Privacy Policy

Pick 'Em Technologies ("we," "our," or "us") operates the Pick 'Em Sports™ mobile application and the website pickemsports.co (collectively, the "Service"). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our Service.

Pick 'Em Sports™ is a free, non-gambling fan prediction platform. No real money is wagered, no entry fees are charged, and no cash prizes or awards of redeemable monetary value are offered by Pick 'Em Technologies. Sponsors of leagues within the Service may independently offer non-monetary prizes such as fan experiences, merchandise, or event access at their sole discretion.

By accessing or using the Service, you agree to this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with the terms of this Privacy Policy, please do not access the Service.

1.Information We Collect

1.1 Information You Provide Directly

When you create an account and use Pick 'Em Sports™, we may collect:

• Account information: your display name, email address, phone number (optional), and profile photo (if provided)
• Authentication data: credentials used to create and access your account, including information from third-party sign-in providers (e.g., Sign in with Apple, Google Sign-In)
• User-generated content: your picks, predictions, league memberships, favorite teams, rivalry connections, messages you post in league chat, and any other content you create within the Service
• Communications: any messages you send to us for support or feedback

1.2 Information Collected Automatically

When you use the Service, we automatically collect:

• Device information: device model, operating system and version, app version, language and time zone settings, and a random identifier the app creates when it is installed. This identifier is not a hardware identifier and is not your device's advertising identifier.
• Usage data: screens viewed, features used, picks made, leagues joined, and the times of this activity
• Approximate location: the country, state or region, and city we estimate from your IP address when the app sends usage data. We do not store your IP address with this usage data, and we never collect your precise (GPS) location.
• Performance data: app crash reports, load times, and diagnostic information
• Push notification tokens: device tokens used to deliver push notifications
• Server logs: like most online services, our hosting provider records the IP address of each request in its standard logs, which we use for security and troubleshooting

We send this usage data to our own analytics system, which we run on Google Cloud. The app also sends usage and crash data to Google Analytics for Firebase and Firebase Crashlytics (Section 1.3). Approximate location is estimated using IP Geolocation by DB-IP, a database we keep on our own servers, so your IP address is not sent to DB-IP.

1.3 Information from Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services that may collect information:

• Firebase Authentication (Google LLC): for account creation and sign-in
• Sign in with Apple (Apple Inc.) and Google Sign-In (Google LLC): if you choose to sign in with them
• Cloud Firestore and Cloud Storage for Firebase (Google LLC): for data storage, including profile photos
• Google BigQuery (Google LLC): for storing our own usage analytics described in Section 1.2
• Firebase Cloud Messaging (Google LLC): for push notifications
• Google Analytics for Firebase (Google LLC): for usage analytics
• Firebase Crashlytics (Google LLC): for crash reporting and diagnostics
• Google AdMob (Google LLC): for banner ads (see Section 1.4)
• Amazon Simple Email Service (Amazon Web Services, Inc.): for delivering the emails we send you

Earlier versions of the app also sent usage data to PostHog (PostHog, Inc.), an analytics provider we no longer use. Updating the app stops this.

1.4 Advertising

Some screens in the app show banner ads served by Google AdMob. These ads help keep Pick 'Em Sports™ free.

• Non-personalized ads only. We ask Google for non-personalized ads. Google chooses them from things like the screen they appear on and your general location, not from a profile of your interests or activity in other apps.
• What Google receives. To show an ad, measure it, and prevent fraud, Google's ad software receives your device's IP address, information about your device, the ads you see and tap, and diagnostic data. We do not give Google your name, email address, phone number, or account details for advertising.
• iPhone and iPad. The app does not ask for permission to track you, so your device's advertising identifier (IDFA) is not available to the app or to Google.
• Android. Google's ad software can read your device's advertising ID, which Google uses for frequency limits, measurement, and fraud prevention. You can reset or delete your advertising ID in your device's settings.

Google's own use of this information is described at policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.

2.How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Provide, operate, and maintain the Service
• Process and record your picks, predictions, and scores using our proprietary scoring system
• Calculate leaderboards, standings, and performance analytics
• Administer leagues, including official leagues, fan-created leagues, and sponsored leagues
• Send push notifications, including pick reminders, score updates, league announcements, rivalry updates, and sponsored league communications (see Section 5)
• Send emails, such as account and password messages, weekly recaps, newsletters, and news about the Service. Every recap, newsletter, and announcement email has an unsubscribe link.
• Show non-personalized banner ads (see Section 1.4)
• Respond to your support requests and communications
• Monitor and analyze usage trends to improve the Service
• Detect, prevent, and address technical issues, fraud, or abuse
• Comply with legal obligations

3.How We Store Your Information

Your data is stored on Google Cloud servers in the United States: account and app data in Cloud Firestore, profile photos in Cloud Storage for Firebase, and usage analytics in Google BigQuery. We employ the following data protection measures:

• Personally identifiable information (PII) is stored in access-restricted private subcollections, separate from publicly visible profile data
• Firestore Security Rules enforce strict read/write access controls at the document level
• Authentication is required for all data access
• Data is encrypted in transit (TLS) and at rest by Google
• Usage analytics cannot be read from the app or website; only our administrators and our own servers can query them

4.Data Retention and Deletion

We retain your information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you the Service. Some information has a fixed limit, whether or not your account is active:

• Usage analytics (Section 1.2) are deleted automatically two years after the activity they record.
• Server logs are deleted automatically after 30 days.
• League chat messages are deleted automatically 90 days after they are posted.

