Privacy Policy

1. Who's behind this site

Christoph Platzer
Christine-Lavant-Gasse 10, 9020 Klagenfurt am Wörthersee, Austria
Contact: info@worldcup2026-predictor.com

This is a solo independent project. Not affiliated with FIFA, adidas, or any national federation or participating team.

2. What data we collect and why

2.1 Your prediction

Your group rankings, wildcard picks, and knockout selections are stored only in your browser's localStorage. They never leave your device unless you explicitly share your prediction link. We can't see your prediction, change it, or recover it if you clear your browser.

2.2 Payment data (only if you unlock the bracket)

Payments are processed by Stripe. We never see or store your card details. Stripe sends us:

• A confirmation that you paid €0.99
• A unique unlock token (random ID, not linked to your card)
• Your country (for VAT compliance)

This data is held on EU-based servers and kept only as long as required by tax law (7 years in Austria) or for the duration of the prize draw, whichever is longer.

2.3 Email (only if you opt in)

If you submit your email for the prize draw, we store:

• The email address you typed
• Your unlock token (to link the email to your prediction)
• The timestamp of submission

We use your email to contact you if you win the prize draw. If you separately tick the optional "send me updates" checkbox when submitting your email, we may also send occasional product updates and news about future Backyard projects — never more than once a month, and you can unsubscribe at any time with one click. We never share or sell your data to third parties.

2.4 Referral counts

If you share your referral link, we track how many friends paid through it (a count, not their identities) to determine if you qualify for a bonus draw entry.

2.5 Server logs

Our hosting provider (Vercel) automatically logs basic technical data — IP address, user-agent, request time — for security and abuse prevention. These logs are retained for 30 days and are not used for tracking.

3. Cookies and similar technologies

We use:

• localStorage — to save your prediction on your device. This is not a cookie and is never transmitted to our servers.
• sessionStorage — to remember whether the champion modal already popped up in your current session.

We do not use analytics cookies, tracking pixels, or third-party advertising cookies.

4. Your GDPR rights

If you're in the EU/UK, you have the right to:

• Access — request a copy of your data
• Rectification — correct inaccurate data
• Erasure — request deletion of your data
• Portability — get your data in a machine-readable format
• Objection — object to processing
• Withdraw consent — at any time
• Lodge a complaint — with your local data protection authority (in Austria: dsb.gv.at)

To exercise any of these rights, email info@worldcup2026-predictor.com. We'll respond within 30 days.

5. Data retention

We keep your data only as long as needed:

• Predictions: in your browser until you reset or clear it
• Email + unlock token: until 31 December 2026, then deleted
• Payment records: 7 years (Austrian tax law)
• Referral counts: until 31 December 2026

6. Third parties we use

• Vercel (hosting · EU region) — privacy policy
• Stripe (payment processing) — privacy policy
• Google Fonts (typography · self-hostable, served via Google's CDN) — privacy policy
• jsDelivr / cdnjs (JavaScript libraries: SortableJS, canvas-confetti)

7. Security

Data is transmitted over HTTPS. Payment data is handled by Stripe (PCI-DSS Level 1 certified). We do not store any payment details.

8. Changes to this policy

If we update this policy materially, we'll change the "Last updated" date above. Continued use after changes means you accept them.

9. Contact

Questions, requests, complaints — email info@worldcup2026-predictor.com.