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Privacy Policy

Last Updated: August 2026

At sff.gg (“we”, “us”, or “our”), we are committed to handling personal information securely, fairly, and transparently. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, why we use it, how it may be shared, how long it may be retained, and the rights available to you when you use our website, Community Builds, hardware databases, comments, and other tools and services.

Data Controller: sff.gg is operated by [INSERT LEGAL NAME OR OPERATING ENTITY]. You can contact us regarding privacy matters through our Contact Us page.

1. Information We Collect

A. Community Build Submissions: When you submit a Community Build, we may collect your chosen display name or alias, private contact email address, Build title, case and hardware configuration, case colour, configuration or mode information, fitment observations, notes, photographs, and other information you choose to submit.

Your Build contact email is used privately for purposes such as processing the submission, moderation, ownership recognition, security, and resolving issues relating to the submitted Build. It is not intended to be included in the public Build record.

We may create internal identifiers derived from contact information to help recognise Build ownership or associate related interactions without publishing the underlying contact information. Such identifiers are still treated as protected information where they can be associated with an identifiable person.

B. Public Build Information: Information intended for publication as part of a Community Build may be publicly accessible, including your chosen alias, Build title, hardware configuration, fitment information, photographs, notes, and comments. You should not include private information in fields intended for public display.

C. Comments: When visitors leave comments, we collect the information entered into the comment form and may process the visitor’s IP address and browser user-agent information for security, moderation, abuse prevention, and automated spam detection.

An anonymised or pseudonymised string derived from an email address may be supplied to the Gravatar service where Gravatar functionality is enabled. Automattic’s privacy information is available at https://automattic.com/privacy/.

D. Contact Forms: If you contact us through a form or other direct communication method, we may collect your name, email address, message contents, and other information you voluntarily provide so that we can respond, maintain appropriate records, prevent abuse, and administer the Website.

E. Media Uploads: Images uploaded for public display may contain embedded metadata. You should remove sensitive metadata, including GPS or precise location information, before uploading photographs.

F. Accounts & Profiles: If user registration or account functionality is enabled, we may store the profile and account information you provide, together with information needed to authenticate and administer your account.

G. Technical & Security Data: Our servers and security systems may process information such as IP addresses, request timestamps, browser or device information, requested URLs, error information, and other technical logs for security, fraud prevention, troubleshooting, rate limiting, and operation of the Service.

2. How We Use Community Build & Technical Data

Community Build information may be analysed to operate and improve sff.gg’s technical systems. This may include using submitted hardware configurations, component identities, case modes, fitment observations, modifications, compatibility issues, and similar technical information for:

  • documented compatibility and fitment evidence;

  • hardware and configuration analytics;

  • Build similarity and comparison;

  • recommendations and compatibility guidance;

  • aggregate statistics and trend analysis;

  • data-quality and relationship analysis;

  • testing, evaluating, or improving technical algorithms and machine-learning systems; and

  • developing other SFF hardware intelligence features.

Private contact information is kept logically separate from public Build data and is not intended to form part of public compatibility evidence or hardware analytics outputs.

Where possible, technical analysis is performed using data that does not require identification of the person who submitted it. Aggregated or appropriately de-identified technical information may no longer constitute personal data once it can no longer reasonably be linked to an identifiable individual.

3. Purposes & Lawful Bases for Processing

Where UK data protection law applies, we process personal information only where we have an appropriate lawful basis. Depending on the activity, this may include:

  • Providing Requested Services: Processing necessary to receive, administer, publish, or manage a Community Build, account, comment, or request you have chosen to submit.

  • Legitimate Interests: Operating and securing the Website, preventing spam and abuse, maintaining data quality, moderating Community Builds and comments, troubleshooting technical issues, protecting our services, understanding use of the Website, and improving our hardware tools and compatibility systems where those interests are not overridden by your rights and interests.

  • Consent: Where required, we rely on your consent for non-essential cookies, personalised advertising, or other processing for which consent is the appropriate legal basis. You may withdraw consent through the relevant consent controls.

  • Legal Obligations: We may process information where reasonably necessary to comply with applicable legal, regulatory, tax, fraud-prevention, or law-enforcement obligations.

4. Google AdSense & Advertising

We use Google AdSense and may use other advertising providers to display advertising on sff.gg.

  • Advertising Data: Subject to your consent choices and applicable law, Google and other advertising technology providers may use cookies, local storage, device information, IP addresses, or similar technologies to serve, measure, limit, and where permitted personalise advertising.

  • Consent Management: Visitors in regions where consent is required, including the UK and EEA, may be presented with a Consent Management Platform (“CMP”) through which advertising and related privacy choices can be made or withdrawn.

  • Google’s Data Practices: Information about Google’s use of data on partner websites is available at How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services.

  • Advertising Choices: Google advertising preferences can be managed through Google Ads Settings. Additional industry opt-out tools may also be available depending on your location.

5. Cookies & Local Storage

The Website uses cookies and similar browser storage technologies for functions including security, preferences, comments, session state, advertising, consent management, and other site features.

