Privacy Policy

Last updated: March 2026

Reviewer Like Me ("the Service") respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and your choices regarding your data.

1. Information We Collect

Account information: When you create an account, we collect your email address and a username. Authentication is handled through Firebase Authentication (Google).

Ratings and preferences: We store the game ratings you submit, your console preferences, followed reviewers, and interest lists (want to play / not interested).

Anonymous usage: If you use the Service without an account, your ratings are stored via a browser session identifier. No personally identifiable information is collected for anonymous users.

Automatically collected data: We may collect standard server logs including IP addresses, browser type, and pages visited for security and analytics purposes.

2. How We Use Your Data

  • To calculate and display your reviewer matches based on your ratings
  • To provide personalized game recommendations
  • To maintain and improve the Service
  • To send optional email notifications about new reviews from reviewers you follow (if enabled)
  • To generate aggregate, non-identifying statistics about Service usage

We do not sell, rent, or share your personal data with third parties for marketing purposes.

3. Third-Party Services

The Service uses the following third-party services, each with their own privacy policies:

  • Firebase Authentication (Google): Handles account creation and login
  • Google Analytics: Collects anonymous usage data to help us understand how visitors use the Service. This is only active if you consent to analytics cookies. See our Cookie Policy below.
  • OpenCritic: Source of game data, reviewer profiles, and review scores

We encourage you to review their respective privacy policies.

4. Cookie Policy

This section explains what cookies and similar technologies we use, why we use them, and how you can control them.

What are cookies?

Cookies are small text files stored on your device by your browser. We also use browser local storage and session storage, which serve similar purposes.

Cookies we use

NameTypePurposeDuration
Authentication tokenEssentialKeeps you logged in to your accountSession
themeEssentialRemembers your light/dark mode preferencePersistent
cookie_consentEssentialStores your cookie consent preferencePersistent
anonymous_session_idFunctionalLinks your ratings to your session when not logged in7 days
_ga, _ga_*AnalyticsGoogle Analytics — measures site usage (page views, sessions, traffic sources). Only set if you consent.Up to 2 years

Your choices

When you first visit the Service, a banner asks for your consent before any analytics cookies are set. You can change your preference at any time:

  • Accept: Analytics cookies are enabled, helping us improve the Service
  • Decline: No analytics cookies are set. The Service works fully without them.
  • Change your mind: Clear your browser's cookies for this site or use your browser's cookie settings to remove stored cookies, and the consent banner will reappear on your next visit.

Essential cookies cannot be disabled as they are required for the Service to function.

Google Analytics

We use Google Analytics 4 with Google Consent Mode v2. When you decline analytics cookies, Google Analytics operates in "cookieless" mode and does not store cookies on your device. Data collected by Google Analytics is aggregated and anonymous — it does not identify you personally. We do not enable advertising features, remarketing, or data sharing with Google for advertising purposes.

For more information, see Google's Privacy Policy and Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

5. Data Retention & Deletion

Account data (email, username, ratings, preferences) is retained for as long as your account is active. When you delete your account, all associated data is permanently removed from our systems. Anonymous session data is not permanently stored and expires with your browser session.

6. Data Security

We implement reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your data, including encrypted connections (HTTPS), secure authentication via Firebase, and restricted database access. However, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

7. Your Rights

You have the right to:

  • Access your data — view your ratings, preferences, and profile in your account settings
  • Export your data — download a copy of your account data
  • Delete your data — permanently remove your account and all associated data
  • Correct your data — update your username, email preferences, and ratings at any time

8. Children's Privacy

The Service is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we become aware that a child under 13 has provided us with personal data, we will take steps to delete it.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will indicate the date of the most recent update at the top of this page. Continued use of the Service after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

10. Contact

If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or your data, please contact us at the email address provided on our site.