Privacy Policy

Last updated: April 27, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how Hot Ranking ("we", "us", "our") collects, uses, and protects information when you use our website hotranking.app (the "Site"). By using the Site, you agree to the practices described here.

1. Information we collect

1.1 Information you provide

We do not require you to create an account to use Hot Ranking. We do not ask for your name, email, or any personal identifier to vote on polls. The only information you actively provide is:

• Your votes on polls (which option you ranked into which tier, which side of a hot take you chose, etc.).
• Any information you voluntarily send us via the contact email (hello@hotranking.app).
• Any poll you submit through the Create page (poll title, options, images you upload).

1.2 Information collected automatically

When you visit the Site, we automatically collect:

• Browser fingerprint: a hash derived from your user agent, screen size, timezone, and a random per-browser identifier stored in localStorage. This is used solely to prevent the same browser from voting twice on the same poll. It cannot identify you personally.
• Approximate IP geolocation: our hosting provider (Vercel) logs your IP address for security and rate limiting. We do not store or query it ourselves.
• Usage data: pages visited, polls voted on, time spent on page, referring URL. Aggregated, not tied to identity.
• Cookies: see our Cookie Policy for details.

2. How we use your information

We use the information we collect to:

• Display poll results and aggregate vote counts.
• Prevent duplicate votes from the same browser on the same poll.
• Detect and block abuse (rate limiting, spam, automated voting).
• Improve the Site (which polls are popular, which formats engage, performance metrics).
• Serve relevant ads via Google AdSense (see Section 4).
• Respond to your inquiries when you email us.

3. Data sharing

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties. We share information only with:

• Service providers: Supabase (database hosting), Vercel (web hosting), Google AdSense (advertising). These providers process data on our behalf under their own privacy policies.
• Legal compliance: if required by law, court order, or to protect the rights and safety of users.
• Aggregated data: we may publish anonymized, aggregated statistics (e.g., "76% of voters ranked Folklore in S-tier"). This data cannot be tied back to any individual.

4. Advertising and Google AdSense

Hot Ranking displays advertising provided by Google AdSense. Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this and other websites.

Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads based on your visit to our Site and other sites on the Internet. You may opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google's Ads Settings or aboutads.info.

For more on how Google uses data, see Google's Partner Sites Privacy & Terms.

5. Your rights (GDPR / CCPA)

If you are in the European Economic Area, United Kingdom, or California, you have the right to:

• Access the data we hold about you.
• Correct any inaccurate data.
• Delete your data ("right to be forgotten"). Because votes are anonymous, we may not be able to identify your specific votes — but we can delete any contact emails or submitted polls associated with you.
• Object to processing of your data, including for direct marketing.
• Opt out of personalized advertising (see Section 4).
• Lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority (e.g., your country's data protection regulator).

To exercise any of these rights, email us at privacy@hotranking.app. We will respond within 30 days.

6. Data retention

Vote data is retained indefinitely (in aggregate form) so that historical poll results remain visible. The anonymous browser fingerprint we use to prevent duplicate votes is retained for as long as necessary to enforce that rule.

7. Children's privacy

Hot Ranking is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 13. If you believe a child has submitted personal information to us, please contact us and we will delete it.

8. Security

We take reasonable security measures to protect data, including HTTPS encryption in transit, secure authentication on our database, and rate limiting at the application layer. No transmission over the internet is 100% secure, but we work to reduce risk.

9. International data transfers

Our hosting providers operate globally and your data may be processed in the United States or other countries. We rely on standard contractual clauses and the privacy frameworks of our providers (Vercel, Supabase, Google) to ensure appropriate protection.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top reflects the most recent change. Material changes will be flagged on the homepage for at least 14 days.

11. Contact

For privacy questions or to exercise your rights, email privacy@hotranking.app. For general inquiries, see our Contact page.