Legal

Privacy Policy

Last updated: April 29, 2026

This policy explains what personal data 17th Empire collects, how we use it, and the rights you have over it.

1. Information We Collect

When you create an account, we collect your name, email address, and password (stored as a secure hash).
When you register as a contestant, we collect your stage name, bio, photo, category, and optional social media handles.
When you make a payment — whether a registration fee or a vote purchase — our payment processor (Paystack) collects your card or bank details. 17th Empire never stores raw payment credentials.
We collect usage data including pages visited, contest activity, vote history, and device/browser information to improve our platform.

To operate and personalise your experience on the platform.
To process payments and maintain accurate voting records.
To send transactional emails such as registration confirmations, voting receipts, and prize notifications.
To detect and prevent fraudulent or manipulated voting activity.
To send optional marketing communications if you have opted in. You may opt out at any time.

We do not sell your personal data to third parties.
We share limited data with service providers who operate on our behalf, including Paystack (payments), Supabase (database), and Vercel (hosting). These providers are contractually bound to protect your data.
Contestant profiles — including stage name, photo, and vote count — are visible to the public as part of contest leaderboards.
We may disclose data if required by law, court order, or to protect the rights and safety of 17th Empire and its users.

Account data is retained for as long as your account is active.
Payment transaction records are retained for a minimum of 7 years to comply with financial record-keeping obligations.
If you delete your account, your personal data is removed within 30 days, except where retention is required by law.

We use session cookies to keep you logged in and functional cookies to remember your preferences.
We use analytics cookies to understand how our platform is used. These may be managed through your browser settings.
We do not use advertising or tracking cookies from third-party ad networks.

You have the right to access, correct, or delete the personal data we hold about you.
You have the right to object to or restrict certain types of processing.
You may export your data at any time from Dashboard → Settings → Account.
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@17thempire.com.

All data is transmitted over HTTPS with TLS encryption.
Passwords are hashed using industry-standard algorithms and are never stored in plaintext.
We conduct regular security reviews of our platform and infrastructure.
Despite our efforts, no system is completely secure. If you suspect a security issue, please report it to security@17thempire.com.

17th Empire is not intended for children under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 16.
Contestants aged 16–17 must have parental or guardian consent before registering.
If we discover we have collected data from a child under 16 without consent, we will delete it promptly.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the “Last Updated” date at the top of this page.
For significant changes, we will notify you by email or via an in-app notice before the changes take effect.

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your data, contact us at privacy@17thempire.com or through our Contact page.

Questions? Contact us