Legal
Privacy Policy
This policy explains what personal data FC Trenches collects, why, who we share it with, how long we keep it, and the rights you have under the UK General Data Protection Regulation, the Data Protection Act 2018 and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations.
1. Who we are
FC Trenches (fctrenches.com) is operated by [Registered company name], a company registered in England and Wales (company number [Company number]), registered office [Registered office address]. We are the controller of the personal data described in this policy, which means we decide how and why it is used. We are registered with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) under registration number [ICO registration number].
For anything about your personal data, contact us at info@fctrenches.com. We have not appointed a data protection officer; your message will be handled by the people responsible for running the Platform.
This policy applies to everyone who visits or uses the Platform, wherever they are. It should be read with our Terms and Conditions, which use the same defined words (such as FT, Competition and Prize Redemption).
2. The personal data we collect
We collect what we need to run a fair, secure competitive platform. The table below describes the categories of personal data we hold and where they come from.
| Category | What it includes | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Account details | Username (and your previous username if you change it), email address, password (stored only in a strongly hashed, one-way form; we cannot see it), EA ID, gaming platform, your confirmation that you are 18 or over, the date and time you accepted our Terms, and whether your email address is verified. | You, when you sign up and when you update your account. |
| Profile details (optional) | Profile picture, clan tag, region, country, favourite formation, custom tactics, links to your YouTube and TikTok, and your Pro Clubs player profile (position, overall rating, nationality and language). | You, if you choose to add them. |
| Competition and gameplay records | Matches and Competitions you enter, opponents, reported results and scores, ready-up and reporting times, disputes and any evidence links, ranks and rank history, XP, wins, losses, streaks, head-to-head and recent-match records, badges and trophies, Tournament entries, placings and favourites, club memberships, Prizes won and total earnings. | Created as you use the Platform, and from the results you and your opponents report. |
| FT and payment records | Your FT balance and every FT movement (purchases, Entry Fees, Prizes, returned Entry Fees, Prize Redemption), with amounts, dates and references. For purchases and Trenches Pass: our payment provider’s customer and subscription identifiers, and your subscription status and renewal date (Stripe holds the details of each charge). | Created as you use the Platform, and from Stripe when you pay. We never receive or store your full card number or security code. |
| Prize Redemption records | The amount, payout method and the payout details you provide (for example your PayPal email address, bank details or cryptocurrency wallet address), the status of each request, review notes, and any reason for declining it. | You, when you request Prize Redemption, and our Staff, when they review it. |
| Your content and messages | Feed posts and articles (including images and video links), comments, likes and dislikes, messages in public, group, club, match, stream and friend chats, images and stickers you send, reactions, which chat messages you have viewed, and reports you make or that are made about your content. | You and other users. |
| Connections | Friends, friend requests, blocks, creators you follow and follower counts, clubs, club invitations and join requests, and group-chat memberships. | You and other users. |
| Creator and streaming data | If you link Twitch: your Twitch user ID and channel name, whether you are live, your stream title and category, and stream statistics (viewer numbers sampled while you are live, stream duration, chat activity and follower counts). If you apply to be a creator: the links, audience size and description you submit, our decision and, if accepted, your creator status and any revenue-share terms. If you create a coaching listing: its title, description, price, availability, specialities, platform, region and language, messages about it and ratings it receives (including ratings you give to coaches). | You, Twitch (only after you sign in to Twitch to link your account) and our Staff. |
| Security and device data | When you log in (successfully or not): IP address, browser and device type (from your browser’s user-agent string), a random device identifier stored in your browser, approximate location (country and city, derived from your IP address by our network security provider), the time, and the outcome. For every logged-in device: when it was last active and whether it has been logged out. | Your device and browser, and our network security provider. |
| Staff and moderation records | Notes and logs Staff create about your account (for example warnings, suspensions, bans, false-report findings and ban points, rank or balance corrections, and the IP address associated with an action, which is restricted to authorised Staff), and records of actions taken by Staff. | Our Staff and our systems. |
| Preferences | Your cookie choices (with a random identifier and the date and version of the banner you answered), your accessibility settings and in-app notification history. | You. |
| Usage analytics (only with your consent) | Pages viewed, features used, clicks, session recordings (in which everything you type is hidden, and which may include technical details of the requests the page makes, with secret values and login details removed), errors your browser encounters, and technical details such as browser, device, screen size and referring page. If you are logged in, these are linked to your account ID, username, role, platform and whether you hold Trenches Pass. Some server-side events (for example that you created an account, subscribed, purchased an FT bundle or requested Prize Redemption, with the amount and method) are also recorded. | Your browser and our servers, through PostHog, only if you accept analytics cookies. |
| Correspondence | Emails you send us and our replies, and records of the service emails we send you. | You and us. |
What we do not collect
- We do not receive or store your full card details. Card payments are handled by Stripe.
