Effective Date: May 20, 2026

Respect for your privacy is a fundamental value for us at Watermelo. This Privacy Policy outlines in a transparent manner how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal data when you access our news portal, subscribe to our benefit plans, purchase our magazines (digital or print), or sign up for our newsletter, in full compliance with the General Data Protection Law (LGPD - Law No. 13,709/18) and the Brazilian Internet Civil Framework (Law No. 12,965/14).

1 – INFORMATION WE COLLECT

We collect data necessary to provide our services, improve your browsing experience, and process your purchases. This data is divided into:

1.1. Navigation and Usage Data: We collect information about which pages you access, most read articles, time spent on the portal, commented posts, and general interactions with our indie gaming content.

1.2. Technical Data: When you access the Platform, we collect data such as your IP address, browser type, operating system, approximate geolocation data, and mobile device identifiers. This information helps combat spam, prevent fraud, and customize the user interface.

1.3. Registration and Subscription Data: For account creation, newsletter distribution, and joining subscription plans, we collect information voluntarily provided by you, such as your full name, email address, date of birth, and username.

1.4. Delivery and Billing Data (E-commerce): For the sale and resale of Watermelo Magazine (digital or print) and the processing of subscription plans, we collect the delivery address, billing details, and any necessary tax or identity registration identifiers required by the User's local jurisdiction (such as national tax IDs, zip/postal codes, or region-specific equivalents for international transactions). We emphasize that payment details (such as credit card numbers) are processed directly by third-party payment gateways within a secure, encrypted environment, and are never stored on our servers.

1.5. Third-Party Authentication: If you choose to create or access your account through social media networks (such as Google, Discord, or Facebook), we may collect data publicly authorized by those platforms, limited to user ID, profile picture, and email for quick authentication purposes.

2 – USE OF INFORMATION AND LEGAL BASES

We process your personal data supported by legitimate legal bases provided for in the LGPD, for the following purposes:

2.1. Performance of Contract: To guarantee access to the subscriber area, manage recurring plans, validate the download of digital magazines, and carry out the physical shipping logistics of printed magazines.

2.2. Legitimate Interest: To analyze engagement metrics to optimize our journalistic coverage of independent games, recommend content, and display relevant advertisements.

2.3. Consent: To send periodic newsletters with news summaries, technology reviews, and promotional offers for our products (consent can be revoked at any time).

3 – EMAIL COMMUNICATIONS (NEWSLETTER AND ALERTS)

3.1. Administrative Emails: We will send essential notifications regarding your account, subscription payment confirmations, policy updates, or security alerts. These emails are non-commercial.

3.2. Promotional Emails (Newsletter): If you have consented, we will send updates from the indie world and offers from our store. Watermelo will never send emails requesting your passwords or banking details. If you receive suspicious messages in our name, report them immediately to our support team.

4 – DATA SHARING WITH THIRD PARTIES

Watermelo does not sell, trade, or rent your personal data. Sharing occurs strictly under limited and necessary circumstances, such as:

(a) Technology service providers, cloud hosting servers (such as Amazon AWS), and email delivery tools;
(b) Payment gateways responsible for the security of financial transactions related to subscriptions and e-commerce;
(c) Partner logistics and shipping companies responsible for delivering the printed magazine to your address;
(d) Judicial or governmental authorities, when there is a legal obligation, subpoena, or grounded court order.

5 – COOKIES AND TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES

5.1. Usage: We use cookies, pixels, and local storage technologies to recognize your browser, keep your session active, remember your display preferences, and measure the effectiveness of our email marketing campaigns.

5.2. Third-Party Cookies: Statistical analysis tools, such as Google Analytics, and partner ad networks may place their own cookies in your browser to monitor traffic behavior anonymously. This policy only covers the use of native Watermelo cookies.

5.3. Do Not Track (DNT) Signal: We respect "Do Not Track" settings activated in your browser. If DNT is enabled and you are logged out, behavioral tracking cookies will not be activated.

6 – DATA STORAGE AND SECURITY

6.1. Protection: We adopt robust technical security measures, including the use of end-to-end encryption (HTTPS / TLS) to protect data transmitted to and from our Platform.

6.2. Limitation: Although we implement best market practices, no data transmission over the internet is 100% secure. The User is also responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of their access credentials and for creating strong passwords.

7 – YOUR RIGHTS (DATA SUBJECT RIGHTS)

In compliance with Article 18 of the LGPD, you have full control over your personal data and can request at any time through our contact channel:

(a) Confirmation of the existence of data processing and access to your data;
(b) Correction of incomplete, inaccurate, or outdated data;
(c) Deletion of personal data processed with your consent (except for data required for compliance with legal or tax obligations by Watermelo);
(d) Revocation of consent for sending newsletters (simply click the "unsubscribe" link contained in the footer of any email sent).

8 – CHANGES TO THIS POLICY

Watermelo reserves the right to update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect structural improvements or new legal requirements. Whenever a material change occurs, the update date at the top of this document will be revised and registered users will receive an informative notice.

9 – CONTACT AND SUPPORT

To exercise your rights as a data subject, resolve doubts, file complaints, or send suggestions regarding our privacy practices, please contact our Data Protection Officer directly via email at: [email protected].

Watermelo
A news and opinion portal focused on indie games and related topics.