Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Arguen (“we”, “the service”) is an AI-judged debate platform. This policy explains what data we process when you use it. Arguen is operated by Harsh Raj, India, who decides how and why this data is processed (the “data fiduciary” under India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023). Questions go to hello@arguen.com or the Contact page.

2. Data we collect

• Account data — we receive your email address when you sign in, either from Google (via Google Sign-In, which loads a Google script and sign-in window on the login page) or from the address you type to receive a one-time sign-in code, and store it with your chosen username, rating, and match record.
• Content you write — arguments, debate topics, comments, war entries, roast submissions, and reports. Content posted to public debates or public surfaces is visible to anyone.
• Usage data — product analytics events (via PostHog, hosted in the EU and relayed through our own domain), aggregate page-view statistics (via Vercel Web Analytics, which is cookieless and does not identify you), and error diagnostics (via Sentry, configured not to collect IP addresses or other default personal data), including pages visited, device and browser type, and performance timings, to understand what breaks and what works.
• Push subscriptions — if you opt in to notifications, we store the browser push endpoint needed to deliver them. We use it for turn alerts and occasional reminders (for example a streak about to lapse), at most one reminder per day. You can unsubscribe at any time.
• Approximate country — a best-effort country code may be derived from your request to show an optional flag beside your seat.
• Security signals — hashed (never raw) IP identifiers for rate limiting and abuse prevention on open endpoints. The no-sign-up roast on the home page is protected by Cloudflare Turnstile, which checks your browser for signs of automation; Cloudflare processes technical signals such as your IP address and browser characteristics for that purpose only.
• Billing data — if you buy Arguen Pro, credit top-ups, or cosmetics, our payment processor handles the transaction and we store only what is needed to grant and support it: your subscription status, order and payment identifiers, and the item purchased. We never receive or store your full card details.

3. How we use it

• To run debates: matchmaking, turn management, scoring, ratings, streaks, and notifications.
• AI processing — the text of your arguments, topics, roast submissions, and other public text is sent to Google Gemini for scoring and safety moderation, and to the OpenAI Moderation API as a second safety check. It is used to produce your verdict and keep the arena safe, not to build advertising profiles. We do not send your email address or account details with it.
• To keep the arena safe: moderation, rate limiting, and abuse prevention.
• To deliver and support purchases: unlocking Pro, crediting Oracle and Match credits, and honouring cancellations and refunds.
• To improve the product: aggregate funnel and retention analytics.

We do not sell your personal data.

4. Cookies and local storage

We use authentication cookies (Supabase Auth) to keep you signed in, and local storage for preferences such as theme, onboarding picks, and one-shot UI beats. We do not use third-party advertising cookies. Cloudflare Turnstile may set short-lived security data while it checks the home-page roast; Vercel Web Analytics uses no cookies.

5. Third-party processors

Supabase (database, authentication, realtime), Vercel (hosting and cookieless page analytics), Google (Gemini AI judging and moderation, and Google Sign-In if you choose it), OpenAI (second-layer text moderation), Cloudflare (Turnstile bot protection), our email delivery provider configured in Supabase Auth (delivery of one-time sign-in codes; we send no marketing email), Razorpay (payment processing for Pro, credits, and cosmetics), PostHog (product analytics), and Sentry (error monitoring). Each receives only what it needs to perform its function.

6. Retention and deletion

Your data is kept while your account exists. Deleting your account (Account → danger zone) erases your personal data, your own arguments, reactions, votes, and rating history. Debates you took part in are preserved for your opponents with your seat reassigned to an anonymous tombstone — your name and words are removed. Records of payments are an exception: we and our payment processor retain the transaction records that tax and accounting law require us to keep, even after the account that made them is deleted.

7. Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, export, or erase your personal data. Deletion is self-service from your Account page; for any other request, write to us at hello@arguen.com and we will respond as quickly as we reasonably can.

8. Where your data is processed

Our providers run servers in several countries, so your data may be stored or processed outside India (for example in the EU or the United States). We only use providers that commit to protecting it, and we transfer only what each one needs.

9. Security

Data is encrypted in transit (HTTPS) and protected at rest by our providers. Database access is restricted by row-level security so each user can only reach their own private data, secrets stay server-side, and backups are taken daily. No system is perfectly secure; if a breach affects your personal data, we will notify you and the relevant authorities as the law requires.

10. Grievances

If you have a complaint about how your data is handled, write to Harsh Raj at hello@arguen.com with the subject “Privacy grievance”. We acknowledge within 2 business days and aim to resolve complaints within 30 days. If you are in India and not satisfied with our response, you may approach the Data Protection Board of India.

11. Children

Arguen is not directed at children under 13, and you must not use it if you are under 13. Users aged 13 to 17 should use Arguen with a parent or guardian’s involvement. We do not knowingly track minors for behavioural advertising (we run no advertising at all). If you believe a child under 13 has an account, contact us and we will remove it.

12. Changes

We will update this page when the policy changes and adjust the date above. Material changes will be announced in-app.

13. Contact

Privacy questions, data requests, and anything else about this policy: hello@arguen.com, or see the Contact page.