- We do not collect your precise location, and we remove location data embedded in photos you upload.
- We do not sell your personal data. We do not currently show third-party advertising.
- We do not ask for special category data (such as health, religion or ethnicity). Please do not share it in your profile, posts or chats.
- If we need to verify your identity, age, location or payout account, we will ask through the Platform or from an email address ending in @fctrenches.com, and tell you at the time what we need, why, and how long we will keep it.
3. How we use your data and our lawful basis
UK data protection law requires a lawful basis for each use of personal data. Ours are: contract (we need the data to provide the Platform you signed up for), legitimate interests (we have a genuine reason that is not outweighed by your rights), legal obligation and consent.
| Purpose | Data used | Lawful basis |
|---|---|---|
| Creating and running your account, verifying your email address and logging you in | Account details, security and device data | Contract |
| Running Tournaments and Pro Clubs Competitions, recording results, settling matches, ranks and leaderboards | Account, Competition and FT records | Contract |
| Taking Entry Fees, paying Prizes and keeping an accurate FT ledger | FT and payment records | Contract; legal obligation (financial records) |
| Processing FT purchases and Trenches Pass subscriptions | Account details, payment records (shared with Stripe) | Contract; legal obligation (tax and accounting) |
| Reviewing and paying Prize Redemption requests, including emailing you a confirmation code | Account details, FT records, Prize Redemption records | Contract; legal obligation; legitimate interests (preventing fraud) |
| Showing your profile, results and content to other users | Profile, Competition records, your content | Contract |
| Delivering chats, posts, notifications and service emails | Your content, connections, account details | Contract |
| Linking Twitch, showing live streams and providing stream statistics to creators | Creator and streaming data | Contract (you choose to link Twitch) |
| Keeping accounts secure: login history, new-device alerts, logging out devices, bot protection and rate limits | Security and device data | Legitimate interests (protecting you and the Platform) |
| Fair play: resolving disputes, investigating cheating, collusion, multiple accounts and ban evasion, and acting on reports | Competition records, messages and content on the Platform where relevant, FT records, security and device data, Staff records | Legitimate interests (competitive integrity and fraud prevention) |
| Moderating content and enforcing our Terms | Your content, reports, Staff records | Legitimate interests (a safe community) |
| Finding and fixing errors on our servers | Technical details of the failing request | Legitimate interests (a working service) |
| Analytics and session recordings to understand and improve the Platform | Usage analytics | Consent (you can change your mind at any time) |
| Recording your cookie choices | Preferences | Legal obligation (proving consent) |
| Handling complaints, legal claims and requests from authorities | Any relevant data | Legitimate interests; legal obligation |
Where we rely on legitimate interests, we have weighed our interests against yours. You can ask us for more information about this, and you have the right to object (see Your rights).
4. Automated decisions
Some Competition outcomes are applied automatically by our systems, based on the rules in our Terms and on what the players themselves report. For example, a Pro Clubs registration that is not completed within its payment window expires and the Entry Fees are returned, and a match nobody reports a result for in time is cancelled and the Entry Fees are returned. These outcomes are necessary to run Competitions under our contract with you.
If an automated outcome affects you and you think it is wrong, you can ask for it to be reviewed by a member of Staff by emailing info@fctrenches.com; you can explain your point of view and contest the outcome.
5. What other people can see
Logged-in users can see your public profile: username, profile picture, clan tag, EA ID, platform, region and country, ranks, XP, statistics and streaks, Tournament record, total earnings, favourite formation, linked Twitch channel and social links, whether you hold Trenches Pass, when you joined and when you were last active. They can also see your posts, comments and chat messages in the spaces you share with them, your club, and your results in brackets and on leaderboards.
Anyone on the internet, including search engines and link previews, can see a limited summary when a profile, Competition, post or stream page is shared: your username, clan tag, profile picture, ranks, win and loss record and platform, and public Competition and post details.
Your opponents see the details needed to play and verify a match, including your EA ID.
Other players never see your IP address.
7. International transfers
Our main database is in the European Union, which the UK recognises as providing adequate protection for personal data. Some of our providers process data in the United States or other countries outside the UK.
Where personal data is transferred outside the UK, we make sure it is protected by an appropriate safeguard recognised by UK law: a UK adequacy decision (including the UK Extension to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, where the provider is certified), or the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses included in the provider’s data processing terms. You can ask us for more information at info@fctrenches.com.
