Privacy Policy

Last Updated: September 2026

Welcome to SmashSenpai.com ("Website", "we", "our", or "us"). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and protect your information when you visit our Website. By using the Website, you agree to this Privacy Policy.

1. Advertising

The Website may display advertising through one or more third-party advertising networks, exchanges, or platforms ("Advertising Partners"). This section is written to describe our advertising practices generally, so it stays accurate whether or not a specific Advertising Partner is active on the Website at any given time.

When advertising is active, Advertising Partners may use cookies, pixels, web beacons, mobile ad identifiers, and similar technologies to collect information such as:

  • IP address
  • Operating system type and version
  • Device type and advertising identifiers
  • Language settings
  • Browser type
  • General browsing and interaction activity on this and other websites

This information may be used to serve interest-based ("personalized") advertising and to measure ad performance. Advertising Partners may combine this data with information collected from other sites and apps.

We do not sell your personal data for money. Depending on your location, sharing information with Advertising Partners for personalized advertising may be considered a "sale" or "share" of personal data under certain U.S. state privacy laws. See Section 5 for how to opt out.

If an Advertising Partner relies on Google's advertising services (such as Google Ad Manager or Google AdSense), Google may also collect and use data as described at How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services. Where required by law, we will obtain consent before advertising cookies are set for users in the EEA, UK, and other regions that require opt-in consent.

You can manage or opt out of interest-based advertising through:

2. Information We Collect

We collect limited information to operate and improve our Website.

a) Log Files
Like most websites, we use log files. These may include:

  • IP address
  • Browser type
  • Internet Service Provider (ISP)
  • Date and time stamps
  • Referring/exit pages

This information is used for analytics and security purposes.

b) User Interaction Data
We may store anonymous data regarding:

  • "Smash" or "Pass" selections
  • Character voting results
  • Leaderboard data

This data is stored without directly identifying users and is used to generate rankings and improve gameplay features. Your personal running vote count is stored locally in your browser (via local storage) and is not linked to your identity, account, or any other user.

c) Account Registration and Comments
If you create an account to comment on articles, we collect:

  • Email address
  • Username / display name
  • Password (stored in encrypted/hashed form)
  • Comment content, and the date and time you posted it

Comments are publicly visible on the Website alongside your username. Please do not include personal information (your real name, phone number, social media handles, etc.) in a comment unless you're comfortable with it being public. We may moderate, edit, or remove comments or accounts that violate our community guidelines or applicable law.

You can request access to, correction of, or deletion of your account data at any time by contacting us at the email in Section 13.

3. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies, including your browser's local storage, to: store user preferences, remember your personal vote count, improve performance, support advertising when active on the Website, and analyze traffic.

By continuing to use the Website, you consent to the use of these technologies as described in this policy. You can clear cookies and local storage through your browser settings; note that clearing local storage will reset your locally displayed vote count.

4. Analytics and Backend Infrastructure

We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors use the Website. Google Analytics may collect: device information, usage behavior, IP address, and session data.

We also use Google's Firebase platform (including Firestore and/or the Realtime Database) as backend infrastructure to store and manage the application data described in Section 2 — including "Smash" or "Pass" votes, tournament results, rankings, account information, and comments.

Google processes this data according to its own privacy policy: Google Privacy Policy, and acts as our infrastructure/service provider for data stored via Firebase.

We use this data to improve functionality, monitor performance, generate rankings and leaderboards, and maintain security.

5. United States Privacy Rights (CCPA/CPRA and Other State Laws)

If you are a resident of California or other U.S. states with privacy laws, you may have the right to: request disclosure of collected personal data, request deletion of your personal data, and request that we do not sell or share your personal data — including data shared with Advertising Partners for personalized advertising, if applicable. To exercise your rights, contact us at the email below.

6. European Economic Area (EEA) & United Kingdom – GDPR

If you are located in the EEA or UK, you have the right to: access your personal data, correct inaccurate data, request deletion ("right to be forgotten"), restrict or object to processing, and request data portability.

We process data based on: legitimate interests, your consent (including for advertising or analytics cookies, where required), and legal obligations. Where consent is our legal basis, you may withdraw it at any time through your cookie settings.

7. Japan & South Korea Privacy Compliance

If you are located in Japan or South Korea, your personal data is processed in accordance with applicable privacy laws, including Japan's Act on the Protection of Personal Information (APPI) and South Korea's Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA).

8. India – Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act

If you are located in India, we process digital personal data based on your consent. You have the right to access your personal data, correct inaccurate data, request erasure, and withdraw consent.

9. Children's Privacy

Our Website is not intended for children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us personal data, please contact us so we can remove it. Users between the ages of 13 and 18 should only use this Website under the supervision of a parent or guardian.

Account registration and commenting are not available to children under 13. By creating an account, you confirm that you are at least 13 years old (or the applicable minimum age in your jurisdiction).

10. Data Security and Retention

We use commercially reasonable security measures to protect data. However, no method of transmission over the Internet is 100% secure. We retain personal data only as long as necessary for operational, legal, or security purposes.

11. Do Not Track Signals

Some browsers include a "Do Not Track" feature. At this time, our Website does not respond to Do Not Track signals.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated revision date. Continued use of the Website after changes means you accept the updated policy.

13. Contact Information

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, you may contact us at:
contact@smashsenpai.com