Last updated: 29 October 2026.
This policy explains what personal data RustGamblingReviews (https://rustgamblingreviews.com) collects, why we collect it, how long we keep it and what rights you have. We collect less than most websites. We do not run advertising, we do not sell data, and our own analytics work without cookies and without storing your IP address.
1. Who we are
The controller responsible for your personal data is the operator of RustGamblingReviews, an independent publisher of reviews, rankings and guides about Rust skin gambling sites.
We are not a gambling operator. We take no deposits, run no games and hold no player funds, skins or gambling accounts. If you play on a site we review, that site is a separate controller of your data under its own privacy policy.
For any question or request about privacy, contact us at contact@rustgamblingreviews.com.
2. What we collect and why
2.1 First-party analytics (cookieless)
We run our own analytics on our own server, so we can see which pages are read, where visitors come from and what is broken. No analytics cookie is set, and no analytics data is sent to a third party. For each page view we record:
- the page URL, and the referrer (the page that linked you here, if your browser sends it)
- UTM campaign parameters, if the link you followed contained them
- device type, browser and operating system, read from your browser's user agent string
- your approximate country, looked up from your IP address
- language
- time spent on the page
We do not store your full IP address. To count unique visits, your IP address is passed through a one-way hash function together with a secret salt, and only the resulting hash is stored. The salt is replaced every day, so hashes from different days cannot be linked to each other, and a hash cannot be turned back into an IP address.
The country lookup happens on our own server using the DB-IP Lite database. Your IP address is not sent to DB-IP or anyone else for this. IP geolocation by DB-IP (db-ip.com), licensed under CC BY 4.0.
We use these records to understand which content is useful, fix pages that do not work, see which sources send us readers, measure clicks to partner sites (which is how the site is funded) and spot abuse.
2.2 Optional analytics: Google Analytics 4
The site can also use Google Analytics 4 (GA4). If the site owner enables it, it loads only after you accept analytics cookies in our cookie banner. If you decline, or simply close the banner without accepting, GA4 does not load and Google receives nothing from us.
If you accept, Google collects information such as the pages you view, how you interact with them, device and browser details and your approximate location, and sets the _ga and _ga_* cookies listed in our cookie policy. Google processes this data under its own terms and privacy policy.
2.3 Clicks on partner links
The "Visit" buttons on our site go through addresses that start with /go/. When you click one, our server records the click (which partner link, which page you clicked it on, and when) as part of the first-party analytics described above, and then redirects your browser to the partner site.
We do not send partners your name, your email address or anything else we hold about you. The partner receives only what your browser sends to any website it visits, such as your IP address, browser details and the referral tag in the link. The partner may also set its own cookies. From that point on, the partner's privacy policy applies.
2.4 User reviews
If you submit a review of a site, we collect the name you enter, an optional email address, your rating and your review text. Your email address is never published. We use it only if we need to contact you about your review, for example to confirm it is genuine.
All reviews are stored in our site database and moderated. Approved reviews show your name, rating and text publicly on the site.
2.5 Contact messages
If you use the contact form, we collect your name, your email address and your message. We use them to read your message, reply to it and deal with any follow-up, such as correcting a page or re-testing a site.
2.6 Spam protection for forms
With every review and contact message we store an anonymised hash of your IP address, never the address itself, so we can spot repeated spam from the same source. Submitting a form also sets the rgr_sess session cookie, which helps block automated submissions and is deleted when you close your browser.
2.7 Server logs kept by our host
Like almost every website, our hosting provider keeps standard server logs. These usually include the IP address making the request, the date and time, the page or file requested, the response code and the user agent. They exist for security, for diagnosing faults and for defending the site against attacks, and the host keeps them for a limited period under its own retention rules. We only look at them when we need to investigate a problem.
2.8 Cookies and local storage
We use a small number of first-party cookies: rgr_lang to remember your language, rgr_consent to remember your cookie choice, and rgr_sess when you submit a form. We also use one browser localStorage entry, rgr_theme, to remember whether you prefer light or dark mode. None of them is used for advertising. Full details are in our cookie policy.
2.9 What we do not collect
We do not ask for, and do not want, your Steam login, Steam API key, trade URL, crypto wallet seed phrase, payment card details or identity documents. We do not run advertising, we do not build advertising profiles, and we do not sell or rent personal data to anyone.
We do not make decisions about you based solely on automated processing, and we do not profile visitors.
3. Legal bases for processing
Under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the UK GDPR, we rely on these legal bases:
| Processing | Legal basis |
|---|---|
| First-party cookieless analytics, including /go/ click records | Legitimate interest (Article 6(1)(f)) in understanding how the site is used, improving our content and measuring partner clicks, using minimal data and no stored IP addresses |
| Google Analytics 4, if enabled | Consent (Article 6(1)(a)), given by accepting analytics cookies in the banner |
| User reviews and contact messages | Consent (Article 6(1)(a)), given when you choose to submit the form |
| IP hashes and the rgr_sess cookie for spam protection | Legitimate interest in keeping our forms free of spam and abuse |
| rgr_lang, rgr_consent and rgr_theme | Legitimate interest in providing features you have asked for; we treat these as strictly necessary storage that does not require consent |
| Server logs kept by our host | Legitimate interest in the security and reliable running of the site |
Where we rely on legitimate interest, we have weighed our interest against your rights and freedoms and kept the data to the minimum needed. You can object at any time (see section 7). Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time. Withdrawing consent does not affect processing that took place before you withdrew it.
