Equaron Privacy Policy
Version [1.0], last updated [date].
1. Who we are
Equaron is run by [full legal name], a sole trader trading as Equaron, of [postal address], United Kingdom. We decide how your personal information is used (we're the "controller") under UK data protection law (the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018), and, for people in the EU, the EU GDPR.
- Contact: [email protected]
- ICO registration number: [number]
- [If needed for EU users: our EU representative is [name, address].]
2. The short version
- We collect what we need to run accounts and rooms, keep them safe, and take payment.
- We don't sell your information, and we don't show you adverts based on it.
- Equaron is free, and we take no payments.
- Room chat isn't stored. It's kept only while the room is open.
- We don't record rooms on the everyday plans.
- You can see, correct, download or delete your information at any time.
3. What we collect, and why
| What | Examples | Why | Lawful basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Account details | Your name, date of birth, email address (full accounts), how you sign in (emailed link, Google or Discord, and the ID they give us) | To create and run your account, and check you're 16 or over | Contract; legal obligation (age rules) |
| Your agreement to our terms | Which version you agreed to, when, and the internet address you agreed from | To show what you agreed to | Legitimate interests (being able to prove it) |
| Sign-in and device cookies | A sign-in cookie, and a random ID for your browser | To keep you signed in, and to recognise your device for security and fair-use limits | Contract; legitimate interests (security, preventing abuse) |
| Devices and connections | Scrambled (hashed) versions of your browser's ID, your internet address and, if you host with our desktop app, your graphics card's ID | To stop banned people coming back and invite codes being misused | Legitimate interests (preventing abuse) |
| Usage limits | How many rooms and saved rooms you have | To apply the limits that keep Equaron running for everyone | Contract |
| Rooms | Room names, who hosted, who was in a room, the board (pins and votes), what page a room is on | To run rooms and show everyone the same thing | Contract |
| Saved rooms (every plan; Free has 1) | The room's link, pages and board. The website logins (cookies) of sites the host signed in to there stay encrypted on the host's own computer, and we never receive them | To bring a saved room back as you left it | Contract |
| "Pick up where you left off" | The videos you were watching on a few video sites (YouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion, Twitch, Internet Archive, TED), and how far in | To let you carry on later | Contract |
| Invites | Your invite codes, and who invited whom | To run the invite-only beta | Contract; legitimate interests |
| Safety records | Reports (who reported, the room, the reason, what they wrote, who was in the room, the page shown), strikes, bans, notes flagging sign-ups through a VPN or data centre | To keep Equaron safe and legal, and to act on copyright complaints | Legitimate interests (safety); legal obligation |
| Waiting list (the beta page on our website) | Your email address, and when you joined | Only to send you an invite. Nothing else is done with it | Legitimate interests (answering your request to join) |
| Pilot requests (the "join the pilot" form on our website) | Your name, work email, company, team size, what you'd use Equaron for, and anything else you tell us | To reply and set up a pilot | Legitimate interests (answering a business enquiry) |
| Messages to us | Support emails and what you tell us | To answer you | Legitimate interests; contract |
| Server logs | Technical records, which can include internet addresses | To keep Equaron running and secure | Legitimate interests (security) |
What we don't collect: your card details, your voice or camera (Equaron has neither), recordings of rooms on the everyday plans, or what you do on other websites outside Equaron.
About the websites opened in rooms: those sites are visited by the room's browser on the host's own computer, so they see the host's internet address. Viewers' devices only receive the video. What you type into those sites (such as signing in) goes to them under their own privacy policies.
4. Automated checks
To stop banned people coming back and invite codes being misused, we automatically link accounts used on the same device or connection, and flag sign-ups through VPNs or data centres for us to look at. A flag never closes an account by itself. If you think a limit has been applied to you unfairly, email us and a person will look at it.
5. Who we share it with
We use these providers, who handle information on our behalf or alongside us:
| Who | What for | What they get |
|---|---|---|
| [Server host, e.g. Hetzner] | Running Equaron's servers | Everything stored on our servers |
| Resend | Sending sign-in links, invites, reminders and notices (sent from Ireland) | Your email address and the message |
| Google and Discord | Signing in, if you choose them | They tell us your account ID, name and email, under their own privacy policies |
| Cloudflare Turnstile (when switched on) | Checking sign-ups aren't bots | Technical information about your browser |
| GIPHY | GIFs in chat | Searches go through us. The GIF pictures are loaded by your device straight from GIPHY, so GIPHY sees your internet address |
| [Support or AI help tool] | Answering support messages | What you write to us |
| Authorities | When the law requires, or someone may be at risk (for example child safety) | Only what's needed |
If Equaron becomes a limited company, or is sold, your information moves with it under this policy.
6. Information sent outside the UK
Some providers are in, or use, other countries (such as the USA or the EU). When information goes outside the UK, we make sure it's protected, for example by the country having "adequacy" status or by standard data protection contracts. [List each provider's safeguard.]
7. How long we keep it
| What | How long |
|---|---|
| Guest accounts | Deleted about 30 days after last use |
| Full accounts | Until you delete them, or after 2 years unused (with a warning email a month before). Never deleted for being unused if you've supported Equaron in the last 2 years |
| When you delete your account | 14 days to change your mind, then deleted. A guest account is deleted at once |
| Kept after deletion | Your terms-agreement record for 6 years (in case of legal claims); payment references for as long as tax law requires; scrambled ban and strike records, so a banned person can't simply sign up again (strikes lapse after a year) |
| Room chat | Only while the room is open |
| Saved-room logins (on the host's own computer) | Until "Forget all logins", or about 30 days unused |
| "Pick up where you left off" | Forgotten after 30 days unused |
| Reports | 180 days after they're dealt with |
| Waiting list | 30 days after your invite is sent, or 1 year after you joined if no invite was sent. Ask us and we'll remove your address sooner |
| Pilot requests | 1 year, unless we delete them sooner |
| Device and connection records | [up to 1 year] |
| Server logs | [30 days] |
8. Your rights
You can ask us to:
- give you a copy of your information
- correct it
- delete it (you can also delete your account yourself, in account settings)
- limit how we use it, or object to us using it for our legitimate interests
- send it to you or another service in a common format
Email [email protected]. We'll reply within a month. It's free unless a request is clearly unfounded or excessive.
Complaints: please tell us first. You can also complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk or 0303 123 1113, or to the data protection authority where you live in the EU.
9. Cookies
We only use cookies that are strictly necessary for Equaron to work, so we don't ask for permission:
| Cookie | What it does | How long |
|---|---|---|
equaron_session | Keeps you signed in | Until you sign out, or [period] |
equaron_device | A random ID for your browser, for security and fair-use limits | 5 years |
If we ever add analytics or tracking cookies, we'll ask first.
10. Children
Equaron is for people aged 16 and over. If you think someone under 16 has an account, tell us at [email protected] and we'll close it. Adult and gambling sites stay blocked in any room with someone under 18 in it.
11. Security
We protect your information with measures such as encrypted connections and scrambled (hashed) sign-in tokens. Saved-room logins never leave the host's own computer: they're kept there encrypted, and our app only unlocks them when the host opens that saved room. No system is perfectly secure. If a breach puts you at risk, we'll tell you and the ICO as the law requires.
12. Changes to this policy
We'll tell you about important changes before they apply. The version and date are at the top.