Privacy Policy | Namewheel

1. Our Commitment to Your Privacy

Welcome to Namewheel (the "Site"). We, the team behind Namewheel ("we", "our"), deeply value your privacy and are committed to protecting it. This Privacy Policy transparently details how we collect, use, store, and protect the personal information you provide when interacting with our online wheel tool (the "Service").

For the purposes of the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Brazil's General Data Protection Law (LGPD), Namewheel acts as the Controller of your personal data. Our main goal is to offer a useful and fun tool, minimizing data collection to what is strictly necessary for the Service's operation.

The fundamental principle of Namewheel is Privacy by Design. By default, the names, colors, settings, and other data you enter into the wheel are processed and stored exclusively in your own browser using local storage technology (localStorage). This means we do not have access to, do not store, and do not create a database of your wheels on our servers.

2. Legal Basis for Data Processing

The processing of your personal information is always based on a valid legal basis, depending on the specific context of the collection. The legal bases we use are:

Performance of a Contract: We process the data you enter (such as names on the wheel) to fulfill our part of the "contract" to provide the core functionality of the Service. Without processing this data locally in your browser, the wheel simply would not work.
Consent: We request your explicit consent through a Consent Management Platform (CMP) before activating cookies for personalized advertising and performance analytics. You have full control to accept, reject, or customize your choices.
Legitimate Interests: We collect aggregated and anonymized usage data to understand how our Service is used, identify problems, prevent fraud, and improve the user experience. We conduct this collection in a way that ensures our legitimate interests do not override your fundamental rights and freedoms.
Legal Obligation: In rare circumstances, we may be required to process or share your data to comply with a legal obligation, such as a court order or other valid governmental request.

3. What Data We Collect and Why

Data collection on Namewheel is divided into two main categories: information you actively provide to us and information collected automatically during your visit.

Data You Provide Directly

Wheel Content: This includes the names, texts, colors, and settings you define to customize your wheel.
Purpose: To render and operate the wheel according to your specifications. Where it's stored: Exclusively in your browser's local storage. We do not have access to this data.
Communications and Feedback: If you contact us via email, we will collect your email address and the content of your message.
Purpose: To answer your questions, provide support, and use your feedback to improve the Service. Retention: Communications are retained for up to 24 months for reference and then deleted.

Data Collected Automatically

Analytics and Usage Data: We collect technical information about your visit, such as the pages you access, time spent on the site, browser type and operating system, and anonymized IP address (with city-level precision, never the full IP).
Purpose: Using Google Analytics, we analyze this data in aggregate to understand user behavior, optimize site performance, and improve the overall experience.
Cookies and Similar Technologies: We use cookies for essential functionalities, analytics, and advertising.
Purpose: To save your preferences (like dark/light theme and language), perform usage analysis, and, with your consent, display relevant ads to fund the site's maintenance.

4. Cookies, Advertising, and Your Choices

Cookies are small text files stored in your browser that help us operate and monetize Namewheel. We are transparent about their use and give you control over them.

Our Partnership with Google

To keep Namewheel free, we display ads through Google AdSense. As part of this service, Google may use cookies to collect information about your visits to this and other websites to provide more relevant ads about goods and services of interest to you. This process is known as personalized advertising.

DoubleClick DART Cookie: Google uses the DART cookie to serve ads to users based on their visits to our site and other sites on the Internet.
Your Control: You may opt out of the use of the DART cookie for interest-based advertising by visiting the Google Ad Settings page.

Consent Management Platform (CMP)

When you first visit our site, you will see a cookie consent banner (CMP). This banner allows you to:

Accept all cookies for the full experience.
Reject non-essential cookies (for analytics and advertising). In this case, you may still see ads, but they will not be personalized based on your browsing data.
Customize your choices by enabling or disabling specific cookie categories.

If you wish to change your preferences after giving initial consent, you can clear your browser's cookies for our site. This will cause the consent banner to reappear on your next visit.

5. Data Sharing and Processors

We do not sell your personal information. However, to operate the Service, we share data with the following partners (processors), who have committed to upholding strict data protection standards:

Google LLC: We use Google Analytics for usage analysis (with IP anonymization enabled) and Google AdSense for serving ads. Data collected by Google is subject to its own Privacy Policy.
Netlify, Inc.: Our site is hosted on Netlify, which processes technical data (such as access and deployment logs) to provide its hosting and CDN services. Their policy can be found here.

These providers are essential for the site's operation, and we take steps to ensure their privacy practices align with our principles and applicable law.

6. Data Security and Retention

The security of your data is a priority. We implement technical and organizational measures to protect your information, including:

Encryption in Transit: All traffic between your browser and our servers is encrypted using HTTPS/TLS.
Restricted Access: Access to administrative systems and analytics data is strictly limited to our team.
Privacy by Default: As mentioned, your sensitive wheel data never leaves your device.

Regarding retention, we keep data only for as long as necessary:

Wheel Data (in your browser): Retained until you clear your browser's cache/storage.
Analytics Data (Google Analytics): Retained for a standard period of 14 months for long-term trend analysis.
Email Communications: Retained for up to 24 months.

7. Your Data Protection Rights

Under GDPR and LGPD, you have rights over your personal information. These are:

Right of Access: The right to request a copy of the information we hold about you.
Right to Rectification: The right to correct data you believe is inaccurate or incomplete.
Right to Erasure (or "Right to be Forgotten"): The right to request the deletion of your personal information, under certain conditions.
Right to Restrict Processing: The right to request that the processing of your data be limited.
Right to Data Portability: The right to receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
Right to Object to Processing: The right to object to the processing of your data, especially for direct marketing purposes.
Right to Withdraw Consent: At any time, you can withdraw the consent you gave us to process your data (e.g., for personalized advertising).

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at namewheel.contact@gmail.com with the subject "Data Rights Request." To protect your privacy, we may request identity verification before processing your request.

8. Other Important Provisions

International Data Transfers

Our partners, such as Google and Netlify, operate globally. This means your analytics and technical data may be processed on servers located outside your country of residence, including the United States. We ensure such transfers occur only to locations that offer an adequate level of data protection or through valid legal mechanisms, such as the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses.

Children's Privacy

Our Service is not intended for children under the age of 13 (or the equivalent minimum age in your jurisdiction). We do not knowingly collect personal information from minors. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with data, please contact us immediately so we can take the necessary steps to remove it.

Changes to This Policy

The digital world is always changing, and our Privacy Policy may change too. If we make significant changes, we will notify you through a prominent notice on our site and update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. We recommend you review this policy periodically.