  • Necessary Storage: Some cookies or local-storage operations are necessary for requested functionality, security, fraud prevention, or maintenance of user preferences.

  • Comment Cookies: If you leave a comment, you may choose to store your name, email address, and website in cookies for convenience where this functionality is enabled.

  • Account Cookies: Where accounts are enabled, cookies may be used for authentication, login sessions, preferences, and security.

  • Session Features: Certain interface features may use browser storage to remember temporary choices during your browsing session.

  • Consent Controls: Where legally required, non-essential cookies and similar technologies are controlled through our CMP. You can change or withdraw your choices using the consent controls provided on the Website.

6. Analytics, Performance & Web Statistics

We use server logs, performance information, and analytics to understand traffic, page usage, referrals, application behaviour, errors, and server performance so that we can maintain and improve the Website.

Some raw analytics or technical data may constitute personal information before it is aggregated or de-identified. We aim to use aggregated statistical reporting where practical and apply consent controls where required for non-essential analytics technologies.

7. Who We Share Information With

We may share or make information available to service providers where reasonably necessary to operate sff.gg. Categories of recipients may include:

  • website hosting, infrastructure, CDN, backup, and security providers;

  • spam, abuse, or automated moderation services;

  • email or communication service providers;

  • analytics and performance providers;

  • advertising and consent-management providers, subject to applicable consent choices; and

  • professional advisers, regulators, courts, or authorities where disclosure is reasonably necessary or legally required.

No Sale of Personal Information: We do not sell personal contact information or Community Build ownership information to third-party marketers.

8. International Data Transfers

Some service providers may process information in countries outside the United Kingdom or the country in which you reside. Where applicable data protection law requires safeguards for an international transfer, we rely on an appropriate transfer mechanism provided by law or by the relevant service provider, such as an adequacy regulation or approved contractual safeguards.

9. Data Retention

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, taking account of the nature of the information, operation of the Service, moderation and security requirements, dispute resolution, and applicable legal obligations.

  • Community Builds: Published Build content and associated submission records may be retained while the Build remains part of the Service and for reasonable administrative, moderation, backup, or security periods afterwards.

  • Build Contact Information: Private contact information may be retained while reasonably necessary to administer the Build, recognise ownership, deal with moderation or disputes, or satisfy legal and security requirements.

  • Comments: Comments and associated metadata may be retained for as long as the discussion remains published or as reasonably necessary for moderation, abuse prevention, and site integrity.

  • Contact Messages: Messages may be retained for as long as reasonably necessary to deal with the inquiry, maintain appropriate support records, or resolve disputes.

  • Security Logs: Technical and security information is retained according to operational and security requirements and may be retained longer where required to investigate abuse or a security incident.

We may retain aggregated or appropriately de-identified technical statistics and compatibility information after associated personal information has been deleted where that retained information no longer identifies an individual.

10. Your Data Protection Rights

Depending on your location, the nature of the processing, and the lawful basis relied upon, you may have rights including:

  • the right to request access to personal information we hold about you;

  • the right to request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information;

  • the right to request erasure of personal information in applicable circumstances;

  • the right to request restriction of certain processing;

  • the right to data portability where applicable;

  • the right to withdraw consent where processing is based on consent; and

  • the right to object to certain processing.

Right to Object: Where we rely on legitimate interests to process your personal information, you may have the right to object to that processing based on your particular circumstances. You also have an absolute right to object to processing of personal information for direct marketing.

These rights are not absolute in every circumstance and may be subject to exemptions or other legal requirements.

11. Automated Technical Analysis

We may use automated systems to analyse hardware specifications, Community Build configurations, compatibility evidence, and other technical information. These systems are intended to generate hardware-related analysis and do not make decisions about individuals that produce legal or similarly significant effects.

12. Security & Personal Data Breaches

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures intended to protect personal information against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, loss, or misuse. No internet-connected system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

If a personal data breach occurs, we will assess and document it and will notify the relevant supervisory authority where required by applicable law. Where UK GDPR reporting requirements apply, reportable breaches will be notified to the Information Commissioner’s Office without undue delay and, where feasible, within 72 hours after becoming aware of the breach. Where a breach is likely to result in a high risk to affected individuals, we will notify those individuals without undue delay where required.

13. Complaints

If you are concerned about how we use your personal information, please contact us first through our Contact Us page so that we can investigate your concern.

If UK data protection law applies, you also have the right to raise a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

14. Third-Party Links

The Website contains links to manufacturers, retailers, affiliate partners, social platforms, and other external websites. Their privacy practices are governed by their own policies, and we are not responsible for how those third parties process information after you leave sff.gg.

15. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy when our services, data practices, providers, or legal obligations change. The “Last Updated” date at the top identifies the latest revision. Where appropriate, we will provide additional notice of material changes.

16. Contact Information

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, wish to exercise a data protection right, or have a privacy concern, please contact us through our dedicated Contact Us page.