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# Cookies, analytics, privacy, rules, terms, legal and conditions information.

## techtalk.cc – a small non-commercial hobby forum / website.

### 1. Privacy Policy

#### Who we are

Website:
https://techtalk.cc (and all subdomains)

Data controller:
The site owner(s) (private individual(s))
Contact email for all privacy requests: privacy " AT " techtalk.cc
No Data Protection Officer (DPO) is appointed – the processing is small in scale and exempt under GDPR Article 37.

#### What personal data we collect

Browsing without an account:
- IP address (anonymised where possible)
- Browser / device information
- Pages visited, date / time, referrer
- Cloudflare security and performance data
- Cloudflare web analytics data (as far as we know is privacy friendly, no unnecessary cookies, no fingerprinting)

When you register or post (if the phpBB forum is active):
- Username
- Email address
- Password
- IP address at registration, login and with every post
- All content you submit (posts, private messages, attachments, etc.)
- Strictly necessary session cookies

When using the contact form or sending private messages, your IP address is logged and included in the email to administrators. Legal basis: Legitimate interests (preventing abuse and ensuring security, per Recital 49 GDPR). Retention: IPs are kept only as long as necessary for administrative review.

#### Cookies

We only use strictly necessary and essential cookies:
- phpBB cookies – keeps you logged in and other forum functions
- Cloudflare security cookies – bot and other attacks protection

Regarding Cloudflare security cookies:
For website security (protecting against bots, threats and attacks), we use essential cookies like cf_clearance. These are strictly necessary and don't store personal data, so they don't require consent.

How to delete them yourself:
You can manually remove cf_clearance (and others) from your browser:
- Chrome/Firefox: Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Cookies > Search for "techtalk.cc" > Delete all.
- Use DevTools (F12 > Application > Cookies > Right-click > Delete).
- For full reset: Clear browsing data for our site (includes cache / cookies).

#### Cookies

We only use strictly necessary cookies. These are exempt from consent requirements. No tracking or analytics cookies are set as far as we know. You can view, block or delete these cookies anytime in your browser settings.

- PHPSESSID (or similar): Keeps you logged and website functions in during your visit.
- cf_clearance: Proof you passed Cloudflare's security check (prevents bots, DDoS, etc.), up to 12 months. Cloudflare security cookies are classified as strictly necessary for the security and basic functioning of the site. They do not contain personal data such as name, email, or IP address.
- __cf_bm (if present): Short-lived bot protection.

More details:
Cloudflare cookies documentation: https://developers.cloudflare.com/fundamentals/reference/policies-compliances/cloudflare-cookies/

You can remove these cookies at any time in your browser:
- Chrome / Edge / Firefox / Safari → Settings → Privacy & Security → Cookies / Site data → search for "techtalk.cc" → Remove all
- Or press F12 → Application / Storage → Cookies → techtalk.cc → right-click → Clear
- Fastest: "Clear browsing data" → select “Cookies and other site data” → limit to techtalk.cc

If you have submitted a data deletion request, we most probably have already removed all personal data we store. As far we know, no analytics, advertising or tracking cookies are used.

#### Purposes and legal basis (GDPR)

| Purpose                                    | Legal basis                            |
|--------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------|
| Provide account and forum features         | Performance of contract (Art. 6(1)(b)) |
| Display your posts and profile             | Performance of contract (Art. 6(1)(b)) |
| Security, moderation, fraud prevention     | Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f))    |
| DDoS protection & performance (Cloudflare) | Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f))    |
| Privacy friendly web analytics             | Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f))    |
|_____________________________________________________________________________________|

A short Legitimate Interest Assessment (LIA) has been carried out – the minimal processing is necessary and proportionate for a small hobby forum.

#### Cloudflare (data processor)

We use Cloudflare for CDN, DDoS protection, Zero Trust tunnelling and privacy friendly web analytics. Cloudflare may process IP addresses and request metadata. We have concluded Cloudflare's Data Processing Addendum (DPA) with Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs). Cloudflare is certified under the EU–U.S. Data Privacy Framework. Details: https://www.cloudflare.com/privacypolicy/
Cloudflare Web Analytics is designed to be privacy-first and does not collect or store personal data such as IP addresses, cookies, or any other identifiers that could be linked to an individual. IP addresses are removed at the edge before any data is aggregated or stored. Therefore, we do not possess any personal data relating to you from Cloudflare web analytics and there is nothing to delete in response to your request as far as we know. Reference: https://developers.cloudflare.com/analytics/web-analytics/privacy/.

