What this policy covers
This policy covers data handled by the FOI website, FOI Discord bots, FOI Squad server tracking, whitelist and progression systems, administrative tools, applications, and ban appeals. It does not replace the separate privacy policies of Steam, Discord, BattleMetrics, Cloudflare, Patreon, YouTube, X, or other services you choose to visit.
We never receive your Steam or Discord password. Steam authentication is handled by Steam. Discord linking requests only basic account identity. The temporary Discord authorization token used during linking is not stored in the FOI database.
Information we collect
Steam identity
SteamID64, display name, avatar, public profile URL, linked-account status, and login or profile-refresh timestamps.
Discord identity
Discord user ID, username or display name, server membership, roles, supporter or staff access, and account-link timestamps.
Progression & activity
Rank, XP and XP sources, chat XP totals, voice-channel duration, referrals, FOI join date, applications, rewards, and related audit history.
Squad & seeding
FOI server sessions, playtime, session timestamps, server player counts, seeding minutes, milestones, rewards, Steam Squad hours, and BattleMetrics player references.
Access & moderation
Whitelist entries and reasons, role-based access, Discord or Squad ban status, ban reason and expiration, staff actions, and administrative logs.
Information you submit
FOI applications, referral details, command or form inputs, ban-appeal type, email address, approximate ban date, appeal explanation, decisions, and staff notes.
Support tickets
Ticket category, owner Discord ID, opening and closing times, participating messages, attachments, embed text, and transcript history. Ticket transcripts are shown only to the ticket owner through the Steam account linked to that Discord ID and to authorized staff.
Discord activity
The bot processes events needed to operate the community, such as commands, role changes, message activity used for chat XP or moderation, voice-channel join and leave times, applications, referrals, and moderation events. FOI does not record Discord voice audio. Normal chat XP records are totals and timestamps, not a permanent copy of every ordinary message; however, content involved in moderation, edited/deleted-message logging, applications, tickets, appeals, or staff review may be retained in the relevant Discord channels or logs.
Technical information
Our web host, reverse proxy, and security provider may create routine request logs containing information such as IP address, requested URL, date and time, response status, referrer, and browser or device user-agent. We use this information for delivery, troubleshooting, security, and abuse prevention.
How we use information
- Authenticate and link accounts so Steam, Discord, the website, and bot recognize the same player.
- Operate community features including profiles, ranks, XP, leaderboards, supporter features, referrals, applications, achievements, and stat cards.
- Track Squad and seeding activity and issue whitelist, seeding, rank, supporter, or staff access.
- Moderate and protect FOI by checking bans, enforcing roles and permissions, investigating abuse, and keeping staff audit history.
- Process applications and appeals, notify the appropriate staff channels, carry out approved actions, and email appeal decisions.
- Maintain and improve reliability through troubleshooting, backups, performance monitoring, and security logs.
We do not sell or rent personal information, build advertising profiles, or use FOI data for third-party targeted advertising.
How long information is kept
Retention depends on why the record exists:
- Website login sessions normally expire after approximately eight hours.
- Account links, progression, playtime, rewards, referrals, applications, and membership records are generally kept while needed to operate the community and preserve accurate history.
- Inactive whitelist records may be removed from active output while a corresponding audit log is retained.
- Appeal, moderation, ban, and administrative audit records may be retained after a case closes—or after an operational record is removed—to preserve accountability, prevent abuse, and document staff actions.
- Backups and infrastructure logs may remain for a limited operational or security period before rotation or replacement.
- Third-party services retain information according to their own policies.
FOI may retain specific information longer when reasonably necessary for safety, dispute resolution, rule enforcement, fraud prevention, or legal obligations.
Access, correction, and deletion
You may ask FOI staff to provide, correct, unlink, or delete information associated with your Steam or Discord identity. We will review requests in context and may need to verify that you control the account. Some moderation, security, appeal, transaction, backup, or audit records may be retained where deletion would compromise community safety, record integrity, or a legal obligation.
- You can sign out to end the current website session.
- Discord linking is optional, but Discord-specific bans, roles, supporter features, rewards, and appeals may not work without it.
- You may disable seeding-reward direct messages where that preference is offered.
- You can control information you provide directly by choosing whether to submit an application, appeal, referral, or optional command.
How information is protected
FOI uses safeguards intended to reduce unauthorized access, including encrypted HTTPS connections, signed HTTP-only session cookies, restricted administrative routes, live Discord-role permission checks, database access controls, and operational backups. No online system can guarantee absolute security, so members should also protect their Steam and Discord accounts with strong passwords and multi-factor authentication.
Third-party policies
Connected platforms process information under their own terms. Review their policies for details:
Following a Patreon, YouTube, X, Steam, Discord, or other external link leaves the FOI website and may allow that service to collect information under its own policy.
Questions or requests
For a privacy question or a request to access, correct, unlink, or delete FOI-held information, contact FOI staff through Discord and ask for a Head Admin. Please do not post sensitive details in a public channel; use a staff ticket or private staff-approved method.
Contact FOI staffPolicy changes
We may update this policy when website, bot, server, or legal requirements change. The effective date at the top will be updated when material changes are published.