Privacy Policy

GameTrowel ("we", "us", or "our") operates the GameTrowel platform at gametrowel.com and its subdomains. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, share, and protect your personal information when you use our services.

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Information You Provide

• Account data: Email address, name, password, and avatar when you register
• Studio data: Studio name, description, logo, contact email, and website URL
• Game data: Game titles, descriptions, genres, platforms, release dates, media assets (screenshots, key art, trailers), store links, and other game metadata
• Content: Blog posts, press kit materials, landing page content, email campaigns, and social media posts you create
• Mailing list data: Subscriber email addresses and names collected through your signup forms
• Game keys: Game keys you import for distribution
• Payment information: Billing details are collected and processed by Stripe. We store your Stripe customer ID but do not store credit card numbers.
• Communications: Messages you send us for support or feedback

1.2 Information Collected Automatically

• Usage data: Pages visited, features used, actions taken, and timestamps
• Device data: Browser type, operating system, screen resolution, and device type
• Network data: IP address, approximate geographic location (country/region level)
• Landing page analytics: Page views, unique visitors, referrers, country, and button clicks on published landing pages (collected without cookies, in a privacy-respecting manner)

1.3 Information from Third Parties

• OAuth providers: When you sign in with Discord, we receive your Discord user ID, username, email, and avatar
• Social media platforms: When you connect social accounts, we receive account identifiers and access tokens for posting on your behalf
• Steam: Publicly available data from Steam store pages (tags, reviews, player counts) for games linked by their Steam App ID

2. How We Use Your Information

We use your information for the following purposes:

• Providing the service: Operating your account, hosting landing pages, sending emails, managing game keys, and all other platform features
• AI content generation: Processing your game data and instructions through OpenAI's API to generate landing page content, press materials, blog drafts, and other AI-assisted outputs
• Analytics: Providing you with analytics about your landing pages, press kits, campaigns, and audience
• Content moderation: Screening published content through automated moderation to maintain platform safety
• Communication: Sending transactional emails (account verification, password resets, timeline reminders, coverage alerts), and occasional product updates
• Billing: Processing payments and managing subscriptions through Stripe
• Improvement: Analyzing aggregate usage patterns to improve the Platform (we do not sell or use your content for model training)
• Security: Detecting fraud, abuse, and security threats

3. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell your personal information. We share data only in the following circumstances:

• Service providers: We use third-party services to operate the Platform, including:
  • Stripe for payment processing
  • AWS SES for email delivery
  • Hetzner Object Storage for file storage
  • OpenAI for AI content generation and content moderation
  • Sentry for error tracking
• Content you choose to publish: Landing pages, press kits, blog posts, and other content you publish are publicly accessible by design
• Email recipients: When you send outreach or mailing list campaigns, recipient information and email content pass through our email infrastructure
• Team members: Data within a studio is accessible to all studio members based on their role permissions
• Legal requirements: We may disclose information if required by law, legal process, or government request, or to protect the rights, safety, or property of GameTrowel, our users, or the public
• Business transfers: In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, user data may be transferred. We will notify you before your data becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

4. AI Processing

When you use AI-powered features, we send relevant data (such as your game description, genre, and instructions) to OpenAI's API for processing. This data is processed under OpenAI's API data usage policies, which state that API inputs and outputs are not used for model training.

AI-generated content is returned to you for review and editing before publishing. We cache AI responses to improve performance and reduce redundant API calls.

5. Data Storage and Security

We take the security of your data seriously and implement industry-standard safeguards:

• All data is transmitted over HTTPS/TLS encryption
• Passwords are hashed using bcrypt
• Game keys, API keys, and OAuth tokens are encrypted at rest using AES-256
• Database backups are encrypted and stored in a separate location
• Access to production systems is restricted and audited

Our infrastructure is hosted on Hetzner Cloud servers located in the European Union. While no system can guarantee absolute security, we are committed to protecting your data with appropriate technical and organizational measures.

6. Cookies and Tracking

The GameTrowel dashboard uses session cookies to keep you signed in. These are essential cookies required for the Platform to function.

Published landing pages use a lightweight, cookie-free analytics system (self-hosted Plausible Analytics). This collects aggregate page view and referrer data without tracking individual visitors or setting cookies.

We do not use third-party advertising trackers or sell data to advertisers.

7. Data Retention

• Account data: Retained for the lifetime of your account plus 30 days after deletion
• Published content: Retained while your account is active. Taken offline immediately upon account deletion and permanently deleted after 30 days.
• Analytics data: Aggregate analytics are retained for up to 24 months. Raw event data is deleted after 90 days.
• Email logs: Campaign sending logs and delivery status are retained for 12 months
• Mailing list subscribers: Retained until the subscriber unsubscribes, or you or we delete the list. Unsubscribed addresses are kept in a suppression list to prevent re-enrollment.
• Backups: Database backups are retained for 30 days

8. Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Correction: Request correction of inaccurate data
• Deletion: Request deletion of your personal data (subject to legal retention requirements)
• Export: Request a machine-readable export of your data
• Restriction: Request that we restrict processing of your data in certain circumstances
• Objection: Object to processing of your data for specific purposes
• Withdraw consent: Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@gametrowel.com. We will respond within 30 days (or sooner where required by law).

9. GDPR (European Users)

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), United Kingdom, or Switzerland, the following applies:

• Legal basis: We process your data based on: (a) contract performance (providing the service you signed up for), (b) legitimate interests (security, fraud prevention, service improvement), and (c) your consent (where applicable, such as for optional analytics)
• Data transfers: Some of our service providers (AWS, OpenAI, Stripe) are located in the United States. Transfers are safeguarded by Standard Contractual Clauses or equivalent mechanisms.
• Supervisory authority: You have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority

10. CCPA (California Users)

If you are a California resident, you have the right to:

• Know what personal information we collect, use, and disclose
• Request deletion of your personal information
• Opt out of the sale of your personal information (we do not sell personal information)
• Not be discriminated against for exercising your privacy rights

11. Mailing List Subscriber Privacy

If you are a subscriber to a mailing list operated by a GameTrowel user (game developer), please note:

• The game developer is the data controller for your subscription data. GameTrowel acts as a data processor.
• All mailing lists use double opt-in confirmation
• Every email includes a one-click unsubscribe link
• You may request deletion of your data by contacting the game developer directly or by emailing us at privacy@gametrowel.com

12. Press Contact Privacy

If you are a journalist, content creator, or media professional whose information appears in our press contact database:

• Your information was collected from publicly available sources (outlet websites, social media profiles, public directories)
• You may request removal from the database at any time by emailing privacy@gametrowel.com or by clicking the opt-out link in any outreach email
• Once opted out, your information will be suppressed and you will not receive further outreach through the Platform

13. Children's Privacy

The Platform is not intended for children under 16 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16. If you believe we have inadvertently collected such information, please contact us and we will promptly delete it.

14. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify registered users of material changes via email or in-platform notice at least 30 days before they take effect. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision.

15. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your data, contact us at:

• Email: privacy@gametrowel.com
• General support: support@gametrowel.com