Privacy Policy
Last updated: August 17, 2026
Privacy-First Philosophy
Pokemon Team Builder works entirely in your browser. Your teams are stored in URLs, not on our servers, and the full team builder works without an account. Accounts are optional — we only collect personal data if you choose to create one, and only what's needed to sign you in.
What We DON'T Collect (Even With an Account)
We do NOT collect:
- ✗Your Pokemon teams (they stay in your browser URL)
- ✗Payment information (everything is free)
- ✗Location data beyond general country-level analytics
- ✗Behavioral profiles or user tracking across sites
- ✗We never sell or share your data with advertisers
What We DO Collect (Minimal Analytics)
To improve the service and understand usage patterns, we collect minimal, anonymous analytics:
1. Anonymous Usage Statistics
- Page views and navigation patterns
- Which games are most popular
- General device type (mobile/desktop)
- Browser type and version
- Approximate country (for localization)
Tools used: Google Analytics, Microsoft Clarity, Plausible Analytics
2. Error Reporting
- Technical errors and bugs
- Browser console errors (no personal data)
- Performance metrics
This helps us fix issues and improve stability.
3. Advertising Data
- Ad impressions and clicks (via Google AdSense)
- Cookie identifiers for ad personalization
Note: Ads help us keep the service free. You can use ad blockers if preferred.
Account Data (Only If You Sign Up)
Creating an account is optional. If you do, here is exactly what we store:
- •Email sign-up: your email address, and your password stored only as a salted scrypt hash — we never store or see your actual password
- •Google sign-in: your Google account's name, email address, and profile picture
- •Every session: a session token, your IP address and browser user-agent, kept to keep you signed in and to detect suspicious activity
Why we collect it: to sign you in and keep your session secure. Nothing more — we don't build profiles, don't use it for advertising, and don't sell it.
How long: for as long as your account exists. Sessions expire on their own. Verification codes are deleted after 10 minutes.
How Your Teams Are Stored
Your Pokemon teams are stored in the URL. Here's what that means:
- Client-side only: Your team data never leaves your browser
- URL encoding: When you build a team, it's encoded in the page URL (e.g., /build#sv?team=...)
- No server storage: We don't save your teams on our servers
- You control sharing: Only people with the URL can see your team
- Browser cache: Your browser may cache the page, but you can clear this anytime
Cookies & Local Storage
We use minimal cookies for:
Essential Cookies (Required)
- Session cookie to keep you signed in (only if you have an account)
- Security features
Analytics Cookies (Optional)
- Google Analytics (_ga, _gid)
- Microsoft Clarity (_clck, _clsk)
- Plausible Analytics (minimal tracking)
Advertising Cookies (Optional)
- Google AdSense cookies for personalized ads
You can disable cookies in your browser settings. This may affect some features but won't prevent you from using the core team builder.
Third-Party Services
We use these third-party services, each with their own privacy policies:
Your Privacy Rights
You have the right to:
- Access your data: If you have an account, your name and email are shown on your account page. Without an account, we have nothing tied to you.
- Delete your data: Delete your account yourself from your account page. It stops all sign-in and ends every session; your email address stays on record so it cannot be registered again. Without an account, clearing your browser removes all traces.
- Opt-out of analytics: Use ad blockers or privacy extensions
- Opt-out of ads: Use ad blockers (we won't stop you)
- Use without tracking: The core tool works without cookies or tracking
Children's Privacy
Pokemon Team Builder is for Pokemon fans of all ages, and the full team builder works with no account and no personal data. You must be at least 13 to create an account — or older, if the country you live in sets a higher minimum age for using online services without parental consent (several EU countries set 14, 15 or 16). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children below these ages; if we learn that we have, we delete the account and its data. Parents who believe their child created an account can contact us at the address below and we'll remove it.
Data Security
We take reasonable measures to protect our service:
- HTTPS encryption for all connections
- Passwords are stored only as salted scrypt hashes, never in plain text
- Regular security updates
- Minimal data collection reduces risk
Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this privacy policy to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. We'll update the "Last updated" date at the top. We encourage you to review this page periodically.
Contact Us About Privacy
If you have questions or concerns about your privacy, contact us at: privacy@pokemon-team-builder.org
TL;DR - Privacy in Plain English
✓The full team builder works with no account at all
✓We only collect personal data if you choose to create an account
✓Your teams are stored in URLs, not on our servers
✓We use minimal analytics to improve the service
✓Ads help keep it free (you can block them)
✓Accounts have a minimum age (13, or higher where your country requires it); contact us anytime to delete yours