Account Deletion. You may delete your account at any time through the app's Settings screen. If you cannot use the app, email us from the address on your account (see Section 12) and we will delete it for you. When you request account deletion, we perform a cascading deletion that removes your data across all categories, including: your user profile, authentication record, profile photo, all picks and predictions, league memberships, leaderboard entries, rivalry data, notification tokens, the usage analytics tied to your account, and other content tied to your account. Messages you posted in league chat are removed with your account, along with the reactions and reports you made on other members' messages. What other members wrote about you in their own messages is theirs and stays until the 90 day schedule above removes it. This deletion is permanent and cannot be undone.

Timing. Account deletion is processed promptly upon request. Usage analytics tied to your account are removed at the same time, or usually by the next day for activity from the last hour or so. Some residual data may persist in encrypted backups for a limited period consistent with our backup retention schedule, after which it is permanently removed. Information Google holds for Google Analytics for Firebase, Crashlytics, and AdMob is kept under those services' own retention periods.

5.Sponsored Leagues and Sponsor Notifications

Pick 'Em Sports™ features sponsored leagues, which are leagues associated with a brand sponsor ("Sponsor"). By joining a sponsored league, you affirmatively consent to receive push notifications from the Sponsor, delivered through the Pick 'Em Sports™ platform.

Key details about sponsor notifications:

• Sponsor notifications are delivered exclusively through our Service via push notifications. We do not share your email address, phone number, device identifiers, or any other personal information directly with Sponsors.
• Sponsors provide notification content to us; we deliver it to members of their sponsored league through our notification infrastructure.
• You may stop receiving sponsor notifications at any time by leaving the sponsored league. Upon leaving, sponsor notifications for that league will cease.
• You may also manage notification preferences in your device's system settings or within the app's notification settings.
• Each sponsored league clearly identifies its Sponsor at the time you join.

6.Disclosure of Your Information

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information, and we do not share it for targeted advertising based on your activity in other apps or websites. We may share your information only in the following limited circumstances:

• Public Profile Data. Your display name, profile photo, picks, scores, league standings, and rivalry statistics are visible to other users of the Service as part of normal platform functionality. Messages you post in league chat are visible to the members of that league.
• Service Providers. We share data with third-party service providers who perform services on our behalf: Google for hosting, sign-in, storage, analytics, and crash reports; Apple for Sign in with Apple and push notification delivery; and Amazon Web Services for email delivery. These providers are contractually obligated to use your data only as necessary to provide services to us.
• Advertising. Google AdMob receives the device and ad information described in Section 1.4 so it can show and measure ads and prevent fraud, and it may use that information as its own policy describes.
• Sponsors (Aggregated/De-Identified Only). We may share aggregated, de-identified statistics with league Sponsors (e.g., total number of league members, engagement metrics). This information cannot be used to identify any individual user.
• Legal Requirements. We may disclose your information if required by law, court order, or governmental regulation, or if we believe disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, your safety, or the safety of others.
• Business Transfers. In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or a portion of our assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you via the Service or email of any change in ownership or uses of your personal information.

7.Your Rights and Choices

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the following rights regarding your personal information:

• Access: Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you
• Correction: Request correction of inaccurate personal information
• Deletion: Request deletion of your personal information (see Section 4)
• Opt-Out of Notifications: Manage push notification preferences through your device settings, app settings, or by leaving sponsored leagues
• Opt-Out of Emails: Use the unsubscribe link in any recap, newsletter, or announcement email
• Advertising ID: On Android, reset or delete your advertising ID in your device's settings
• Data Portability: Request your data in a portable format, where technically feasible

The app does not currently have a setting to turn off usage analytics. Deleting your account removes the usage analytics tied to it (see Section 4).

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at the address provided in Section 12.

8.Children's Privacy

Pick 'Em Sports™ is not directed to children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child under 13 has provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately and we will take steps to delete such information.

Users between the ages of 13 and 17 may use the Service with the consent of a parent or legal guardian. The parent or guardian is responsible for supervising the minor's use of the Service.

9.Security

We implement commercially reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information, including:

• Firebase Security Rules enforcing document-level access control
• Encryption in transit (TLS/SSL) and at rest
• Separation of PII into restricted-access data stores
• Automated tests of our access rules before every change to them
• Regular security auditing of access rules and data schemas

No method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially reasonable means to protect your information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

10.Third-Party Links, Services, and Trademarks

The Service may contain links to third-party websites or services that are not operated by us. We have no control over, and assume no responsibility for, the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third-party services. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party services you visit.

The Service displays names, logos, and trademarks of third-party sports leagues, teams, and organizations for identification purposes only. All such marks are the property of their respective owners. Their use within the Service does not imply any affiliation with, endorsement by, or data-sharing relationship with those third parties beyond what is described in this Privacy Policy.

11.Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any material changes by posting the updated Privacy Policy within the Service and updating the "Last Updated" date at the top of this document. For material changes, we may also provide notice via push notification or email.

Your continued use of the Service after any changes to this Privacy Policy constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

12.Contact Us

If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, or wish to exercise your data rights, please contact us at: