Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains what information Rust Atomic ("we", "us") collects when you use the Site, how we use it, and your choices. We don't sell your data, and we don't run any third-party advertising or analytics trackers on the Site.

1. What We Collect

When you create an account: your username, email address, and password (we never store your password itself — only a salted Argon2 hash of it, which can't be reversed).

As you use the Site: anything you choose to post or send (forum threads and replies, your profile bio, support ticket messages, direct messages to other members), plus basic activity data like reputation, post count, and join date.

Automatically: your IP address, used only to enforce rate limits on login, registration, and password-reset attempts (to slow down abuse/brute-force attempts) — not for tracking or advertising. A single session cookie (HttpOnly, not readable by page scripts) keeps you logged in.

If you make a real-money purchase: the order ID, amount, and item purchased, recorded so we can look up or reconcile a payment if something goes wrong. Your card details and PayPal login are handled entirely by PayPal — we never see or store them.

If you enable two-factor authentication: a secret key used to verify your authenticator app's codes. This key is never returned by the API after initial setup and is cleared entirely if you disable 2FA.

2. How We Use It

• To create and secure your account, and let you log in.
• To send you account-related email: verifying your email address, password-reset links, and (if you request it) admin test emails.
• To operate the forum, store, tickets, and messaging features you use.
• To moderate the community and enforce our Terms of Service.
• To detect and slow down abuse (rate limiting on login/registration/password-reset).

3. Who We Share It With

We don't sell or rent your personal information. We share the minimum necessary with:

• PayPal — to process real-money purchases. See PayPal's own privacy policy for how they handle payment data.
• Our SMTP email provider — to deliver verification, password-reset, and other account emails.
• Discord (if the site admin has configured a webhook) — new forum thread titles and support ticket subjects are posted to a staff Discord channel as an activity notification. This is a one-way post of public/staff-facing content, not a data-sharing integration with your Discord account.

We may also disclose information if required by law, or to protect the safety and security of the Service and its members.

4. Cookies

We use exactly one cookie: an HttpOnly session cookie that keeps you logged in. We don't use third-party advertising, analytics, or tracking cookies.

5. Data Retention & Deletion

We keep your account data for as long as your account exists. If you'd like your account and associated data deleted, open a support ticket and we'll process the request. Note that some records (like payment history) may need to be retained longer where required for accounting or legal reasons.

6. Security

Passwords are hashed with Argon2 (never stored in plain text). Login, registration, and password-reset attempts are rate-limited to slow down brute-force attacks. We recommend enabling two-factor authentication from Account Settings for extra protection, especially for staff/admin accounts.

7. Children's Privacy

The Service isn't directed at children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect information from anyone under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has created an account, please contact us so we can remove it.

8. Your Choices

You can review and update your profile info (username, email, bio) and notification preferences any time from Account Settings. For anything else — access, correction, or deletion requests — open a support ticket.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We'll update the "Last updated" date above when we do. Continuing to use the Service after a change means you accept the updated policy.

10. Contact

Questions about this policy or your data? Open a support ticket and we'll get back to you.