#### Sharing & international transfers

Your data is not sold or shared with any third party except Cloudflare. Data processed by Cloudflare may be transferred outside the EEA under SCCs and the EU–U.S. Data Privacy Framework.

#### Retention periods

| Data                         | Retention                                                                |
|------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Account data, posts, profile | Until you delete your account or request erasure                         |
| IP addresses logged by phpBB | Until you delete your account or request erasure (security / moderation) |
| Cloudflare security logs     | Maximum 30 days                                                          |
| Cloudflare Web Analytics     | Aggregated / anonymised after 24 months                                  |
| Session cookies              | Expire at end of browser session or logout                               |
|_________________________________________________________________________________________________________|

#### Your GDPR rights

You have the right to:
- Access
- Rectification
- Erasure ("right to be forgotten")
- Restriction of processing
- Data portability
- Object to processing
- Lodge a complaint with your EU data protection authority

Send any request to privacy " AT " techtalk.cc. We will reply within one month free of charge (unless the request is manifestly unfounded or excessive).

#### Account & data deletion

Email privacy " AT " techtalk.cc with the subject "Delete my account". We will permanently delete your account and all personal data within 30 days.

#### Required information

Registration requires only username + valid email address + password. Everything else is optional.

#### Terms of Use

By using techtalk.cc you accept these Terms.

- You must be at least 18 years old and also above the age of legal majority in your country to read and / or listen to the contents of this website. If you are not, you must stop and leave!
- Keep your login details secure and do not share your account.
- Be respectful. No illegal, abusive, hateful, harassing or spam content.
- The administrator may remove content or accounts that violate these rules.
- You grant ownership of your posts to us and grant techtalk.cc a worldwide, royalty-free licence to store and display them.
- The site is a hobby project provided "as is" with no guarantees of availability or uptime.
- We are not liable for any loss or damage arising from use of the site or from user generated content.
- In the event of a personal data breach we will notify affected users and the supervisory authority where required by GDPR Articles 33–34.
- We may update these Terms and continued use after changes constitutes acceptance.
- These Terms are governed by the law of an EU Member State.
- We may block entire countries / IP ranges if the forum is under attack or spam.

#### Extra information if and when the phpBB software forum is enabled for use

This policy explains in detail how “techtalk.cc” along with its affiliated companies (hereinafter “we”, “us”, “our”, “techtalk.cc”) and phpBB (hereinafter “they”, “them”, “their”, “phpBB software”, “www.phpbb.com”, “phpBB Limited”, “phpBB Teams”) use any information collected during any session of usage by you (hereinafter “your information”).

Your information is collected via two ways. Firstly, by browsing “techtalk.cc” will cause the phpBB software to create a number of cookies, which are small text files that are downloaded on to your computer’s web browser temporary files. The first two cookies just contain a user identifier (hereinafter “user-id”) and an anonymous session identifier (hereinafter “session-id”), automatically assigned to you by the phpBB software. A third cookie will be created once you have browsed topics within “techtalk.cc” and is used to store which topics have been read, thereby improving your user experience.

We may also create cookies external to the phpBB software whilst browsing “techtalk.cc”, though these are outside the scope of this document which is intended to only cover the pages created by the phpBB software. The second way in which we collect your information is by what you submit to us. This can be, and is not limited to: posting as an anonymous user (hereinafter “anonymous posts”), registering on “techtalk.cc” (hereinafter “your account”) and posts submitted by you after registration and whilst logged in (hereinafter “your posts”).

Your account will at a bare minimum contain a uniquely identifiable name (hereinafter “your user name”), a personal password used for logging into your account (hereinafter “your password”) and a personal, valid email address (hereinafter “your email”). Your information for your account at “techtalk.cc” is protected by data-protection laws applicable in the country that hosts us. Any information beyond your user name, your password, and your email address required by “techtalk.cc” during the registration process is either mandatory or optional, at the discretion of “techtalk.cc”. In all cases, you have the option of what information in your account is publicly displayed. Furthermore, within your account, you have the option to opt-in or opt-out of automatically generated emails from the phpBB software.

Your password is ciphered (a one-way hash) so that it is secure. However, it is recommended that you do not reuse the same password across a number of different websites. Your password is the means of accessing your account at “techtalk.cc”, so please guard it carefully and under no circumstance will anyone affiliated with “techtalk.cc”, phpBB or another 3rd party, legitimately ask you for your password. Should you forget your password for your account, you can use the “I forgot my password” feature provided by the phpBB software. This process will ask you to submit your user name and your email, then the phpBB software will generate a new password to reclaim your account.