sources. We do not scrape or republish paywalled content. If you are a rights holder and believe content on our platform violates your copyright, please contact us at hello@thesideline.co.

4. Data Storage and Security

Your data is stored securely using industry-standard encryption in transit and at rest, on reputable SOC 2-compliant cloud infrastructure. We retain account data as long as your account is active. Order data is retained for 7 years to comply with financial record-keeping requirements.

5. Cookies and Local Storage

We use browser local storage and cookies to save your preferences, game progress, and session state. This data stays on your device and can be cleared at any time through your browser settings. We do not use third-party tracking cookies beyond those required for advertising (see Section 7).

6. Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services that may process your data:

• Printify — product fulfillment and order processing
• Google AdSense — advertising (see Section 7)
• Stripe — payment processing (when applicable)
• Resend — transactional and newsletter email delivery

7. Google Advertising

We use Google AdSense to display ads on our site. Google and its partners may use cookies and similar technologies to show you personalized ads based on your browsing history across websites. You can opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google's Ad Settings or by using the NAI opt-out tool at optout.networkadvertising.org. We do not sell your personal data to advertisers.

8. Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you
• Request correction or deletion of your data
• Object to or restrict certain types of processing
• Opt out of marketing communications at any time
• Lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority (EU/UK users)

9. Children's Privacy

The Sideline is not directed to children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.