Privacy Policy

Rivals (a Sports Cafe Media show) ("Rivals", "we", "us", "our") operates rivals.sportscafe.media and related services (the "Site"). This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect when you use the Site, how we use it, who we share it with, and the rights you have over it.

By using the Site you agree to this Policy. If you don't agree, please stop using the Site. This Policy does not override any rights you have under the Australian Privacy Act 1988, GDPR, UK-GDPR, or other applicable data protection laws.

Questions or requests: hello@rivals.sportscafe.media.

Summary

We collect your email when you sign up, account info when you create an account, order details when you buy merch, and basic usage analytics when you browse. We use this information to operate the Site, deliver paid memberships, ship orders, send newsletters you asked for, and improve the product. We share it only with the small set of specialist providers listed below, and we do not sell your data or share it with advertisers. You can access, correct, delete, export, or object to the processing of your data at any time by contacting us.

1. Information we collect

Information you provide

Account information. When you sign up, we collect your email address and any profile information you provide. Authentication is handled by our partner Clerk.

Membership billing. If you subscribe to Rivals membership, payment details are handled by our billing partner Stripe (via Clerk). We do not store full card numbers on our own servers — we only receive limited information such as subscription status, tier, last four digits, and expiry date so we can manage your membership.

Newsletter. When you subscribe to our newsletter, we collect your email address and a record of your consent.

Shop orders. When you purchase merchandise, Shopify collects and processes your shipping address, contact details, and order information. We receive order metadata so we can display order history and support you.

Support and communications. Anything you send us by email or through a contact form on the Site.

Information collected automatically

Usage data. Pages viewed, links clicked, referring page, search terms, and timestamps.

Device data. IP address, browser type and version, device type, operating system, and approximate location derived from IP address.

Cookies and similar technologies. Small files set in your browser, used for authentication, preference storage, and analytics. See Section 4 below.

Information from third parties

If you sign up or log in using a social provider, we receive the email and profile information that provider makes available. If you pay through Stripe via Clerk, Stripe shares limited subscription metadata with us.

2. How we use your information

We use your information to operate and deliver the Site, including serving members-only content to active subscribers; to process subscription payments and manage your membership; to fulfill shop orders and handle returns, refunds, and warranty matters; to send transactional email such as receipts, shipping updates, and account notices; to send newsletters and marketing email when you have subscribed (always with a one-click unsubscribe in every message); to analyse Site usage in aggregate so we can improve the product; to detect and prevent fraud, abuse, or security threats; and to comply with our legal obligations.

3. Legal basis for processing (EU, UK, EEA)

Where the GDPR or UK-GDPR applies, we rely on the following legal bases: contract, to provide the Site, membership, and shop; legitimate interest, to improve the Site, prevent fraud, and secure our infrastructure; consent, for marketing email and non-essential cookies; and legal obligation, to comply with tax, accounting, and consumer protection laws.

4. Cookies and similar technologies

We use three categories of cookies. Essential cookies are required for authentication, cart persistence, and basic site functionality — these cannot be disabled. Analytics cookies (via Google Analytics 4) help us understand how the Site is used in aggregate. Preference cookies remember your cart contents, consent choices, and UI preferences.

Most browsers let you block or delete cookies through their settings. If you block essential cookies, parts of the Site such as login and checkout will not work.

5. Third-party services we use

The Site relies on the following providers. Each has its own privacy policy, which governs the data they handle.

Clerk — authentication and account management. See https://clerk.com/privacy.

Stripe (via Clerk) — subscription billing and payment processing. See https://stripe.com/privacy.

Shopify — physical merchandise storefront, checkout, and fulfillment. See https://www.shopify.com/legal/privacy.

Sanity — content management (article text, episode metadata). No end-user account data is stored in Sanity. See https://www.sanity.io/legal/privacy.

Resend — transactional and newsletter email delivery. See https://resend.com/legal/privacy-policy.

Google Analytics 4 — aggregate usage analytics. See https://policies.google.com/privacy.

Vercel — site hosting. See https://vercel.com/legal/privacy-policy.

YouTube — episodes are embedded from YouTube. When you play an embedded video, YouTube may set its own cookies under Google's policy above.

6. Sharing and disclosure

We do not sell your personal information. We share it only with the service providers listed above, to run the Site on our behalf; with legal authorities when required by applicable law, subpoena, court order, or to protect our rights, users, or the public; and with a buyer or successor entity if we are involved in a merger, acquisition, restructure, or sale of assets — we will notify you before your information is transferred and becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

7. Data retention

Account information is kept for the life of your account. If you delete your account, we delete or anonymise it within 30 days, except where we are required to retain information for legal reasons (for example, tax records in Australia are retained for 7 years).

Order information is retained for as long as required by warranty, consumer protection, and tax obligations, typically 7 years.

Newsletter subscriptions are kept until you unsubscribe, plus a short record of your unsubscribe request so we do not re-add you by mistake.

Aggregated analytics are retained per Google Analytics defaults (currently 26 months) and may then be deleted or further aggregated.

8. Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have some or all of the following rights over your personal information: access, to request a copy of the data we hold about you; correction, to ask us to fix inaccurate or incomplete data; deletion, to ask us to delete your data (subject to legal retention requirements); portability, to receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format; objection, to object to processing based on our legitimate interest; withdraw consent, for anything we process based on consent (this will not affect processing that already took place); and the right to lodge a complaint with your data protection authority (for example, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner in Australia).

To exercise any of these rights, email hello@rivals.sportscafe.media. We will respond within 30 days.

9. International data transfers

Some of our providers (including Clerk, Stripe, Vercel, and Google) may process your data in the United States or other countries outside your own. Where required by law, transfers are supported by Standard Contractual Clauses, the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, or equivalent safeguards.

10. Security

We use industry-standard measures to protect your data, including TLS encryption in transit, encrypted storage at rest, limited internal access on a need-to-know basis, and regular review of our providers. No system is perfectly secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security. If we become aware of a data breach that is likely to cause you serious harm, we will notify you as required by the Australian Notifiable Data Breaches scheme and other applicable laws.

11. Children

The Site is not directed to children under 16 and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, email hello@rivals.sportscafe.media and we will delete it.

12. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the effective date at the top and, for material changes, notify you by email or a notice on the Site at least 30 days before the change takes effect. Your continued use of the Site after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated Policy.

13. Contact

If you have questions, requests, or complaints about this Policy, please email hello@rivals.sportscafe.media.