This Privacy Policy explains how KaosMetal ("KaosMetal", "we", "us", "our") collects, uses, shares and protects personal data when you visit kaosmetal.com (the "Site") or use our services. We handle personal data in line with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other applicable data-protection laws.
1. Who We Are
KaosMetal is a heavy metal news site and music database: band and album pages, ratings and reviews from critics and fans, news, editorial articles, a newsletter and a community of registered users. The data controller is KaosMetal. For any privacy request, use our contact form.
2. Information We Collect
2.1 Information you give us
- Account data — name or display name, email address, password (stored encrypted), and, if you sign in with Google, the basic profile data Google shares with us (name, email, avatar).
- Profile data — country and city (used for community features and aggregated fan statistics), genre preferences, avatar.
- Content you create — ratings, reviews, comments, photos, band follows, corrections you submit, contact-form messages.
- Newsletter — your email address and the genres you choose to receive news about.
- Payment data — if you buy a subscription or product, payment is processed by our payment provider (Stripe). We never see or store full card numbers.
2.2 Information collected automatically
- Technical data — IP address, browser and device type, operating system, referring page, pages viewed, time spent.
- Approximate location — derived from your IP address (country level) to show relevant content and advertising.
- Cookies and similar technologies — see our Cookie Policy.
2.3 Information from third parties
- Google sign-in — basic profile data when you choose to log in with Google.
- Public sources — the music database (bands, albums, lineups) is built from public sources and does not concern our users' personal data.
3. How We Use Your Information
- To run the Site: accounts, ratings, reviews, comments, follows.
- To calculate and display aggregated, non-identifying statistics (for example, how many fans a band has per country).
- To send the newsletter you subscribed to. Every email carries an unsubscribe link.
- To answer your messages and requests.
- To keep the Site safe: spam prevention, abuse detection, security logs.
- To show advertising, including advertising selected by country.
- To process payments for paid services and to keep the records the law requires.
- To measure and improve the Site.
4. Legal Bases (GDPR)
- Contract — providing the account and the services you asked for.
- Consent — newsletter, non-essential cookies, optional profile fields. You can withdraw consent at any time.
- Legitimate interests — security, spam prevention, aggregated statistics, improving the Site, showing our own and partners' advertising in a way that respects your rights.
- Legal obligation — accounting and tax records for paid services.
5. How We Share Your Information
5.1 With other users
Your display name, avatar, ratings, reviews, comments and public profile fields are visible to other visitors. Your email address is never shown publicly.
5.2 With service providers
Hosting, email delivery, payment processing (Stripe), analytics, anti-spam services and, where applicable, print-on-demand partners for merchandise. They process data only on our instructions.
5.3 With advertising partners
Advertising on the Site may be served by us directly or by third-party networks (for example Google AdSense) that may use cookies. See the Cookie Policy for how to opt out.
5.4 For legal reasons
When required by law, to enforce our Terms, or to protect the rights and safety of users and the public.
6. International Transfers
Some providers are located outside the European Economic Area. Where that is the case, transfers rely on adequacy decisions or standard contractual clauses approved by the European Commission.
7. Data Retention
Account data is kept while your account is active and deleted or anonymised within 90 days of a deletion request, except where the law requires longer retention (for example invoices). Public contributions (ratings, reviews, comments) may remain in anonymised form after account deletion, so the aggregated scores stay consistent. Server logs are kept for up to 12 months.
8. Your Rights
You can ask to access, correct, delete or export your data, to restrict or object to processing, and to withdraw consent. You can also complain to your national data-protection authority. Use the contact form; we answer within 30 days.
9. Children
The Site is not intended for children under 16. We do not knowingly collect data from them; if you believe a child has created an account, contact us and we will delete it.
10. Security
We use HTTPS, encrypted passwords, access controls and regular backups. No system is perfectly secure; if a breach affects your data, we will inform you as the law requires.
11. Third-Party Links
The Site links to external sites (band pages, labels, stores, news sources). Their privacy practices are their own.
12. Changes
We may update this policy. The dates at the top show the current version; material changes are announced on the Site.
13. Contact
KaosMetal — via the contact form.