Your data, in plain English

Last updated 9 October 2026.

Downshift Predictions is a free prediction game run by The Downshift Podcast, PO Box 5067, Wonga Park VIC 3115. This policy covers the website, the game and our emails.

The short version: we collect what the game needs and nothing else. We don't sell your data or share it for advertising. The only analytics is Google Analytics on our public pages, which tells us how many people visit and how they found us. You can delete your account yourself at any time.

What we collect

If you join the waitlist

Your email address, and the country you chose (optional).
Whether you confirmed the address, and whether you asked for occasional news.
When you joined, confirmed or unsubscribed.

If you play

Your email address, which is how you sign in. It is never shown to other players.
Your display name, which other players do see on ladders and in leagues.
The country you choose to represent, if any.
Your predictions, your scores, and the leagues you belong to.
Which game emails you want (picks open, reminders, results), and the time zone your browser reports.

Whenever you use the site

A sign-in session, including the IP address and browser your device reports when you sign in.
Security records: sign-ins, access changes, administrator actions and similar events, with the email address used at the time.
A record of each email we send you: the kind, the time and whether it was delivered, bounced or reported as spam. We never store the contents, so sign-in codes are never kept.
The country our hosting provider works out from your internet connection. We use it only to pre-select a country in a form, and it is stored only if you submit it.
On the public pages (the homepage, rules, waitlist, podcast, policies and support), Google Analytics records which pages you visit, your rough location, your device and browser, the site or link that brought you here, and which share button you press (not what you send or to whom). It sets its own cookies to tell visits apart. It doesn't run in the game, your account or the admin.

There are no advertising cookies or tracking pixels. Apart from Google Analytics' cookies on the public pages, the only cookie we set keeps you signed in.

Why we collect it

To run the game: your picks, scores, ladders and leagues.
To let you in: sign-in codes, sessions and who is approved to play.
To email you: sign-in codes always; game emails (when picks open, reminders before they close, and your results) unless you turn them off; and waitlist updates only if you asked for them.
To improve the site: how many people visit the public pages, which ones, and how they found us.
To keep it working and safe: rate limits, the security log, and records of which emails bounced so we stop sending to addresses that don't work.

We don't use your data for advertising or profiling, and we never sell it.

Who else sees it

Cloudflare hosts the site, stores the database and sends our email, so your data passes through their systems on our behalf. They may process and store it outside Australia.

Google provides the analytics on the public pages and receives what's described above. It may also process it outside Australia. To opt out, block its cookies in your browser or use Google's opt-out add-on.

Other players see your display name, country flag and points on ladders and in leagues, and nothing else. Your email address and your individual picks before a deadline stay private.

We otherwise share data only if the law requires it, or to protect the service and the people using it.

How long we keep it

Your account: until you delete it. Deleting removes your profile, predictions, points, league places, email choices, access to the test, waitlist signup and support messages straight away.
Waitlist: until you unsubscribe or ask us to remove you. An unsubscribed address is kept, marked as unsubscribed, so we don't email it again by mistake. If you never confirm your signup, it is removed after 30 days.
Support messages: kept for 12 months, so we can follow up.
Email records: the log of what we sent is kept for 13 months, and without your address once your account is deleted. Addresses that bounce or report spam stay on a do-not-email list, unless the account they belong to is deleted.
Security records: our sign-in and access log is kept for 24 months and can't be altered, so it stays a reliable record of what happened. When you delete your account, the entries about you are kept but no longer say who you were: your email address, your account number, your display name and any notes about you are removed from them.
Server logs: our hosting provider, Cloudflare, keeps a technical log of each request (the page asked for and when) for 7 days.
Backups: our database can be restored to any point in the last 30 days, so for up to 30 days after you delete your account a copy of it still exists in those backups. If we ever restore one, we delete your account again straight away.

Your choices

Emails: game emails (picks open, reminders and results) are on when you join, and you can turn each one off on your account page or from the link in any of them. Sign-in codes are not optional, because they are how you get in.
Delete your account: Account → Delete account. You'll see exactly what goes before anything happens. If you can't sign in, ask through the support form and we'll delete it for you.
See or correct your data: ask through the support form and we'll help. Your country is set once a season, so ask us if it needs changing.

Children

Downshift Predictions is not for people under 16. We don't knowingly collect their data. If you believe a child has signed up, tell us through the support form and we'll remove the account.

Keeping it safe

Sign-in is by one-time code, so there is no password to steal. Codes are encrypted while they wait to be used and are never written to our logs. Administrator access needs a second factor. No system is perfectly secure, but we take this seriously.

Questions or complaints

Use the support form and we'll reply by email, usually within 24 to 48 hours. We don't publish an email address, because published addresses attract spam.

If we can't sort it out, you can complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at oaic.gov.au.

If we change this policy, the date at the top changes. If a change matters to you, we'll say so on the site or by email.

The Downshift Podcast, PO Box 5067, Wonga Park VIC 3115.