Privacy Policy

Last updated: March 2026

This Privacy Policy describes how OldSchoolGames.eu ("we", "us", "our") collects, uses, and protects your personal data when you use this website. We are committed to protecting your privacy, and this policy is written to describe the site accurately rather than to claim more than it does. It follows the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and applicable EU/Czech data protection law, with one departure we would rather name than bury: the analytics cookies in section 2(b) are set on your first visit, before you are asked. That section says what they are and how to refuse them.

1. Data Controller

The data controller responsible for this website is:
RobLib
Czech Republic
Email: contact@oldschoolgames.eu

2. What Data We Collect

a) Comments

Anyone can post a comment without creating an account. When you post a comment, we store the comment text, an optional display name (nickname) you provide, and a timestamp. If no nickname is given, the comment is posted as anonymous. Comments are publicly visible.

b) Usage data (Google Analytics)

We use Google Analytics 4 to understand how visitors use the site. This service collects anonymized information including pages visited, time spent on pages, device type, and approximate geographic location (country/region level). IP addresses are anonymized. Google Analytics sets cookies in your browser. For more information, see Google's Privacy Policy.

These cookies are set on every visit, and they are set without asking you first — this site shows no consent banner. If you would rather they were not set, you can block them in your browser's settings, refuse third-party or all cookies for this site, or use one of the browser extensions that block analytics scripts — the site works exactly the same either way, and nothing here checks whether analytics loaded. Clearing this site's cookies removes them again.

c) Browser-local storage (favorites & recently played)

Your favorite games and recently played games are stored in your browser's localStorage as a list of game identifiers. The list never leaves your device except to ask our server for the current title and artwork of those games, and we do not store or link that request to you.

d) Game ratings

Ratings are attributed to a first-party cookie (osg_vid) containing a randomly generated identifier that expires after one year. It is set on your first page view rather than when you actually vote — it has to already be there for the stars to show you a rating you gave earlier — and it exists solely so that one browser counts as one vote. It contains no personal data and is not used for advertising or for tracking across other sites. When you do rate a game we also store the IP address of that vote for abuse prevention, and delete it again after 90 days. Deleting the cookie simply lets you rate again.

e) Cookies the site itself needs

Two more first-party cookies are set for the site to work at all. Neither is used for analytics, advertising or tracking across other sites, and neither carries anything about you.

  • osg_csrf — a random value set on your first page view and kept for one month. Every form on this site has to echo it back, which is what stops another website submitting a comment, a rating or an administrator's form on your behalf. It identifies nobody: it is the same kind of random number as a coin toss, and it is read only to compare it against what a form sent.
  • connect.sid — set only when an administrator logs in, and cleared when they log out. It holds nothing but a reference to a server-side session, expires after 30 days, and is never set for ordinary visitors.

Both are strictly necessary for the site to function and are listed here for completeness rather than because they are optional — blocking them means forms and logging in stop working.

f) Abuse prevention and server logs

Every request to this site is counted against a limit, so that one visitor cannot flood the comment form, the rating stars or the login page. The counter is keyed by your IP address, which means the address is briefly stored in our database alongside a number of requests and an expiry time. Nothing else is recorded with it, it is never linked to your comments, ratings or analytics data, and it is deleted within 25 minutes — the longest counting window is 15 minutes and expired entries are swept away every 10.

The server also writes one line per request to its log — the method and the address requested, which for a search includes the words you searched for. These lines carry no IP address and nothing else identifying you. They go to our hosting provider's log collector, which discards them on its own schedule; we keep no copy of our own.

3. Legal Basis for Processing

  • Comments: Legitimate interest (enabling community interaction; no account or personal data required)
  • Strictly necessary cookies (osg_csrf, osg_vid, connect.sid): Necessary for the service you asked for — form protection, one vote per browser, and keeping an administrator logged in. They store no personal data.
  • Abuse prevention (the IP address behind a rate-limit counter, and the IP address recorded with a rating): Legitimate interest in keeping the site usable — protecting the comment form, the rating stars and the login page from flooding. Both are kept for no longer than that needs: minutes for the counter, 90 days for a vote.
  • Google Analytics: Legitimate interest in knowing how many people visit the site and which games they look at, so it can be maintained and improved. The reports behind it are aggregate visitor counts; no attempt is made to identify anyone or to follow a visitor across other sites.

4. Data Sharing

We do not sell or rent your personal data. We share anonymized usage data with Google via Google Analytics. Our hosting provider stores the site's database and collects its server logs on our behalf, as a processor acting under our instructions. No other third parties receive your personal data.

5. Data Retention

  • Comments: Retained until an administrator removes them. Because comments are posted without an account, we have no way to link them to you after submission — if you need a comment removed, please contact us.
  • Game ratings: The rating itself is kept for as long as the game is listed. The IP address recorded alongside it is deleted after 90 days — the rating, which carries no personal data, stays.
  • Play counts: A record that a game was started (the game and the time, nothing identifying you) is kept for 12 months and then deleted.
  • Rate-limit counters: The IP address behind a counter is deleted within 25 minutes of your last request — see 2f) above.
  • Server logs: Kept by our hosting provider on their own schedule; they contain no IP address and we keep no copy.
  • Cookies: osg_vid expires after one year, osg_csrf after one month, and an administrator's connect.sid after 30 days or when they log out, whichever comes first. Clearing this site's cookies removes all three immediately.
  • Google Analytics: Retained for 14 months per Google's default settings.

6. Your Rights (GDPR)

Under GDPR, you have the following rights:

  • Right of access — request a copy of your personal data
  • Right to rectification — request correction of inaccurate data
  • Right to erasure — request deletion of your personal data ("right to be forgotten")
  • Right to restrict processing
  • Right to data portability
  • Right to object to processing based on legitimate interest

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at contact@oldschoolgames.eu. We will respond within 30 days.

7. Security

All data is transmitted over HTTPS. We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your data against unauthorised access.

8. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The "last updated" date at the top of this page will reflect any changes. Continued use of the site after changes constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

9. Contact

For any privacy-related questions or requests, email us at contact@oldschoolgames.eu.