Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

Kickoff Tactics PRO is a fan-run website dedicated to the mobile card game Kickoff Tactics, developed by Birch Games. We are not affiliated with or endorsed by Birch Games.

The Site is operated by the site owner (contact details below). For the purposes of UK GDPR, the site owner is the Data Controller.

2. Data We Collect

2.1 Data You Provide Directly

When you register for an account or interact with the Site, we may collect:

• Email address — required for account creation and verification
• Nickname — your chosen display name shown on the Site
• Password — stored as a secure, one-way encrypted hash (we never store plain-text passwords)
• In-game username — optional, if you choose to provide it
• Social media handles — optional (X/Twitter, TikTok, Instagram), if you choose to provide them
• Deck data — decks you build and save on the Site, including player selections, formation, and commentary
• Comments — comments you post on deck pages and articles
• Consent records — records of your consent to our Privacy Policy, Terms of Service, and (where given) marketing communications

2.2 Data Collected Automatically

When you visit the Site, our hosting provider (SiteGround) and WordPress may automatically collect:

• IP address — collected by our server for security and spam prevention
• Browser type and version
• Device type and operating system
• Pages visited and time spent on the Site
• Referring URL — the page you visited before arriving at our Site
• WordPress session cookies — used to maintain your logged-in state

2.3 Data We Do Not Collect

We do not collect payment information. We do not collect sensitive personal data such as racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, health data, or biometric data.

3. How We Use Your Data

We will never sell your personal data to third parties. We will never use your data for automated decision-making or profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects.

4. Legal Basis for Processing

Under UK GDPR, we rely on the following legal bases:

• Contract performance (Article 6(1)(b)): Processing necessary to provide you with our services — creating your account, saving your decks, displaying your profile.
• Consent (Article 6(1)(a)): Where you have explicitly opted in — marketing emails and comment notification emails. You may withdraw consent at any time by updating your profile or contacting us.
• Legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f)): Operating, securing, and improving the Site, provided these interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms.
• Legal obligation (Article 6(1)(c)): Where we are required by law to process your data.

5. Cookies

We use cookies to make the Site function correctly. Cookies are small text files stored on your device.

Essential Cookies (always active)

Analytics & Advertising Cookies (with consent)

We currently do not use analytics cookies. In future, we intend to use Google AdSense for display advertising, which may set its own cookies. This Privacy Policy will be updated before any advertising is activated, and your consent will be sought before advertising cookies are set.

6. Third Parties

6.1 Hosting — SiteGround

Our Site is hosted by SiteGround (SiteGround Spain S.L.). Your data is stored on servers located within the European Economic Area (EEA). SiteGround acts as a data processor on our behalf and is bound by appropriate data processing agreements. For more information, see SiteGround's Privacy Policy.

6.2 Gravatar — Automattic

Profile pictures are served via Gravatar (operated by Automattic Inc.). When your profile page is loaded, your email address is sent to Gravatar as a hashed (anonymised) value to retrieve your avatar. If you do not have a Gravatar account, a default identicon is shown. See Automattic's Privacy Policy.

6.3 Google Fonts

We use Google Fonts (Barlow and Barlow Condensed) served from Google's CDN. This may result in your IP address being sent to Google's servers. See Google's Privacy Policy.

6.4 Google AdSense (future)

We intend to use Google AdSense for display advertising in the future. When activated, this will involve Google setting cookies and processing data for advertising purposes. We will update this Privacy Policy and obtain your consent before enabling advertising. See Google's Privacy Policy.

6.5 Birch Games

Game data (player names, statistics, zone and tactic information) is provided by Birch Games, the developer of Kickoff Tactics. We do not share your personal data with Birch Games.

6.6 No other third-party data sharing

We do not share, sell, rent, or trade your personal data with any other third parties except as required by law or as described in this policy.

7. Data Retention

When you delete your account via the "Delete my account" option on your profile page, your personal data (email, nickname, social handles, in-game username) is permanently deleted. Your decks and comments are retained but permanently disassociated from your identity.

8. Your Rights Under UK GDPR

You have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Right of access: You can request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Right to rectification: You can correct inaccurate or incomplete data — most of this you can do directly via your profile page.
• Right to erasure ("right to be forgotten"): You can delete your account and associated personal data at any time via your profile page, or by contacting us.
• Right to restrict processing: You can ask us to pause processing of your data in certain circumstances.
• Right to data portability: You can request your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
• Right to object: You can object to processing based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing purposes.
• Right to withdraw consent: Where processing is based on consent (e.g. marketing emails), you can withdraw consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing.

9. Data Security

We take data security seriously and implement appropriate technical and organisational measures including:

• HTTPS encryption for all data in transit
• Passwords stored using WordPress's bcrypt hashing — never stored in plain text
• Hosting on SiteGround's secured infrastructure with regular backups
• Access to the WordPress admin panel restricted by username and password
• Regular security monitoring via Really Simple Security plugin

No system is completely secure. In the event of a data breach that is likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify the ICO within 72 hours and inform affected users without undue delay, as required by UK GDPR.

10. Children's Privacy

The Site is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with personal data, please contact us at kotacticspro@outlook.com and we will delete it promptly.

Users aged 13–17 should have parental or guardian consent before registering. By registering, you confirm that you are either 18 or older, or that you have obtained appropriate parental consent.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, or legal requirements. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Where changes are significant, we will notify registered users by email (if you have opted in to email communications) or by displaying a notice on the Site.

Your continued use of the Site after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy. If you do not agree to the updated policy, you should stop using the Site and may delete your account.

12. Contact Us

For any questions, concerns, or requests relating to this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please contact us: