Privacy Policy
Last updated: 6 August 2026
This policy explains what personal information Footymate ("we", "us") collects when you use the Footymate app and website, why we collect it, who we share it with, and the rights you have over it. We handle personal information in line with the Australian Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs).
1. What we collect and why
We try to collect only what we need to run the app. Here's the full list:
| Data | Why we collect it |
|---|---|
| Mobile phone number | To sign you in. We send a one-time code (OTP) by SMS; there are no passwords. Your number is your account identifier. |
| Username | Your public display name on takes, votes, polls and leaderboards. |
| Club allegiance | To personalise your feed and show which club you barrack for. |
| Timezone | To show match times and deadlines in your local time. |
| Footy IQ & allegiance points | Your in-app reputation/score, earned through takes, tips and participation. |
| Your content | The takes, posts, comments, votes, poll answers, TipZone/Take Futures picks and images you submit. |
| Uploaded images | Stored so we can display them. Automatically screened by a nudity/adult-content filter before publication. |
| Client IP address | Used for abuse prevention and rate-limiting (stopping spam and automated attacks). Our analytics provider also receives your IP to estimate approximate location, but it is anonymised and not retained by us. We do not use it to build an advertising profile. |
| Session token | A login token stored in your browser's so you stay signed in. It lives on your device and is not shared with third parties. |
| Analytics & cookies | We use Google Analytics to understand which pages are visited and how the site performs. It sets cookies on your device containing a random identifier. It does not tell us who you are, and we don't link it to your account. See Your rights and choices below for how to opt out. |
| Error diagnostics | When something breaks, technical error details are sent to our monitoring tool (Sentry) so we can fix it. |
If you sign in with Google we receive the email address on your Google account, which we use to recognise your account. Beyond that we do not ask for your real name, date of birth documents, home address, or any payment or bank details — Footymate has no real-money features (see our Responsible Play page).
2. Who we share it with
We don't sell your personal information. We use a small number of third-party service providers to run the app, and share the minimum needed for each:
- Google (Sign-In) — when you sign in with Google, Google confirms your identity to us and we receive your Google account id and verified email address.
- Google Analytics — receives page-view and device information, plus your IP address (anonymised), so we can see how the site is used. It does not receive your username, email or the content you post.
- Twilio — sends the one-time login codes to your phone. Twilio receives your phone number.
- Cloudflare R2 — stores images you upload so they can be served back to other fans.
- Sentry — receives error and crash diagnostics to help us find and fix bugs.
These providers process data on our behalf under their own security and privacy terms. Some may store or process data outside Australia; where that happens we take reasonable steps to ensure comparable protection. We may also disclose information if required by law.
3. How long we keep it
- One-time login codes (OTPs) are short-lived and purged as soon as they expire.
- Session tokens expire and are cleared after 90 days of the session being issued.
- Your account and content are kept while your account is active. If you delete your account, we remove your personal profile data; some content may be retained in de-identified form (for example, aggregate leaderboard or voting totals).
- IP addresses used for rate-limiting are kept only as long as needed for abuse prevention.
4. Your rights and choices
You are in control of your data:
- Access & download — you can download a copy of your data from Settings in the app.
- Delete your account — you can delete your account and associated personal data from Settings.
- Correct — you can update your username and timezone at any time, and your club once every 30 days.
- Opt out of analytics — the simplest way is to visit footymate.au/?noanalytics=1, which switches analytics off for that browser permanently (visit to turn it back on). We also honour your browser's "Do Not Track" setting, and you can install Google's opt-out add-on or block cookies for this site. The app works normally either way.
- Complain — if you're unhappy with how we've handled your data, you can contact us (below) and, if unresolved, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at oaic.gov.au.
5. Security
We use passwordless SMS login, encrypted connections (HTTPS), and limit access to personal data. No system is perfectly secure, but we take reasonable technical and organisational steps to protect your information and to notify you of any eligible data breach as required by law.
6. Children
Footymate is intended for users aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect information from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has created an account, contact us and we'll remove it.
7. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as the app evolves. We'll post the revised version here and update the "last updated" date. Significant changes will be highlighted in-app.
8. Contact
Questions or requests about your privacy? Email us at privacy@footymate.app.