Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

LiverpoolVerse is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use and safeguard your information when you use our website.

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. By using the LiverpoolVerse site, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information we collect automatically when you visit our site

We collect the following information from all visitors to our website (even if you do not create an account or sign-in):

• Usage Data: Pages viewed. This is a low-granularity measure of engagement as we track the number of distinct page visits there are to our pages/articles- not more detailed tracking like pathways of engagement.
• Analytics Data: We collect data about devices that access our site including: device type (ie. desktop or mobile), operating system and browser used. This is to improve the user experience for our site and to help diagnose bugs. For example- some bugs only occur in certain web browsers.

2.2 Information we collect on Sign Up

When you create an account, we collect:

• Account Information: Email address, full name and profile picture associated with the platform that you use to sign up (Facebook, X or Google). Crucially- this information is stored separately from the provider that you used to sign up in our own database.

2.3 Information we collect on Sign In

Whenever you sign-in to our site we store the following information:

• Session data and cookies: We use session-based authentication which involves storing tokens in our database and as cookies in your browser when you sign in. We store session data for 30 days which means that if you visit our site within 30 days of last signing in then you should be remembered and signed-in again automatically (assuming that you're using the same device and browser). If it's longer than 30 days since you last signed in or you're using a different device or browser then must sign in again explicitly via the Sign In page. By signing-in (automatically or explicitly) you agree to be remembered by LiverpoolVerse for 30 days.

2.4 Information we collect conditionally

When you use our site, we may collect data related to:

• User-generated content: Comments, player ratings, lineup selections, poll responses and any other interactive content you participate in. This is dependent on user engagement.
• Quiz attempts: We require users to pass a quiz to be signed up and we record quiz attempts in our database to prevent prospective users from brute-forcing the quiz. This data is routinely purged on a weekly basis as we only care about recent quiz attempts (specifically those in the last 12 hours).
• Mailing list: We store your email addresss separately if you subscribe to our mailing list. This is dependent on user preference (ie. users can choose to subscribe or unsubscribe).
• Banned list: We store email addresses of banned users to prevent them from signing-up again. This is dependent on user behavior and compliance with our Terms of Service. By using our site you accept that you may be banned for a perceived breach of our Terms of Service and your email address stored in a banned list in our database for up to 5 years.

2.5 Information from Third Parties

We receive information from third-party services:

• Trusted third-party authentication providers: Facebook, X and Google provide us with your email, name, and profile image URL when you sign up.
• Google ReCaptcha: Google provides verification data to prevent bots from creating accounts. This occurs in the first step of the sign up process.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the collected information for the following purposes:

• Account management: To create and manage your account, authenticate your identity, and maintain your browser session.
• Service delivery: To provide you with articles and interactive content.
• Communication: To send you updates (if you are subscribed to our mailing list).
• Security: To protect against spamming and fraud.
• Quiz access: To track quiz attempts and enforce the 12-hour cooldown period to prevent prospective users from brute-forcing the sign-up flow. This is really a proactive security measure.
• Analytics: To understand how our service is used and improve user experience.
• Compliance: To comply with legal obligations and enforce our Terms of Service.
• Moderation: To review and moderate user-generated content in accordance with our Terms of Service.

4. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell your personal information. We may share some of your information to help target advertisements but this will be voluntary. Opting out of advertisement personalization will not change the number of advertisements that you see.

4.1 Public Information

Comments you post on LiverpoolVerse are publicly visible to other users. We display your name and profile picture along with your comments. You are responsible for the comments you make and if we perceive you to have breached our Terms of Service, we reserve the right to ban you from our platform (this involves storing your email address in our database for up to 5 years). Other interactive content that you participate in will be indirectly visible to other users through aggregated data (ie. they will not be able to see what another individual user has contributed but they will be able to see an overview of all user contributions). This indirect visibility includes pre-match lineup selections, post-match player ratings and opinion polls. By participating in sed interactive content, you agree to this indirect aggregated visibility of your submissions.

4.2 Service Providers

We share information with trusted third-party service providers:

• Authentication Providers: platforms we use for authentication are: Facebook, X and Google.
• Security: Google ReCaptcha for bot filtering.

