Privacy Policy

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

• To provide our service: Creating and managing your account, displaying your stories, processing likes and votes
• To personalize your experience: Showing you your submitted stories, liked stories, and earned badges
• To communicate with you: Sending weekly challenge notifications, winner announcements, and newsletter updates (if you subscribed)
• To improve our platform: Analyzing usage patterns to enhance features and user experience
• To ensure security: Detecting and preventing fraud, abuse, and security issues
• To comply with legal obligations: Responding to legal requests and enforcing our Terms and Conditions

Under GDPR, we process your data based on:

• Contract: Processing necessary to provide our service (account management, story display, voting)
• Consent: Newsletter subscriptions and optional profile information (you can withdraw consent at any time)
• Legitimate interests: Platform improvement, security, and fraud prevention
• Legal obligation: Compliance with applicable laws and regulations

Your data is stored securely using industry-standard practices:

• Database: We use Supabase, a secure cloud-based database service with encryption at rest and in transit
• Passwords: All passwords are encrypted using secure hashing algorithms
• Access controls: Only authorized personnel have access to user data, and only when necessary for platform operation
• HTTPS: All data transmitted between your browser and our servers is encrypted using SSL/TLS

While we implement strong security measures, no system is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security but we continuously work to protect your data.

We retain your personal data for as long as:

• Your account is active
• Necessary to provide our services or comply with legal obligations
• You have not requested deletion (subject to legal retention requirements)

When you delete your account, we will anonymize your stories (they remain on the platform as part of challenge archives but are attributed to "Anonymous" or "Deleted User"). Your personal data (email, username, profile information) will be permanently deleted within 30 days, unless we are required to retain it for legal reasons.

We do not sell your personal data. We may share data with:

• Other users: Your username, display name, stories, and public profile information are visible to other users
• Service providers: Third-party services that help us operate the platform (e.g., Supabase for database hosting, email service providers for newsletters)
• Legal requirements: When required by law, court order, or to protect our rights and safety

All third-party service providers are required to protect your data and use it only for the purposes we specify.

As a user in the EU, you have the following rights:

• Right to access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
• Right to rectification: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data
• Right to erasure ("right to be forgotten"): Request deletion of your personal data
• Right to restriction: Request that we limit how we use your data
• Right to data portability: Request a copy of your data in a structured, machine-readable format
• Right to object: Object to processing based on legitimate interests
• Right to withdraw consent: Withdraw consent at any time (for processing based on consent)
• Right to lodge a complaint: File a complaint with your local data protection authority

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us through our website. We will respond to your request within 30 days.

We use cookies and similar technologies to improve your experience:

• Essential cookies: Required for the platform to function (e.g., authentication, session management)
• Analytics cookies: Help us understand how users interact with the platform (we may use services like Google Analytics)
• Preference cookies: Remember your settings and preferences

You can control cookies through your browser settings. However, disabling essential cookies may affect platform functionality.

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

• Through our website contact form
• By email (contact information available on our website)

If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Italian Data Protection Authority (Garante per la protezione dei dati personali) or your local data protection authority.