8. How long we keep your data
| Data | How long we keep it |
|---|---|
| Login history and device sessions (including IP addresses and approximate location) | 90 days, then deleted automatically. Normally deleted straight away if you delete your account (but see the exception below). |
| Account and profile details | For as long as your account is open. When you delete your account, your contact and identifying details are erased or anonymised straight away (see below). |
| FT ledger, purchase, subscription and Prize Redemption records (including payout details) | Six years from the end of the financial year to which they relate, because UK tax and company law require us to keep financial records. |
| Competition records, results and your Pro Clubs player profile | For as long as the Platform operates, so that brackets, leaderboards and opponents’ histories remain accurate. After you delete your account they are linked only to an anonymised name. |
| Posts, comments and chat messages | Until you or our Staff delete them. If you delete your account, content you posted may remain visible to others; contact us if you want particular content removed. |
| Notifications, friends and follows | Deleted when you delete your account. |
| Staff and moderation records | For as long as needed to protect fair play and prevent banned users returning, and in any case no longer than two years after your account is closed. IP addresses in these records are normally removed when you delete your account (but see the exception below). |
| Cookie consent records | For as long as we need to be able to show that we had consent. |
| Analytics and session recordings | For a limited period under the retention settings of our PostHog project, and only if you consented. |
| Correspondence | For as long as needed to deal with your query and any follow-up, normally no more than two years. |
When you delete your account (from your profile, by confirming your password), we end your logins on every device, cancel any pending Prize Redemption and return the FT to your balance, email you a confirmation, and erase or anonymise your contact details and the main details that identify you (such as your email address, password, EA ID, profile picture and social links), replacing your username with an anonymous name. Other records are kept for the periods shown in the table above. Messages you sent may still show the username you used at the time, Staff records may still refer to your former username and EA ID, and some game settings remain attached to the anonymised account. Deleting your account does not cancel a Trenches Pass subscription, so please cancel it first.
Exception. While your account is suspended, banned or under review (for example because of an investigation, a payment dispute or a match in dispute), you can’t delete it, and we may keep the security records and identifiers we need to complete the matter and to prevent fraud and ban evasion. We keep them until the matter is concluded and for no longer than two years after that.
Deleted data may remain in our providers’ encrypted backups for a short period until those backups are overwritten.
10. How we keep your data secure
We use technical and organisational measures appropriate to the risk, including encryption of data in transit and at rest, hashed passwords, account security controls and alerts, additional verification for Prize Redemption and for sensitive Staff actions, restricted access to personal data, and protection against bots and abuse. We review these measures regularly and may change them at any time.
You can help keep your account safe: use a unique password, keep your email account secure, and never share your password or any code we send you. We will only contact you through the Platform or from an email address ending in @fctrenches.com, and we will never ask for your password or a code.
No system is perfectly secure. If a personal data breach is likely to put your rights at high risk, we will tell you without undue delay, and we will report it to the ICO where the law requires.
11. Your rights
Under UK data protection law you have the right to:
- access your personal data and receive a copy of it;
- rectification of data that is inaccurate or incomplete;
- erasure of your data, where there is no good reason for us to keep it;
- restrict how we use your data in certain circumstances;
- data portability, to receive data you gave us in a commonly used format;
- object to our use of your data where we rely on legitimate interests;
- change your mind about consent at any time, using the cookie settings above, which does not affect what we did with your consent before; and
- ask for human review of an automated decision (see Automated decisions).
You can do many of these things yourself: edit your profile, change your username or password, see and end your logins on other devices, change your cookie choices, and delete your account. For anything else, email info@fctrenches.com from the address on your account. We may ask you to confirm your identity.
We will respond within one month. If your request is complex we may extend this by up to two further months and will tell you why. We do not charge a fee unless a request is clearly unfounded or excessive.
Some rights are limited. For example, we must keep financial records for the period the law requires even if you ask us to erase them, and we cannot correct a match result simply because you disagree with it (please use the dispute process in our Terms).
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your data, please tell us first so we can try to put it right. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ico.org.uk, 0303 123 1113). If you live in the European Economic Area, you may also complain to your local data protection authority.
12. Emails we send
We send service emails that are needed to run your account: verifying your email address, resetting your password, telling you about a login from a new device, sending the code to confirm a Prize Redemption, confirming account deletion, and telling you about important changes to our Terms or this policy. These come from no-reply@fctrenches.com. We will never ask you by email for your password or for any code we send you.
We do not currently send marketing emails. If we start to, we will only send them where the law allows, and every marketing email will let you unsubscribe.
13. Age limit
The Platform is for adults only. You must be 18 or over to create an account, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 18. If we learn that we hold data about someone under 18, we will close the account and delete their data, except what the law requires us to keep. If you believe a child is using the Platform, please tell us at info@fctrenches.com.
14. Changes to this policy
We will update this policy when we change how we handle personal data, for example when we add a new feature or provider. The version number and date at the top of this page show when it last changed.
If a change significantly affects you, we will tell you by email or in-app notification before it takes effect, and where the change relies on your consent we will ask for it again.