Privacy policy

Last updated: 6 November 2026

Operator / data controller: Revista GRIND

This policy describes what data we process on grnd.ro, why we process it, and how long we keep it. The text reflects the site's actual technical configuration as of the date above. We do not use tracking cookies for visitors and we do not load third-party analytics scripts on public pages.

1. Who we are

Revista GRIND is the publisher of the grnd.ro site (reviews, news, interviews and the print/digital gaming magazine from Romania). For questions about your personal data, write to redactie@grnd.ro.

Forum.grnd.ro is a separate service with its own privacy policy. What you post there, or the account you create there, is not governed by this document.

2. What data we process and why

2.1. Server access logs (nginx)

When you visit grnd.ro, the server writes an access log. The IP address is anonymised before it is written:

IPv4: the last octet is replaced with 0 (equivalent to /24);
IPv6: the address is reduced to a short prefix (the first groups); the full address is not kept.

The log also contains: the time of the request, the requested path, the response code, the referrer (if any) and the browser's user agent. We do not use cookies to link these records to a person.

Basis: legitimate interest — security, troubleshooting and aggregate statistics.

Retention: nginx logs rotate daily and are deleted after 14 days (logrotate: rotate 14 / maxage 14).

2.2. The public statistics page (`/stats/`)

From the anonymised logs we calculate public totals (unique visitors per day, pages viewed, popular articles). “Uniqueness” within a day is obtained through a SHA-256 hash of the already anonymised IP + user agent + calendar day. We do not publish or keep a list of visitors. Known bots are excluded from these totals.

2.3. The XP / leaderboard widget

The site has a gamification widget (XP HUD). It does not set cookies in the visitor's browser.

Progress (total XP, articles seen/completed, the name you chose, etc.) lives in localStorage on your device, under keys such as grnd.xp.v1 and grnd.run.v1. You can delete everything from the XP panel (“Delete progress on this device”) or from your browser settings.
Data reaches the server only if you press “Save score”: a name you choose (3–12 characters), the session score, the level and the number of articles. The submission uses credentials: 'omit' (no session cookies). The server checks whether the score is plausible for the length of the session and rejects duplicates. IP addresses are not stored in the leaderboard.

2.4. YouTube and Facebook embeds (only after a click)

YouTube clips appear as a facade (thumbnail + button). No YouTube iframe loads until you press “Play video”. After the click, the player comes from youtube-nocookie.com. Likewise, the Facebook page widget loads only after an explicit click. Until then, Google/Meta receive no requests from our page for these embeds. After the click, Google's/Meta's policies apply.

2.5. Old comments (static)

Comments on the articles migrated from WordPress are static content in the page. There is no public form for new comments on grnd.ro at this moment; the message on the site indicates that they will be reopened later.

2.6. Authentication cookies (newsroom only)

The admin panel (admin.grnd.ro) uses Payload session cookies exclusively for newsroom accounts (authors/editors/admins), with SameSite=Lax and the Secure flag on HTTPS. Visitors to the public site do not receive these cookies.

2.7. E-mail

Correspondence to redactie@grnd.ro (and the other @grnd.ro addresses) is handled through Proton. Proton's policy also applies to the messages you send us.

2.8. Hosting

The site runs on a VPS at Romarg (Romania). The logs and files of the site sit on this server.

3. Who we disclose data to

We do not sell personal data. We disclose data only if:

the law obliges us to; or
it is necessary for technical operation (e.g. after you click a YouTube/Facebook embed, the request data reaches that provider).

The public leaderboard shows the name and score that you submitted.

4. Your rights (GDPR)

To the extent that we process data that can identify you, you have the right of access, rectification, erasure, restriction, objection and, where applicable, portability. To exercise them: redactie@grnd.ro.

You can lodge a complaint with ANSPDCP (the National Supervisory Authority for Personal Data Processing): https://www.dataprotection.ro/.

5. Minors

The content is aimed at a broad audience interested in video games. We do not intentionally collect data from children through forms on the public site.

6. Changes

If we substantially change the way we process data, we will update this page and the date above.