Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy describes how Skillhouse Masters Inc. ("Skillhouse," "we," "us," or "our") collects, uses, shares, and protects personal information when you visit skillhousemasters.com, create a Skillhouse account, register for tournaments, use the player portal, or contact us.

This policy works together with our Terms of Service (https://www.skillhousemasters.com/terms). The Terms govern your participation in the events; this policy explains our data practices.

IMPORTANT: Rejecting optional cookies or analytics in our cookie banner does NOT disable sign-in, account creation, tournament registration, security features, one-time passcodes (OTP), or transactional emails we send because you requested an action (for example, email verification or password reset).

Section 1 — WHO WE ARE (DATA CONTROLLER)

30 N Gould St Ste R

Sheridan, WY 82801

United States

Privacy inquiries: support@skillhousemasters.com

Section 2 — INFORMATION WE COLLECT

We collect information you provide directly, information generated when you use the site, and information from service providers we use to run the tournaments.

• Account creation ("Join Skillhouse"): email address, Chess.com username, date of birth, gender, and confirmation that you accepted our Terms and this Privacy Policy.
• Tournament registration and portal: per-event registration choices, payment authorization, and documents required for identity verification.
• Contact form: name, email address, subject, and message content.
• Communications: content of emails or support messages you send us.

• Payments are processed by Stripe. We receive limited payment-related data (for example, payment status, Stripe customer identifiers) — not your full card number.
• Identity verification (KYC) is performed through Didit, which may collect government-issued photo identification and biometric facial data. See Section 7.

• We verify Chess.com account eligibility using Chess.com's public API (username, ratings, game history, and related profile data).
• During the Main event, Chess.com Proctor may record your screen, audio, and video as described in our Terms. That processing is governed by Chess.com's policies as well as ours.

• IP address, browser type, device information, pages visited, and timestamps.
• Server and security logs, including data used for fraud prevention, rate limiting, and troubleshooting.
• Error and performance diagnostics (see Section 5).

See Section 6 (Cookies).

Section 3 — HOW WE USE YOUR INFORMATION

We use personal information to:

• Operate the website, account creation, tournament registration, and player portal.
• Verify eligibility, process entry fees, and administer the prize pool.
• Perform identity verification and integrity checks required for the tournaments.
• Send transactional messages (verification links, OTP codes, registration updates, waitlist promotions, security notices).
• Respond to contact requests and provide customer support.
• Detect, prevent, and address fraud, abuse, and security incidents.
• Comply with legal obligations and enforce our Terms.
• Measure and improve site performance when you accept optional analytics cookies.

We do not use optional analytics cookies to deny you access to core site features if you reject them.

Section 4 — LEGAL BASES (WHERE APPLICABLE)

If you are in the European Economic Area, United Kingdom, or similar jurisdictions, we rely on:

• Contract: processing needed to provide services you request (account creation, tournament registration, payments, portal access).
• Legitimate interests: security, fraud prevention, service improvement, and communications about your account — balanced against your rights.
• Consent: optional analytics cookies and, where required, specific sensitive processing described at signup or in the Terms.
• Legal obligation: compliance with applicable law, tax, and regulatory requirements.

Section 5 — SERVICE PROVIDERS AND SHARING

We share personal information with trusted processors who help us operate the site and tournaments. They may use data only on our instructions:

• Supabase — authentication, database, and hosting infrastructure.
• Stripe — payment processing.
• Didit — identity verification (KYC).
• Chess.com — eligibility verification and proctoring (when you participate in the Main event).
• Resend — transactional email delivery.
• Vercel — website hosting and, if you accept optional cookies, performance analytics (Speed Insights).
• Sentry — error monitoring when configured (we configure it not to send unnecessary personal data).
• Upstash — rate limiting and abuse prevention.

We may also disclose information if required by law, to protect rights and safety, or in connection with a merger or asset sale (with notice where required).

We do not sell your personal information for money. If we later use tools that qualify as "sharing" for cross-context behavioral advertising under U.S. state law, we will update this policy and provide required opt-out mechanisms.

Section 6 — COOKIES AND SIMILAR TECHNOLOGIES

We use cookies and local storage to operate the site. You can control optional analytics through our cookie banner ("Accept" or "Reject All") and "Cookie settings" in the site footer.

• Authentication session cookies (Supabase) — keep you signed in.
• sh_rid — registration flow continuity.
• Security and load-balancing related storage.

• cookie-consent / localStorage cookie-consent-v1 — stores your optional analytics choice.

• Vercel Speed Insights — aggregated performance metrics.
• Future analytics tools (for example, Google Analytics) if we enable them — will be listed here and controlled by the same banner.

Rejecting optional cookies does not prevent login, account creation, tournament registration, OTP delivery, or transactional email.

Section 7 — SENSITIVE AND BIOMETRIC DATA

Didit may collect biometric identifiers (such as a facial scan) and government ID images to verify identity, as described in our Terms (Article VIII). Chess.com Proctor may collect screen, audio, and video recordings during Main Tournament competition (Article IX).

We use this information only for tournament integrity, eligibility, and legal compliance. Declining required verification steps means you cannot complete paid registration or compete for prizes, but that is separate from rejecting optional analytics cookies.

Section 8 — RETENTION

We retain personal information for as long as needed to provide services, resolve disputes, enforce agreements, and meet legal, tax, and audit requirements. Specific retention periods may vary by data type (for example, account records, tournament registration records, payment records, and logs). Contact us to ask about retention for your account.

Section 9 — SECURITY

We use administrative, technical, and organizational measures appropriate to the nature of the data we process, including encryption in transit, access controls, and monitoring. No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure.

Section 10 — INTERNATIONAL TRANSFERS

We are based in the United States. If you access the site from other countries, your information may be processed in the U.S. and where our service providers operate. Where required, we rely on appropriate safeguards for cross-border transfers.

Section 11 — YOUR RIGHTS AND CHOICES

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you.
• Correct inaccurate information.
• Delete information (subject to legal and contractual exceptions).
• Object to or restrict certain processing.
• Withdraw consent for optional cookies (via the cookie banner or Cookie settings).
• Portability of certain data.
• Lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority (EEA/UK).

California residents may have additional rights under the CCPA/CPRA, including to know, delete, and correct personal information. We do not sell personal information for monetary consideration. If our practices change, we will update this policy.

To exercise rights, email support@skillhousemasters.com with your request and enough information to verify your identity. We will respond within timeframes required by applicable law.

Section 12 — CHILDREN

The tournaments are open only to adults as set out in our Terms (minimum age 18, or higher in certain states). We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under the applicable minimum age.

Section 13 — CHANGES TO THIS POLICY

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post the new version on this page with an updated effective date and version number. Material changes may be communicated by email or site notice where appropriate.

Section 14 — CONTACT

30 N Gould St Ste R, Sheridan, WY 82801

Email: support@skillhousemasters.com

For Terms of Service: https://www.skillhousemasters.com/terms