Privacy Policy
How Skinbase collects, uses, and protects your information. Last updated March 1, 2026.
Last updated:
This Privacy Policy explains how Skinbase ("we", "us", "our") collects, uses, stores, and protects information about you when you use our website at skinbase.org. By using Skinbase you agree to the practices described in this policy.
01 Information We Collect
We collect information in two ways: information you give us directly, and information collected automatically as you use the site.
Information you provide
- Account registration — username, email address, and password (stored as a secure hash).
- Profile information — display name, avatar, bio, website URL, and location if you choose to provide them.
- Uploaded content — artworks, wallpapers, skins, and photographs, along with their titles, descriptions, and tags.
- Communications — messages sent through features such as private messaging, forum posts, comments, and bug reports.
Information collected automatically
- Log data — IP address, browser type and version, operating system, referring URL, pages visited, and timestamps.
- Usage data — download counts, favourite actions, search queries, and interaction events used to improve recommendations.
- Cookies & local storage — see Section 3 for full details.
02 How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect to:
- Provide, operate, and maintain the Skinbase service.
- Authenticate your identity and keep your account secure.
- Personalise your experience, including content recommendations.
- Send transactional emails (password resets, email verification, notifications you subscribe to).
- Moderate content and enforce our Rules & Guidelines.
- Analyse usage patterns to improve site performance and features.
- Detect, prevent, and investigate fraud, abuse, or security incidents.
- Comply with legal obligations.
We will never sell your personal data or use it for purposes materially different from those stated above without first obtaining your explicit consent.
Lawful basis for processing (GDPR Art. 6)
| Processing activity | Lawful basis |
|---|---|
| Account registration & authentication | Art. 6(1)(b) — Performance of contract |
| Delivering and operating the Service | Art. 6(1)(b) — Performance of contract |
| Transactional emails (password reset, verification) | Art. 6(1)(b) — Performance of contract |
| Security, fraud prevention, abuse detection | Art. 6(1)(f) — Legitimate interests |
| Analytics & site-performance monitoring | Art. 6(1)(f) — Legitimate interests |
| Essential cookies (session, CSRF, remember-me) | Art. 6(1)(f) — Legitimate interests |
| Third-party advertising cookies | Art. 6(1)(a) — Consent (via cookie banner) |
| Compliance with legal obligations | Art. 6(1)(c) — Legal obligation |
05 User-Generated Content
Artworks, comments, forum posts, and other content you upload or publish on Skinbase are publicly visible. Do not include personal information (phone numbers, home addresses, etc.) in public content. You retain ownership of your original work; by uploading you grant Skinbase a non-exclusive licence to display and distribute it as part of the service. You may delete your own content at any time from your dashboard.
Content found to infringe copyright or violate our rules will be removed. To report a submission, please contact a staff member.
06 Data Retention
We retain your account data for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, we will remove or anonymise your personal data within 30 days, except where we are required to retain it for legal or fraud-prevention purposes. Anonymised aggregate statistics (e.g. download counts) may be retained indefinitely. Server log files containing IP addresses are rotated and deleted after 90 days.
07 Security
We implement industry-standard measures to protect your information, including:
- HTTPS (TLS) encryption for all data in transit.
- Bcrypt hashing for all stored passwords — we never store passwords in plain text.
- CSRF protection on all state-changing requests.
- Rate limiting and account lockouts to resist brute-force attacks.
No method of transmission over the Internet is 100% secure. If you believe your account has been compromised, please contact us immediately.
08 Your Rights
Depending on where you live, you may have certain rights over your personal data:
Access
Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Rectification
Correct inaccurate or incomplete data via your account settings.
Erasure
Request deletion of your account and associated personal data.
Portability
Receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
Restriction
Ask us to limit how we process your data in certain circumstances.
Objection
Object to processing based on legitimate interests or for direct marketing.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us. We will respond within 30 days. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.
09 Advertising
Skinbase uses Google AdSense (operated by Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA) to display advertisements. Google AdSense may use cookies and web beacons to collect information about your browsing activity in order to serve interest-based (personalised) ads.
Consent required. Google AdSense cookies are only loaded after you click Accept all in the cookie consent banner. If you choose Essential only, no advertising cookies will be placed. You can withdraw consent at any time by clicking Cookie Preferences in the footer.
Data collected by Google AdSense (such as browser type, pages visited, and ad interactions) is processed by Google under Google's Privacy Policy. Skinbase does not share any personally identifiable information with Google AdSense beyond what is automatically collected through the ad script.
Google's use of advertising cookies can be managed at google.com/settings/ads, or you may opt out of personalised advertising through the Digital Advertising Alliance opt-out.
Registered members may see reduced advertising frequency depending on their account status.
10 Third-Party Links
Skinbase may contain links to external websites. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those sites and encourage you to review their privacy policies before disclosing any personal information.
11 Children's Privacy
Skinbase is a general-audience website. In compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 13. If we become aware that a child under 13 has registered, we will promptly delete their account and data. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us.
12 Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. For material changes we will notify registered members by email and/or by a prominent notice on the site. We encourage you to review this policy periodically. Continued use of Skinbase after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the revised policy.
13 Contact Us
If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please reach out via our contact form or by sending a private message to any staff member. We aim to respond to all privacy-related enquiries within 10 business days.
Data Controller
Skinbase.org — operated by the Skinbase team.
Contact: via contact form