Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

SmoothFPS ("we," "our," or "us") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your information when you use our website at smoothfps.com (the "Service").

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Account Information

When you create an account, we collect:

• Email address – For authentication and communication
• Display name – For community features
• Password – Stored securely using industry-standard hashing

2.2 Diagnostic Session Data

When you use our triage/diagnostic system, we collect:

• Your answers to diagnostic questions (e.g., stutter type, game mode, connection type)
• Detected issue profiles and recommended solutions
• Flow progress tracking (which steps you've completed)

Note: This data helps us improve our diagnostic accuracy and is stored anonymously if you're not logged in.

2.3 HWiNFO Log Files

When you upload HWiNFO log files for analysis, we collect:

• The uploaded CSV file containing hardware sensor data
• Hardware identifiers (CPU, GPU, motherboard names, etc.)
• Temperature, clock speed, and utilization readings

2.4 Community Activity

When you participate in our community features:

• Your votes on solutions (upvote/downvote)
• Comments you post on solution pages
• Timestamps of your activities

2.5 Contact Form Submissions

When you contact us, we collect:

• Your name, email address, and message content
• Subject category of your inquiry

2.6 Technical Data

We automatically collect:

• IP address (for security and rate limiting)
• Browser type and version
• Device type and operating system
• Pages visited and time spent

3. How We Use Your Information

We use your information to:

• Provide the Service – Authenticate users, save progress, display solutions
• Analyze HWiNFO Logs – Generate diagnostic reports using AI analysis
• Improve Our Service – Understand which solutions work best, improve the diagnostic system
• Community Features – Show votes, display comments, enable interactions
• Communicate – Respond to your inquiries, send important service updates
• Security – Prevent abuse, spam, and unauthorized access

3.1 Your Consent

By using SmoothFPS and creating an account, you explicitly agree and consent to our collection and use of your information solely for educational and analytical purposes. This means:

• Educational Purpose: We use collected data to provide you with educational content, troubleshooting guidance, and personalized recommendations to help resolve your gaming performance issues.
• Analytical Purpose: We analyze diagnostic data (including HWiNFO logs) to identify patterns, improve our solutions database, and enhance the accuracy of our diagnostic system for all users.
• No Commercial Use: We do not use your personal information for advertising, marketing to third parties, or any commercial purposes beyond providing and improving our free educational service.

Your consent is given when you create an account by checking the "I agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy" checkbox. You may withdraw consent at any time by deleting your account through the settings page or contacting us.

4. Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services:

4.1 Cloud Infrastructure

We use secure cloud services for authentication, database storage, and file storage. Your data is stored on industry-standard secure servers with enterprise-grade security.

4.2 AI Analysis Services

When you upload HWiNFO logs for analysis, the log data is processed by AI-powered analysis services to generate diagnostic reports.

4.3 Google reCAPTCHA

We use Google reCAPTCHA v3 to protect forms from spam. See Google Privacy Policy.

5. Data Storage & Security

• All data is transmitted using HTTPS encryption
• Passwords are hashed using secure algorithms (never stored in plaintext)
• We use database-level security policies to ensure users can only access their own data
• Admin access is restricted and logged

While we implement industry-standard security measures, no system is 100% secure. Please use a strong, unique password for your account.

6. Data Sharing

We do NOT:

• Sell your personal information to third parties
• Share your email address with advertisers
• Use your data for targeted advertising

We MAY share data:

• With service providers necessary to operate our platform (cloud infrastructure, AI services)
• If required by law or legal process
• To protect our rights or prevent fraud/abuse

7. Your Rights

You have the right to:

• Access – Request a copy of your personal data
• Correction – Update or correct inaccurate information
• Deletion – Request deletion of your account and associated data
• Export – Receive your data in a portable format

To exercise these rights, please contact us through our Contact Page.

8. Cookies & Local Storage

We use:

• Authentication cookies – To keep you logged in securely
• Local storage – To save your preferences and diagnostic progress
• reCAPTCHA cookies – For spam protection (set by Google)

We do not use advertising or tracking cookies for marketing purposes.

9. Children's Privacy

Our Service is not intended for children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes by posting a notice on our website. Your continued use of the Service after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

11. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your data rights, please contact us through our Contact Page.