Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

Diehard Sports Network ("Diehard," "we," "us") is a hyperlocal college sports media company. This policy explains how we handle your personal data when you use our website at diehardsportsnetwork.com.

2. Information We Collect

Account information

When you create an account, we collect your full name, display name, email address, password and optional school affiliation. Your password is hashed using bcrypt before storage — we never store or have access to your plain-text password.

User-generated content

Comments you post on articles are stored with your user ID, the article identifier and a timestamp.

Usage data

We log behavioral events such as article reads, comment posts and poll votes to improve our product and personalize your experience. Each event records your user ID, the action type, the target content and a timestamp.

Cookies

We use a session cookie to keep you logged in. This cookie contains an encrypted JSON Web Token (JWT) with your user ID and role. We do not use advertising cookies, tracking pixels or third-party analytics cookies.

3. How We Use Your Information

• Authenticate your account and maintain your session
• Display your name and role badge on comments
• Personalize content based on your school affiliation and reading history
• Send you service-related communications (password resets, account notices)
• Monitor and improve site performance and features

4. How We Store Your Data

Your data is stored in a PostgreSQL database hosted by Neon in the US East region, accessed through Vercel's infrastructure. All connections use TLS encryption. Passwords are hashed with bcrypt at a cost factor of 12.

5. Data Sharing

We do not sell, rent or share your personal data with third parties for their marketing purposes. We may share data with:

• Service providers— Vercel (hosting), Neon (database) and other infrastructure partners necessary to operate the site
• Legal obligations— when required by law, subpoena or government request

6. Your Rights

You may:

• Access and update your account information at any time
• Request deletion of your account and associated data by contacting us
• Delete your own comments

To exercise these rights, email privacy@diehardsportsnetwork.com.

7. Data Retention

We retain your account data for as long as your account is active. If you request deletion, we will remove your personal data within 30 days. Anonymized usage data may be retained for analytics.

8. Children's Privacy

Diehard is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect data from children under 13. If you believe a child has created an account, contact us and we will delete it promptly.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Material changes will be posted on this page with an updated "Last updated" date. Continued use of the site after changes constitutes acceptance.

10. Contact

Questions about this policy? Email privacy@diehardsportsnetwork.com.