Privacy Policy

This policy explains how Gelball.com.au ("we", "us", "our") handles personal information. We are based in Australia and we handle personal information in line with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs). "Personal information" means information about an identified individual, or an individual who is reasonably identifiable.

• Account information. When you register, we collect your email address and the password you set (stored only as a secure hash by our authentication provider, never in plain text). You may add a display name, a public handle, a short bio, an avatar, and a preferred region.
• Discord account link. If you choose to link Discord to earn the enthusiast badge, we use Discord OAuth. We receive a limited set of identity details from Discord to confirm the link. We do not receive your Discord password, and we do not read your Discord messages.
• Owner requests. If you request owner access to manage a listing, we collect the contact phone number and email you provide so an administrator can verify the request by phone.
• Submissions. Content you submit (fields, retailers, servers, teams, events, and similar) is stored with your account so it can be moderated and attributed.
• Contact messages. If you use the contact form, we collect the name, email, and message you send so we can respond.
• Technical data. Our servers and our hosting and infrastructure providers process standard technical information such as IP address and request metadata to deliver the site, keep it secure, and prevent abuse.

We use cookies and your browser local storage for a small number of purposes:

• Region preference. Your chosen viewing region (for example Queensland) is remembered in a cookie or in local storage so the site can show you relevant information. This is a preference, not tracking.
• Sign-in session. When you log in, our authentication provider sets cookies that keep you signed in and secure your session.
• Theme. Your light or dark theme choice may be stored locally in your browser.

You can clear cookies and local storage through your browser at any time. Clearing them will reset your region and theme preferences and will sign you out.

• To create and manage your account and keep you signed in.
• To publish your public profile (safe fields only, see below) and attribute your moderated submissions.
• To operate the moderation queue and the owner-verification process.
• To respond to contact messages and support requests.
• To send account and service emails (for example email verification, password reset, and moderation outcomes).
• To keep the site secure, prevent abuse, and meet our legal obligations.

We do not sell your personal information. We do not use it for third-party advertising.

Your public profile page shows only a safe subset of your information: your handle, display name, avatar, bio, and any attribute badges you hold. Your email address, phone number, role, and region preference are never shown on your public profile and are not exposed to other visitors.

We share personal information only with service providers who help us run the site, and only so they can perform that function. These include our database and authentication provider (Supabase), our hosting and content delivery providers, and, where you choose to link it, Discord for account linking. Some of these providers may store data outside Australia; where that happens we take reasonable steps to ensure your information is handled consistently with the APPs. We may also disclose information where required by law.

We keep personal information only for as long as we need it for the purposes above. Your account information is kept while your account is active. Moderation and audit records are kept for a reasonable period to maintain the integrity of the directory and to meet our legal and security obligations, and some records may be retained after account deletion in a minimised form for those purposes. Contact messages are kept only as long as needed to handle your enquiry.

You can view and update most of your information from your account settings. You can edit your profile, change your email, and manage your notification preferences there.

You can delete your account at any time from your account settings. Deleting your account removes your login and profile. As noted above, a minimised set of moderation and audit records may be retained where we are required or reasonably need to keep them.

Under the APPs you may request access to the personal information we hold about you and ask us to correct it. Contact us using the details below.

We take reasonable steps to protect personal information. Access to data is restricted by role and enforced at the database level. Passwords are never stored in plain text. Privileged operations run server-side only. No system is perfectly secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security, but we work to reduce risk.

The site is not directed at children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information without appropriate consent, contact us and we will take reasonable steps to remove it.

We may update this policy from time to time. The date at the top of the page shows when it last changed. Continued use of the site after a change means you accept the updated policy.

To ask about this policy, request access or correction, or make a privacy complaint, use the contact page. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).