Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Welcome to flippingishard.com ("we", "our", or "us"). We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting it. This Privacy Policy outlines what information is collected when you visit our website, how third-party services (such as Google AdSense) use cookies, and how you can exercise full control over your personal data.

2. Local Storage and Zero-Account Architecture

Our website operates on a local-first architecture. You do not need an account, password, or profile to access any tool or guide. Your training progress, personal bests, split times, and route notebook entries are stored exclusively in your browser’s local storage (localStorage). This information never leaves your browser and is never transmitted to our servers. You can permanently erase this data at any time by clearing your browser cache.

3. Cookies and Google AdSense Advertising Disclosures

This website is supported by advertising provided by Google AdSense and third-party advertising partners. Google, as a third-party vendor, uses cookies to serve ads on this website:

• Google DART and Advertising Cookies: Google and its partners use cookies (such as the DoubleClick cookie) to serve advertisements based on your prior visits to this website and/or other sites across the Internet.
• Personalized Advertising: These cookies enable Google and its advertising partners to serve personalized ads based on your browsing patterns and interests.
• User Opt-Out: You may opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings. Alternatively, you can opt out of third-party vendor cookies for personalized advertising by visiting www.aboutads.info/choices or Your Online Choices.

4. Analytics and Aggregate Usage Data

We use aggregate analytics tools (including privacy-first Plausible Analytics and Google Analytics via Google Tag Manager) to understand which pages, guides, and tools are most helpful to our community. These tools collect technical telemetry such as:

• Browser family, version, and operating system.
• Screen resolution and device category (desktop, mobile, tablet).
• Referring URLs and internal navigation paths.
• Anonymized / masked IP addresses (we do not store full IP addresses).

5. European Economic Area (EEA) and UK User Rights (GDPR)

If you are located in the EEA or the United Kingdom, you possess specific legal rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and UK GDPR:

• Consent Management: Non-essential cookies (including advertising and analytics cookies) are only activated after you provide explicit consent via our on-screen cookie consent banner.
• Right of Access & Rectification: You may request information regarding any personal data we process.
• Right to Erasure ("Right to be Forgotten"): You may request the deletion of any identifiable log data.
• Right to Withdraw Consent: You may alter or withdraw cookie consent at any time via your browser settings or our banner.

6. California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA / CPRA)

Under California law, California residents have the right to know what personal information is collected and to opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. We do not sell player contact details or personal profiles. Third-party cookies used for personalized ads can be restricted via our consent banner or the opt-out links above.

7. Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)

Our website is intended for general audiences and speedrunning enthusiasts. We do not knowingly collect or solicit personal identifiable information from children under the age of 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us immediately and we will promptly delete it.

8. Changes to this Policy and Contact Details

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect evolving legal standards or site features. Any revisions will be reflected with an updated "Effective Date" at the top of this page.

For privacy-related questions or data deletion requests, email our data privacy team at [email protected] or [email protected].