Privacy policy

Last updated October 21, 2026

Playcade is a site for logging, rating and reviewing video games, run by an independent developer. This page explains what we collect when you use it, why, who else is involved, and what you can do about it. If anything here is unclear, email privacy@theplaycade.com.

The short version

• We collect what you give us (your account and what you post) and the basics any website sees (like your IP address).
• Most of what you post is public, because sharing it is the point of the site. Your email, messages, blocks and settings are private.
• We don't sell your personal information, and we don't send you email.
• Members without Plus may see ads from Google, which uses cookies. Plus members don't see ads, and their pages don't load Google's ad code.
• You can delete your account at any time from Settings, and everything you made goes with it.

What we collect

Your account

A username, an email address and a password when you sign up. We store your password only as a one-way hash (Argon2), so we never know it. Your email is used to log in and is never shown to anyone.

What you post and do

Your profile (picture, backdrop, bio, country, favorite games, genres and consoles), the games you log, rate and review, your lists, showcases, likes and follows, and the coins they earn. These are public: anyone, logged in or not, can see them, and search engines may index them.

Some things are private: your direct messages (seen by you and the member you're writing to), who you've blocked, and your settings.

Developer pages and jobs

If you claim a developer page, we keep your claim, the work links you add (like a website or LinkedIn) and whether you're open to work, and we visit the page you name to look for your verification code. Developer pages are built from public game credits (from IGDB and Wikidata) and stay up if you delete your account, along with projects you added to yours, but they no longer link to it. Jobs you post are public once an editor approves them.

Steam, if you link it

If you link Steam, we keep your Steam account ID and read your owned games and play time from Steam, about once a day. You sign in on Steam's own site, so we never see your Steam password. You can hide your play time from others, or unlink Steam in Settings, which deletes the play time we stored.

Payments, if you join Plus

Plus payments are handled by Stripe. You enter your card on Stripe's own pages, and we never see or store your card details. We keep your Stripe customer ID and your membership's status, renewal date and plan. Stripe keeps payment records as the law requires.

Technical information

Like most websites, our server receives your IP address, browser type and the pages you request. Our web server keeps these access logs for troubleshooting and security, and deletes them automatically as newer logs replace them. We also use your IP address, briefly and in memory only, to limit how fast requests can be made, which protects against abuse.

If we use error reporting to find bugs, crash reports leave out cookies, IP addresses and anything typed into forms.

Cookies and local storage

Our own cookies are only the ones the site needs to work:

• playlog_session keeps you logged in, for up to 30 days. It holds a random token, and we store only a hash of it.
• steam_link lasts ten minutes while you link Steam, to check that the sign-in came from you.

Your browser's local storage remembers a few display choices, like whether the Games page blurs games you've played. That stays on your device and is never sent to us.

Advertising cookies set by Google are covered in the next section.

Advertising

To help pay for the site, members without Plus may see ads served by Google AdSense. Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your previous visits to Playcade and other websites. Google's use of advertising cookies lets it and its partners show you ads based on your visits to this and other sites.

You can turn off personalized ads in Google's My Ad Center, or opt out of personalized ads from other vendors at aboutads.info (or youronlinechoices.eu in Europe). Visitors in the European Economic Area, the UK and Switzerland are asked for their consent before Google uses cookies for ads, and can change their choice at any time. Google explains how it uses information from sites that use its services.

Plus members don't see ads, and their pages don't load Google's ad code at all.

Other services we use

• Oracle Cloud runs our server, in the United States.
• Supabase hosts our database, in the United States.
• Stripe processes Plus payments.
• Google AdSense serves ads to members without Plus.
• Google Fonts: your browser loads the site's fonts from Google, which receives your IP address when it does.
• YouTube: game trailers use YouTube's privacy-enhanced player, which loads only when you press play.
• Steam, only if you link your account.

Game information and cover art come from IGDB, but we keep our own copies, so your browser doesn't contact IGDB. Links to stores, job applications and other sites take you to sites with their own privacy policies.

How we use your information

To run Playcade and show what you post; to keep accounts secure and stop spam and abuse; to process Plus memberships; to show ads to members without Plus; and to fix bugs and improve the site. We don't sell your personal information, and we don't send email, marketing or otherwise.

The people who run the site can technically access the database, including messages. We only look when we need to, such as to investigate abuse that's been reported or when the law requires it.

How long we keep it

We keep your account and what you post until you delete them. When you delete your account, it and everything you made (your log, ratings, reviews, lists, likes, follows, messages and uploaded pictures) are removed from the site right away. Copies remain in our database backups for up to 14 days before the backups are deleted. Stripe keeps payment records for as long as the law requires.

Your choices and rights

• See and change your information in your profile and Settings.
• Delete your account and everything in it from Settings. If you have Plus, deleting your account cancels it.
• Get a copy of your data by emailing us.
• Limit what others see: hide your play time, unlink Steam, or block members.
• Opt out of personalized ads as described under Advertising.

Depending on where you live, such as the EEA, the UK or California, you may have the right to access, correct, delete or move your data, to object to or restrict how we use it, and to withdraw consent. To use any of these rights, email privacy@theplaycade.com. We'll answer within 30 days and won't treat you differently for asking. You can also complain to your local data protection authority.

Where the GDPR applies, we use your information to provide the service you signed up for (your account and what you post), for our legitimate interests in keeping the site secure and working (logs, rate limits and abuse prevention), and with your consent for advertising cookies.

For California residents: we don't sell personal information for money. Showing personalized Google ads may count as "sharing" under California law; you can opt out by turning off personalized ads in Google's My Ad Center, or by joining Plus.

Children

Playcade isn't for children under 13, or under the minimum age in your country if it's higher, and we don't knowingly collect their information. If you think a child has made an account, email us and we'll delete it.

Security

The site is served only over HTTPS. Passwords and session tokens are stored only as hashes, and we limit login attempts to slow down password guessing. No website is perfectly secure, but we work to protect your information and will tell affected members if a breach puts it at risk.

Where your data is stored

Our server and database are in the United States. If you use Playcade from elsewhere, your information is transferred to and stored in the US.

Changes to this policy

When we change this policy, we'll update the date at the top. If a change is significant, we'll also note it on the site before it takes effect.

Contact

Questions or requests: privacy@theplaycade.com.