Privacy Policy

1. Account Information

When you create an account on PlayBound, we collect:

• Credentials: Username, email address, and a cryptographically salted and hashed password (never stored in plaintext).
• Profile Details: Optional avatar, bio, and linked social identifiers (e.g. Discord username or ID if connected for party matchmaking).
• Library & Activity: Games you favorite, collections you curate, and installation tokens generated to synchronize your desktop launcher.

2. PlayBound Desktop Launcher & Compatibility

The PlayBound Launcher is a lightweight, open companion app for managing free game installations. It interacts with our servers in the following ways:

• Catalog & Updates: The launcher checks our public API for updated game package recipes, release hashes, and server listings.
• Hardware Profile: When signed in, the launcher can benchmark system specifications (CPU tier, GPU model, RAM, OS architecture) to calculate game compatibility ratings. This profile is private to your account and can be deleted anytime.
• Installation Telemetry: To detect dead download mirrors and packaging bugs, the launcher sends anonymized telemetry on failed or completed installs (e.g. error codes, game slug, app version). No personally identifiable system files or browsing habits are ever collected.

3. Friends, Parties & Presence

PlayBound allows you to connect with friends, discover multiplayer servers, and join game lobbies. We provide granular privacy toggles directly in your profile:

• Activity Privacy: You can set your presence to Public, Friends Only, or Appear Offline.
• Party Invites: Temporary party lobbies and Discord bot invite links expire automatically after matches conclude.

4. Free Game Deals & Third-Party Stores

PlayBound indexes 100% free promotions from official storefronts (such as Epic Games Store, Steam, GOG, and Prime Gaming). When you click an external offer or developer link:

• You are navigated directly to the publisher’s canonical website or store page.
• We do not inject affiliate adware, surveillance cookies, or redirect chains.
• Each external storefront governs its own privacy policies when you visit their domain.

5. Cookies & Sessions

We use strictly necessary first-party cookies for secure authentication (session management, CSRF mitigation). We do not use third-party marketing cookies or surveillance pixels.

6. Email Communications

Transactional emails (account verification, password resets) and optional community newsletters are sent through our email delivery partner (Brevo). You can opt out of newsletters at any time with a single click in any email or in your account preferences.

7. Your Rights (GDPR & CCPA)

Regardless of your physical location, you have complete ownership over your data:

• Right to Access & Portability: Request a copy of all personal data associated with your account.
• Right to Deletion: Permanently delete your account, reviews, hardware profiles, and library entries from our servers.
• Right to Rectification: Update or modify your email, username, and profile information directly from your Account Settings.