4.3 Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if required by law, court order, or government regulation.

4.4 Business Transfers

If LiverpoolVerse is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred to the new owner. You will be notified by email if this happens.

5. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies for security purposes and for targeting advertisements. Cookies used for security purposes are compulsory and by using the site you agree to their use. Cookies used for advertisement personalization are voluntary.

Types of cookies we use:

• Authentication Cookies: To log you in.
• Session Cookies: To maintain your browsing session and schedule the displaying of advertisement pop-ups.
• Analytics Cookies: To track how popular individual articles are and the countries, devices and browsers that are being used to access the site.
• Advertisement Cookies: To personalize advertisements. You can opt out of this if you wish in your My Account page.

6. Data Retention

We retain your information for as long as your account is active. If you are banned from the site for breaching our Terms of Service then we reserve the right to store your email address for up to 5 years for moderation purposes. Specifically:

• Account Data: retained until you delete your account or are banned (we will still retain your email address for up to 5 years if you are banned but the rest of your data will be deleted).
• User-Generated Content: comments and other interactive content will be deleted along with your account.
• Quiz Attempts: stored for at least 12 hours to enforce cooldown periods/ prevent spamming. We purge old attempts on at least a weekly basis.
• Login Records: retained for security and analytical purposes.
• Banned list data: we retain the emails of banned users for up to 5 years for security purposes.

7. Your Rights and Choices

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights:

• Access: Request a copy of your personal information.
• Correction: Request correction of inaccurate information.
• Deletion: Request deletion of your account and associated data.
• Objection: Object to certain processing of your information.
• Portability: Request a copy of your data in a portable format.
• Opt-Out: Unsubscribe from our mailing list at any time. You are not automatically enrolled on our mailing list on creating your account (by default you are unenrolled to our mailing list). You can opt out of advertisement personalization too.

To exercise these rights, please contact us through our contact us page. Note that most requests will be subject to the verification of your identity. We only allow users who have accounts to submit these requests as we don't store personal data for users that don't have accounts.

8. Children's Privacy

Our service is not intended for children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. By using our site, you guarantee that you meet the requirements of the authentication provider that you used to create your account- including minimum age requirements.

9. Security

We implement reasonable security measures to protect your information, including:

• Encryption of data in transit- we are an HTTPS-only site and use the latest TLS protocols for both client-server communication and server-database communication.
• Encryption of data at rest (on disk) in our database. If a malicious actor managed to get a copy of our data they would still need the encryption keys to access/read the data. This helps mitigate data theft risks.
• Secure social media authentication using OAuth 2.0.
• Regular security updates and monitoring.

However, no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. Whilst we strive to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security and by using our site you accept the risk that your data might be leaked.

10. Third-Party Links and Services

Our website contains links to third-party websites and integrates with third-party services. We are not responsible for the privacy practises of these external sites. We encourage you to review their privacy policies:

• Facebook Privacy Policy
• X/Twitter Privacy Policy
• Google Privacy Policy
• Getty Images Privacy Policy

We use Getty embeds to display matchday photos on our site. Unlike the authentication providers, these embeds run arbitrary code when you visit our pages (ie. you don't need to be signed-in for them to try and track you). Authentication providers only track usage when you sign-in (automatically through a recent session or manually through the Sign in page). This means that you can avoid being tracked by the authentication provider(s) by not creating an account or signing-in. We recommend having strict tracking settings in your browser if you are concerned about this tracking from Getty Images.

11. International Data Transfers

Your information may be transferred to and processed in countries other than your country of residence. These countries may have data protection laws that differ from your jurisdiction. By using our service, you consent to the transfer of your information to these countries.

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When this policy was last updated will always be visible at the top of the page. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically. Your continued use of the LiverpoolVerse site after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

13. Contact Us

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal information, please contact us through our website. All of the available options in terms of voluntary data storage (including the mailing list) and advertisement personalization can be changed in the My Account page. You can also exercise your right to be forgotten on this page. Both of these pages are only accessible to users who have accounts and are signed-in.