4. How long we keep data
- Analytics records, including /go/ click records: up to 13 months, then deleted.
- Daily salts used for the visitor hash: replaced every day.
- Published user reviews: for as long as the review is shown on the site, or until you ask us to remove it. The optional email address is kept only as long as the review itself.
- Reviews we do not approve: only as long as needed for moderation and spam control.
- Contact messages: as long as needed to deal with your message and any follow-up, then deleted.
- IP hashes stored with submissions: for as long as the submission they belong to.
- Server logs: for the limited period set by our hosting provider.
- Cookies: rgr_lang for 12 months, rgr_consent for 6 months, rgr_sess until you close your browser. rgr_theme stays in your browser until you clear it.
- Google Analytics 4 data, if enabled and accepted: according to the data retention setting of our GA4 property, and in any case no longer than GA4 allows for standard properties.
5. Who receives your data
We share personal data only with the following recipients:
- Our hosting provider, which stores the site, its database and its server logs on our behalf and acts as our processor.
- Google, only if GA4 is enabled and you have accepted analytics cookies.
- Affiliate partners, only in the limited sense described in section 2.3. When you click a /go/ link, the partner receives what your browser sends it. We send partners nothing else.
- Authorities or professional advisers, where the law requires it or where we need to establish, exercise or defend a legal claim.
Approved user reviews are, by design, visible to anyone who visits the site. The email address attached to a review is never published or shared.
6. International transfers
Our hosting provider may store data in a country other than the one you live in. If personal data is transferred outside the European Economic Area or the UK to a country that does not have an adequacy decision, we make sure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses or the UK equivalent.
If GA4 is enabled and you accept analytics cookies, your data may be processed by Google in the United States. Google LLC participates in the EU-US Data Privacy Framework, and such transfers rely on that framework and on Google's Standard Contractual Clauses.
Our own analytics, including the country lookup, run on our server and do not involve sending data to any other provider.
7. Your rights
Under the GDPR and the UK GDPR you have the right to:
- Access the personal data we hold about you and receive a copy of it.
- Rectification of data that is inaccurate or incomplete, such as a misspelled name on a review.
- Erasure of your data, for example deleting a review you posted or a message you sent us.
- Restriction of processing while a correction or an objection is being looked at.
- Object to processing based on legitimate interest, including our first-party analytics.
- Portability, meaning you can receive data you gave us, such as your reviews, in a common machine-readable format.
- Withdraw consent at any time: for analytics cookies through the "Cookie settings" link in the footer, and for form data by asking us to delete it.
- Complain to a supervisory authority, in particular in the EU or EEA country where you live, where you work or where you think the problem happened. In the UK, the supervisory authority is the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).
To use any of these rights, email contact@rustgamblingreviews.com. We will respond without undue delay and within one month. For complex requests that period can be extended by up to two further months, and if that happens we will tell you why. We may ask for information to confirm the request comes from you, such as the email address you used when submitting a review.
A note on analytics: because we do not store IP addresses or set an analytics cookie, we usually cannot tell which analytics records relate to you. Where we cannot identify you in a set of records, we will explain this when you contact us, and your rights apply to the extent we are able to match data to you. You can still object to this processing, and we will consider any objection we receive.
We would also appreciate the chance to sort out a concern before you go to a supervisory authority, so please contact us first if you can. You are not required to.
8. Children
RustGamblingReviews is for adults aged 18 and over. Our content is about gambling and is not directed at anyone under 18. We do not knowingly collect personal data from minors.
If you believe a person under 18 has submitted a review or a message, contact us and we will delete it. Parents who are worried about skin gambling can find advice on our responsible gambling page.
9. Security
Holding very little data is the best protection there is, and it is the main reason we built our analytics the way we did. On top of that, the site is served over an encrypted HTTPS connection, access to the database and the admin area is limited to the people who need it, IP addresses are only stored as hashes, and form data is used only for the purpose it was collected for.
No system is perfectly secure. If a personal data breach occurs that is likely to put your rights at risk, we will notify the relevant supervisory authority and, where the law requires it, the people affected.
10. Third-party sites
Our reviews link to gambling sites and other websites we do not control. Once you leave RustGamblingReviews, their privacy policies apply instead of this one. Read them before you sign up, paying particular attention to identity checks, data sharing and marketing.
11. Changes to this policy
We will update this policy when the way we handle data changes, for example if we add a new tool or a new type of form. The date at the top of the page shows the current version.
If a change is significant, such as a new category of data or a new recipient, we will make it visible on the site. Where a change needs your consent, we will ask for it again rather than assume it.
12. Contact
For questions, requests or complaints about this policy or your personal data, email contact@rustgamblingreviews.com or use our contact page. Please do not include passwords, API keys or other credentials in any message.