Privacy Policy

Last updated: 19 April 2026

1. Who we are

CSWatch ("cswatch.gg", "we") is a community-driven Counter-Strike 2 player reputation and analytics platform. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and what rights you have regarding your data.

2. Information we collect

Steam profile data: when you search for a player or sign in with Steam, we retrieve public information from the Steam Web API — persona name, avatar, VAC / game-ban status, country, game-library summary. All of this is already publicly visible on Steam.
Account data: if you sign in with Steam we store your Steam ID, persona name, and session tokens to keep you logged in.
Match share codes: when you voluntarily submit a CS2 match share code (e.g. as part of a report), we use it to retrieve public match metadata from Valve.
Reports and reviews: any report you submit, any overwatcher review you cast, your IP address at time of submission, and any text / video evidence you attach.
Usage analytics: anonymous pageviews, device type, referrer, UTM campaign tags. We use a first-party analytics tracker — no data is sold to third-party ad networks from our first-party analytics.
Advertising data: we display ads through Google AdSense. Google may use cookies to serve personalised ads based on your prior visits. You can opt out at google.com/settings/ads.

3. How we use your data

Provide the player search, reputation score, and reporting features.
Let community overwatchers review reported accounts.
Calculate the trust / autoflag score (purely algorithmic).
Improve the service by analysing aggregated usage patterns.
Prevent abuse, spam, and false reports via rate limiting and IP logging.

4. Cookies

We use a small number of functional cookies (session, visitor ID, CSRF). We use Google AdSense, which sets additional cookies used to personalise ads. If you are in the EU/UK/EEA, Google Funding Choices shows you a consent prompt; we honour your response via Google Consent Mode v2.

5. Third-party services we use

Valve Steam Web API — public profile, ban, and match data.
Leetify public API — aggregated CS2 performance stats.
FACEIT public API — FACEIT level, ELO, and friend-ban percentage.
Google AdSense — ad serving and measurement.
Cloudflare R2 — storage for uploaded match videos and demos.

6. Your rights (GDPR / CCPA)

You have the right to access, correct, export, or delete your personal data, and to withdraw consent at any time. Email privacy@cswatch.gg. We will respond within 30 days.

You can object to processing based on legitimate interest and opt out of personalised advertising via Google's consent tool.

7. Data retention

Account data is kept while your account exists. Reports are kept indefinitely because they form the community record. Analytics data is retained for 90 days in individual form, then aggregated. You can request deletion of your account and reports at any time.

8. Children's privacy

CSWatch is not directed at children under 13 (or 16 in the EU). We do not knowingly collect data from minors. If you believe a minor has given us data, contact us and we'll delete it.

9. Changes to this policy

We may update this page. Material changes will be announced on the home page. Continued use of the service after a change means you accept the new policy.