Privacy Policy
www.happypastimes.com
1. Data Controller
2. General Information
I process personal data of users of this website only to the extent necessary to provide a functional website, to process orders, and to provide my content and services. Personal data is processed regularly only with the consent of users or where processing is permitted by law.
The legal bases for processing are, depending on the purpose:
- Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR – Consent
- Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR – Performance of a contract or pre-contractual measures
- Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR – Compliance with a legal obligation (e.g. tax and commercial-law retention requirements)
- Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR – Legitimate interests
3. Hosting
This website is hosted by Uberspace (Jonas Pasche, Kaiserstraße 16a, 55116 Mainz, Germany). A data processing agreement (DPA) pursuant to Art. 28 GDPR has been concluded with Uberspace. Uberspace processes access data (IP address, timestamps, pages visited, browser identifier) in server logs. This data is required to ensure stable operation and for error analysis, and is automatically deleted after a maximum of 7 days.
Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR (legitimate interest in secure operation).
4. Shop Orders & Payment Processing (Stripe)
When you place an order in my shop, I collect and process the data required to fulfil the contract: name, delivery address, email address, and order details (product, price, order time). This data is needed to process your order and ship the goods to you.
Order and invoice data is additionally retained for up to 10 years due to statutory commercial and tax retention obligations (§ 257 HGB, § 147 AO — German Commercial Code / Fiscal Code).
Payment processing: Payment is processed via the payment provider Stripe (Stripe Payments Europe, Limited, One Wilton Park, Wilton Place, Dublin 2, D02 FX04, Ireland; and Stripe, Inc., 354 Oyster Point Blvd, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA). During checkout you are redirected to Stripe's own payment page; your payment data (e.g. card details) is collected and processed there directly — it never passes through my own servers.
Stripe processes some of this data (e.g. for fraud prevention and to meet its own legal obligations) as an independent data controller, and otherwise as a processor acting on my behalf. Data transfer to the USA may take place on the basis of Standard Contractual Clauses (Art. 46(2)(c) GDPR). Further information is available in Stripe's own privacy policy: stripe.com/privacy.
Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(b), (c), and (f) GDPR (contract performance, legal obligation, legitimate interest in secure, fraud-protected payment processing).
5. Marketing to Existing Customers After a Purchase
If you buy a product from me, I use the email address provided to occasionally inform you about my own, similar products (e.g. new games or bundles from Happy Pastimes) — even without separate consent. This is permitted under German law's "existing customer advertising" exception (§ 7(3) UWG), since
- the address is collected in connection with the purchase,
- only my own, similar goods are advertised,
- you are clearly and separately informed about this use and your right to object at the time of your order, and
- you have not objected to it.
You can object to this use at any time, free of charge and without formal requirements — by emailing malte@happypastimes.com or via the unsubscribe link in any such email. Once you object, your address will no longer be used for this purpose. I use the service Brevo to send these emails (see item 8).
Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR (legitimate interest in direct marketing under § 7(3) UWG).
6. Contact by Email
If you contact me by email, the transmitted data (email address, message content, and possibly your name) will be stored by me to process your request. Data will not be passed on to third parties. The data will be deleted once the request has been fully processed and no statutory retention obligations apply.
Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR.
7. Playtester Sign-Up (Contact Form)
This website includes a form through which you can register as a playtester for board games. The following data is collected:
- Name
- Email address
- Any additional information you voluntarily provide (e.g. game preferences)
- Website language at the time of sign-up
Technical Processing
Form data is transmitted via an encrypted HTTPS connection directly to my own web server and stored there in a self-hosted database (no third-party service is involved in storing it). I also receive a notification email, sent directly via my own mail server (Uberspace) — no third party is involved.
Purpose & Retention
Your data is used solely to contact you for future playtesting sessions. I intend to maintain this list on a long-term basis (retention period: up to 10 years from the date of sign-up). If you wish to be removed from the list before this period expires, please send an email to malte@happypastimes.com — I will delete your entry promptly.
Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR (consent given by submitting the form).
8. Newsletter & Free Demo (Brevo)
I offer a newsletter and a free-demo sign-up which you can subscribe to voluntarily. Only your email address is collected. Sign-up uses a double opt-in process: after entering your address you will receive a confirmation email in which you must actively confirm your subscription. Only after this confirmation will your address be added to the mailing list.
For email delivery I use Brevo (Sendinblue GmbH, Köpenicker Str. 126, 10179 Berlin, Germany). A data processing agreement has been concluded with Brevo. Brevo stores your email address on servers within the EU.
You may unsubscribe at any time — either via the unsubscribe link in every email or by emailing malte@happypastimes.com. Upon unsubscribing, your address will be removed from the active mailing list; however, to document the consent you gave, it will be archived for 3 years and then deleted entirely.
Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR (consent).
9. Withdrawal Function
On the Right of Withdrawal page you can declare your withdrawal directly through a form. The following data is collected: name, email address, and any order details you voluntarily provide. This data is used to process your withdrawal and to send both you and me a confirmation by email; delivery is handled via Brevo (see item 8).
Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR (legal obligation to provide a withdrawal function under § 356a BGB) and Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR (contract processing).
10. YouTube Videos
This website embeds videos from YouTube (Google LLC, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, USA). When you visit a page containing an embedded YouTube video, a connection is established to YouTube's servers. YouTube is thereby informed, among other things, which page you have visited. If you are logged in to your YouTube account, YouTube can associate your browsing behaviour directly with your personal profile. You can prevent this by logging out of your YouTube account.
Videos are embedded in standard embed mode. Google LLC may process transmitted data in the USA on the basis of Standard Contractual Clauses. Further information: Google Privacy Policy.
Legal basis: Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR (legitimate interest in presenting game content).
11. Your Rights
With respect to your personal data, you have the following rights:
- Access (Art. 15 GDPR)
- Rectification (Art. 16 GDPR)
- Erasure (Art. 17 GDPR)
- Restriction of processing (Art. 18 GDPR)
- Data portability (Art. 20 GDPR)
- Objection to processing (Art. 21 GDPR)
- Withdrawal of consent with effect for the future (Art. 7(3) GDPR)
To exercise your right to erasure or to withdraw consent, a simple email to malte@happypastimes.com is sufficient.
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority. The competent authority depends on your country of residence or the location of the alleged infringement.
12. Cookies
This website uses only technically necessary cookies (e.g. for language selection). No tracking or marketing cookies are used. No consent is required for these cookies.
13. Changes to this Privacy Policy
I reserve the right to update this privacy policy at any time to keep it in line with current legal requirements or changes to my services. The current version is always available at www.happypastimes.com/en/privacy.
Last updated: August 2026