Privacy Policy

1. Overview

This Privacy Policy explains how MatchPal ("we", "us", "our") collects, uses, and protects information when you use:

• MatchPal Website (matchpal.io)
• MatchPal Live Reddit Widget (Devvit app)

We are committed to protecting your privacy. This policy complies with GDPR, UK data protection laws, and Reddit's Developer Platform policies.

2. Information We Do NOT Collect

We do not create user accounts or persistent user profiles. See sections 4 and 7 for details of limited anonymous interaction data stored in the Reddit widget and advertising cookies used on the website.

3. Data We Access — Website (matchpal.io)

The MatchPal website accesses the following public football data:

• Match fixtures: Dates, times, teams, leagues, venues
• Live scores: Goals, match events (cards, substitutions)
• Team information: Names, logos, colours
• TV broadcast schedules: Channels by country
• Player lineups: Starting XI, substitutes, formations
• Betting odds: Decimal odds from public sources (informational only)
• Match statistics: Possession, shots, corners, fouls
• AI-generated blog content: Match previews and analysis generated using the Anthropic Claude API

This data is publicly available sports information and is not linked to any user identity.

4. Data We Access — Reddit Widget

The MatchPal Live Reddit widget operates on Reddit's Devvit platform. It reads the same public football data as the website. In addition, to support interactive features, the widget stores the following limited data in Reddit's key-value store (Redis):

• Community predictions (votes): We record which outcome a Reddit user voted for (Home / Draw / Away) per fixture, keyed by Reddit post ID and Reddit user ID. This prevents duplicate votes. Vote counts are aggregated and anonymous — we do not display or export individual vote choices.
• Match ratings: We store a Reddit user's star rating (1–5) per fixture. This prevents duplicate ratings. Ratings are averaged for display and not linked to a public identity.
• Match reminders: If a user enables "Remind Me", their Reddit user ID is stored temporarily so a DM can be sent 5 minutes before kickoff. This data is deleted immediately after the reminder is sent.

All widget data is stored with Devvit's Redis and subject to Redis key expiry (votes and ratings expire after 30 days; reminders are deleted on send). Reddit user IDs are opaque identifiers — we cannot correlate them with real-world identities.

The widget does NOT track which users view posts, does NOT access Reddit comments or voting history, and does NOT log user sessions or page views.

5. How We Use Data

Public football data is used solely to:

• Display match schedules and TV broadcast information
• Show live scores and match events in real-time
• Present team lineups and formations
• Provide betting odds for informational purposes
• Generate match preview blog posts using AI
• Power community prediction and rating features in the Reddit widget

Data is never: sold to third parties, used to build personal profiles, or shared beyond what is necessary to operate the service.

6. Third-Party Services

MatchPal uses the following third-party services:

7. Cookies and Tracking

The MatchPal website uses Google AdSense, which places advertising cookies on your device to serve relevant ads. These cookies may track your browsing activity across websites to personalise advertising.

MatchPal itself does NOT use:

• Analytics services (Google Analytics, etc.)
• Social media tracking buttons
• Cross-site tracking beyond what AdSense requires

You can manage or opt out of personalised advertising via Google Ad Settings or your browser's cookie controls.

Vercel (our hosting provider) may set essential technical cookies for security and performance. These are not used for user tracking or profiling.

8. Data Security

We implement security measures to protect data:

• HTTPS encryption: All connections use secure SSL/TLS
• Read-only database access: Public-facing APIs only read match data
• API rate limiting: Prevents abuse and overload
• Secure storage: Database credentials stored as environment variables
• No user accounts: No passwords or login systems to compromise
• Short data retention: Widget interaction data expires automatically

9. Children's Privacy

MatchPal does not knowingly collect information from children under 13 years old. Our services display public sports information. Since we do not collect personal data beyond anonymous interaction data in the Reddit widget (which requires a Reddit account to use), there are no specific child-targeted data practices.

10. International Data Transfers

Football match data is stored in Supabase's cloud infrastructure, which may involve data transfers across international borders. This data is publicly available sports information and is processed in accordance with Supabase's data governance policies and GDPR requirements.

Anonymous Reddit widget interaction data (votes, ratings, reminders) is stored within Reddit's infrastructure and governed by Reddit's own data policies.

11. Your Rights

Under GDPR and UK data protection law, you have rights regarding personal data we hold. Since we store only anonymous interaction data (keyed by opaque Reddit user IDs with no link to real-world identity), and we cannot correlate this to an individual:

• No profile deletion needed: We don't create personal profiles
• No data export needed: No personally identifiable data is stored
• Advertising opt-out: Manage via Google Ad Settings

For any privacy questions or concerns, please contact us through our contact page.

12. Data Retention

• Match data: Historical fixture data retained indefinitely for reference
• Live cache: Redis cache expires after 20 seconds (live) to 7 days (finished matches)
• Community votes and ratings: Expire after 30 days via Redis TTL
• Reminders: Deleted immediately after the reminder DM is sent
• Blog posts: Retained on the website indefinitely

13. Changes to Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. The "Last Updated" date at the top indicates when changes were made.

Material changes will be communicated through prominent notices on our website. Continued use of MatchPal after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

14. Contact Information

For privacy questions, concerns, or requests, please contact us:

• Contact Form: matchpal.io/contact
• Email: Available through contact form

15. Compliance

This privacy policy complies with:

• GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)
• UK Data Protection Act 2018
• Google AdSense programme policies
• Reddit Developer Platform policies
• Supabase data governance requirements