We built PlayOnRetro Leaderboard with privacy as a default, not an afterthought. This page explains exactly what information we handle and why.
PlayOnRetro Leaderboard is a retro gaming leaderboard community. The data controller for this website is PlayOnRetro, based in Cádiz, Spain.
For any privacy-related question you can contact us. We are not legally required to appoint a Data Protection Officer given the limited and low-risk nature of the data we handle, but we take our obligations under the GDPR and the Spanish Ley Orgánica 3/2018 (LOPDGDD) seriously.
PlayOnRetro has no user accounts, no registration, and no login system. You do not need to provide an email address, real name, or any identifying information to use the site.
| Data | Why | Legal basis | Publicly visible |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname Chosen freely by the player at submission time. Can be any name — no real name required. | Identify the score entry on the leaderboard | Legitimate interest | Yes ★ |
| Score | Core service — display on leaderboard | Legitimate interest | Yes ★ |
| Submission date | Sort and display the time of the score | Legitimate interest | Yes ★ |
| Achievements unlocked Derived from the submitted score — no extra input required from the player. | Display achievement badges on the leaderboard row | Legitimate interest | Yes ★ |
| IP address Collected automatically by our web server on every request. | Security, abuse prevention, server error diagnosis | Legitimate interest | No |
| Session cookie | Keep admin sessions active (admin area only) | Strictly necessary | No |
★ Items marked as publicly visible are shown on the leaderboard page and may be indexed by search engines. By submitting a score, you acknowledge that the nickname and score will be publicly displayed. Do not use your real name as a nickname if you prefer not to have it publicly associated with a score.
The leaderboard is a public record. Nicknames, scores, submission dates, and unlocked achievements are visible to anyone who visits the site, including anonymous visitors.
Because we have no user accounts, we cannot verify who submitted a score. If you submit under your real name or a name that identifies you, that information will be publicly visible. We recommend using a gaming alias or handle instead.
Under the GDPR, a nickname is considered personal data only if it can be linked back to an identifiable individual. A gaming alias chosen freely by the player — with no account, email, or profile attached — is generally considered pseudonymous data and falls outside the scope of most GDPR rights unless the player can demonstrate identifiability. We nonetheless respect all erasure requests on a goodwill basis (see Your rights).
Our web server automatically records a standard access log for every request. This log includes the requesting IP address, the URL visited, the browser user-agent string, and a timestamp. This is standard practice for any web server.
We use this data exclusively for:
Server logs are retained for a maximum of 60 days and then permanently deleted. They are never used for marketing, profiling, or shared with third parties for commercial purposes.
We use only strictly necessary session cookies. No analytics, advertising, or tracking cookies are set. A consent banner is therefore not legally required under the ePrivacy Directive — but you can read the full details and learn how to delete cookies from your browser on our dedicated Cookie Policy page.
Under Article 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive (2002/58/EC), cookies that are strictly necessary for a service explicitly requested by the user do not require prior consent. Our session cookie is used solely to keep you logged in during your browsing session and is deleted when you close your browser.
| Data | Retention period | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Leaderboard entries Nickname, score, date, achievements | Indefinitely | Historical leaderboard integrity — scores form the permanent record of the community |
| Server access logs IP address, user-agent, URL | 60 days | Security diagnostics — deleted on a rolling basis after this period |
| Session cookie | Browser session | Deleted automatically when you close your browser |
Leaderboard entries are retained indefinitely because they constitute the historical record of the community. If you submitted a score and wish it to be removed, see Your rights below.
Under the GDPR and Spanish LOPDGDD, you have the following rights. Because we hold no user accounts, most of these apply specifically to leaderboard entries or server logs associated with your IP address.
Contact us describing which entry you are referring to (game name, nickname, approximate date). Because we have no accounts we cannot verify identity cryptographically, so we will use reasonable judgment to confirm the request is genuine before acting on it. We aim to respond within 30 days.
PlayOnRetro is intended for general audiences. Under Spanish law and GDPR Article 8, processing personal data of children under 14 years of age requires parental or guardian consent. We do not knowingly collect data from children under 14.
Because we have no registration system, we are unable to verify the age of players submitting scores. We rely on users and their guardians to ensure compliance. If you believe a leaderboard entry belongs to a child under 14 and was submitted without parental consent, please contact us and we will remove it promptly.
We may update this privacy policy to reflect changes in our practices or in applicable law. Any changes will be published on this page with a revised Last updated date shown at the top. We recommend checking back periodically.
If we ever introduce features that require collecting additional personal data — such as user accounts or an email newsletter — we will update this policy and implement the appropriate consent mechanisms before doing so.