Privacy Policy

Last updated: May 2026

BurningForge is an early-stage DIY development platform and community for makers, engineers, developers, hobbyists, and people interested in building real-world projects.

This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, why we collect it, how it is used, and what choices you have.

1. Who operates BurningForge

BurningForge is currently operated as an independent early-stage project.

For privacy-related questions, account requests, or data removal requests, you can contact us at:

Contact email: [email protected]

2. What information we collect

We collect information needed to operate the BurningForge website and community forum.

This may include:

  • account name or username
  • email address
  • password hash, not your plain password
  • profile information you choose to provide
  • topics, posts, comments, reactions, likes, flags, and other forum activity
  • uploaded files or images
  • IP addresses used when registering, logging in, posting, or accessing the site
  • browser, device, and basic technical information
  • server logs
  • cookie and session information
  • email delivery and notification status

You can browse some parts of the site without creating an account. However, creating an account may be required to post, reply, upload content, subscribe to notifications, or use community features.

3. How we use your information

We use collected information to:

  • create and manage user accounts
  • operate the forum and community features
  • display your posts and public profile information
  • prevent spam, abuse, fraud, and security incidents
  • moderate content and enforce community rules
  • send account-related emails and notifications
  • improve the website, forum structure, and user experience
  • diagnose technical issues
  • maintain backups and server logs
  • comply with legal obligations where required

We do not sell your personal data.

4. Public content

BurningForge is a community platform.

If you publish a topic, post, comment, image, file, or profile information in a public area, that content may be visible to other users and search engines.

Please do not publish personal information, private credentials, confidential files, private project data, or third-party materials unless you have the right to share them.

Future BurningForge features may include public and private project spaces. Until those features are clearly available, assume that forum posts in public categories are public.

5. Cookies and sessions

BurningForge uses cookies and similar technologies to keep you logged in, remember preferences, secure your session, and operate forum features.

Some cookies are necessary for the site to work properly.

Cookies may be used to:

  • keep users logged in
  • remember preferences
  • protect accounts and sessions
  • prevent spam and abuse
  • understand general site usage
  • improve forum functionality

We do not use cookies to sell personal data.

If third-party analytics or tracking tools are added later, this policy will be updated to explain what is used and why.

6. Analytics

BurningForge uses Google Analytics and infrastructure-level statistics to understand how the website is used and how the project grows.

Analytics may include:

  • page views
  • referring websites
  • approximate location based on IP address
  • device and browser type
  • browser language
  • performance and basic interaction information

This information helps us understand which pages are useful, improve the website structure, diagnose technical issues and make better product decisions.

BurningForge uses analytics to improve the project, not to sell personal data.

You can limit analytics tracking by using browser privacy settings, tracker blocking tools, or browser extensions.

7. Third-party services

BurningForge relies on third-party infrastructure and services to operate the website and community.

These may include:

  • hosting providers
  • DNS and security providers
  • email delivery providers
  • forum software and related services
  • backup or storage providers
  • external links such as Telegram, GitHub, or other community tools

These services may process limited technical or account-related data as needed to provide their functionality.

External websites linked from BurningForge have their own privacy policies. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of third-party websites.

8. Email notifications

If you create an account, your email address may be used for:

  • account confirmation
  • password reset
  • login or security notifications
  • replies, mentions, watched topics, and other forum notifications
  • important community or service updates

You can manage most notification preferences in your account settings.

9. Data retention

We keep personal data only for as long as needed to operate the service, maintain security, comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and preserve the integrity of community discussions.

Examples:

  • account information is kept while your account exists
  • public posts may remain visible unless removed or anonymized
  • server logs are usually kept for a limited operational period
  • backups may retain deleted data for a limited time until backup rotation removes it
  • moderation and security records may be retained where needed to protect the community

Exact retention periods may vary depending on technical, security, moderation, and legal needs.

10. Your choices and rights

Depending on your location, you may have rights related to your personal data, including the right to:

  • access the personal data we hold about you
  • correct inaccurate information
  • request deletion of your account or personal data
  • restrict or object to certain processing
  • request export of your data
  • withdraw consent where processing is based on consent

To make a privacy request, contact:

Contact email: [email protected]

Some requests may be limited where data is needed for security, moderation, legal compliance, or preserving public discussion integrity.

11. Account deletion and anonymization

You may request account deletion or anonymization.

Depending on the situation, we may:

  • delete your account
  • anonymize your username and profile
  • remove personal profile information
  • retain public posts where removal would break existing community discussions
  • remove posts that contain personal or sensitive information where appropriate

Because BurningForge is a discussion-based community, some public contributions may remain visible after account deletion, especially when they are part of public technical discussions. In such cases, we may anonymize the author instead of deleting the entire discussion.

12. User-generated content

Users are responsible for the content they publish.

This includes:

  • text
  • images
  • files
  • links
  • technical instructions
  • project documentation
  • code snippets
  • diagrams
  • external resources

Please avoid publishing sensitive personal data, passwords, private keys, confidential documents, unsafe instructions without context, or materials that you do not have the right to share.

BurningForge may remove content that violates community rules, creates safety risks, infringes rights, or harms the integrity of the community.

13. Safety and technical content

BurningForge is focused on DIY, engineering, electronics, software, manufacturing, prototyping, and related technical topics.

Some technical discussions may involve tools, electricity, batteries, machinery, heat, chemicals, mechanical systems, or other potentially risky subjects.

Users are responsible for following appropriate safety practices and local laws.

BurningForge may moderate or remove content that appears dangerously incomplete, misleading, illegal, or likely to cause harm.

14. Children

BurningForge is intended for users who are at least 13 years old.

If you are under the minimum age required in your country to use online community services, do not create an account without appropriate permission.

15. Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect the site and user data.

However, no online service can guarantee absolute security.

You should:

  • use a strong password
  • avoid reusing passwords from other services
  • keep your email account secure
  • avoid posting sensitive personal information publicly
  • report suspicious activity if you notice it

16. Changes to this policy

This Privacy Policy may be updated as BurningForge develops.

When significant changes are made, we may update the “Last updated” date and, where appropriate, announce the change on the forum.

17. Summary

BurningForge collects the information needed to operate a forum and future project platform.

We do not sell personal data.

We aim to keep the project transparent, useful, safe, and respectful of users.

BurningForge is currently in an early stage, and this policy may evolve as the platform grows.