Privacy Policy

Flamenet — flamenet.io
Effective date: August 20, 2026 — View changelog

1. Who we are
2. What we collect and why
3. What we do not collect
4. Private messages and encryption
5. Payments
6. Cookies and local storage
7. Third parties
8. Data retention
9. Your rights
10. Children
11. Contact us
12. Changelog

1. Who we are

Flamenet operates the website flamenet.io and all services accessible through that domain, including the Forum, Groups, Messaging, Jobs, Listings, Answers, Events, Games, and the Link Directory (collectively, "Flamenet" or "the Service").

When this policy refers to "we," "us," or "our," it means Flamenet. When it refers to "you" or "your," it means you as a visitor or registered user of the Service.

2. What we collect and why

We only collect information that is necessary to provide and improve the Service. Below is a complete list of the categories of data we collect.

2.1 Account information

When you create an account you provide a username and email address. Your password is stored as a one-way cryptographic hash — we cannot recover or read it. Your email address is used to:

• Send account-related notifications (password resets, job application confirmations);
• Contact you if we detect abuse or a security issue on your account.

We do not verify email addresses for the purpose of marketing. You can update or delete your email address at any time from your profile page.

2.2 Content you post

Content you create on Flamenet — forum posts, group messages, job listings, auction listings, Q&A answers, events, directory submissions — is stored in our database to provide those services. Public content is visible to other users. Private messages are stored in our database, encrypted at rest with a key we hold (see Section 4).

2.3 Job application data

If you apply for a job listed on Flamenet, we store your application details (cover letter, resume file if uploaded). This information is shared with the employer who posted the listing and is not used for any other purpose.

2.4 Professional profile

If you complete a Flamenet Jobs profile (headline, biography, skills, work history, education, portfolio URL, LinkedIn URL, resume PDF), this data is stored as part of your account and may be shared with employers who receive your application. Your profile is not publicly indexed — it is only accessible to employers whose listings you have applied to, and to Flamenet administrators for moderation.

2.5 AIM screen name

If you sign in through the AIM widget, your AIM screen name is stored in your Flamenet profile. Authentication with AIM is handled by aim.flamenet.io. We store only the screen name — not your AIM password.

2.6 IP addresses and server logs

Our web server records each request in a standard access log. These logs include your IP address, the page you requested, your browser's user-agent string, and the date and time of the request. We use these logs to:

• Diagnose server errors and performance issues;
• Detect and block malicious traffic and abuse;
• Produce aggregate, anonymized traffic statistics.

Raw access logs are retained for 90 days and then automatically purged. Copies are held in encrypted off-site backup storage so that a security incident discovered weeks after the fact can still be investigated; the same 90-day limit applies to those copies. We do not correlate IP addresses with user accounts unless investigating a specific abuse report.

2.7 Analytics

We use Umami Analytics (self-hosted at analytics.flamenet.io) to understand how pages are used. Umami does not use cookies, does not collect personal identifiers, and does not share data with third parties. All data is stored on our own infrastructure. The data collected is: page URL, referrer, browser name, OS name, device type, and country derived from IP (IP address is not stored).

2.8 Aggregate data

We may produce and share aggregate, anonymized statistics about the Service (e.g., total registered users, number of forum posts) that contain no personal information.

3. What we do not collect

• We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to any third party.
• We do not build advertising profiles or use your data for targeted advertising.
• We do not track you across other websites.
• We do not use third-party tracking pixels, social media share buttons that phone home, or embedded iframes from advertising networks.
• We do not collect your real name, phone number, date of birth, or government ID number — unless you voluntarily add this to your profile.
• We do not store or log your passwords in a readable form.
• We do not monitor, mine, or routinely read your private messages. We are technically able to read them, and Section 4 says plainly when that happens — we would rather tell you that than imply a protection we cannot give.
• We do not share data with AI companies for training or inference.

4. Private messages and encryption

4.1 Private mail

Private messages between members are stored on our servers, encrypted at rest using AES-256-GCM with a key derived from a secret in our server configuration and never stored alongside the message data. This means:

• Messages at rest in the database are ciphertext — unreadable without the server key, and database backups cannot be decrypted without the site's configuration file.
• Flamenet administrators can decrypt and read message contents. The moderation screen in the admin area displays them. We do this to respond to abuse reports, not as routine practice, but nothing in the system prevents it and we do not currently keep an access log that would let us show you when it happened.
• We will not voluntarily disclose message contents to any third party. We will notify you of any legal demand for your messages to the extent permitted by law — but we can produce them, and a legal order would compel us to.

These messages are not end-to-end encrypted: we hold the decryption key. Encryption at rest protects them from someone who obtains the database alone. It does not protect them from us.

4.2 AIM and ICQ

The AIM and ICQ services run on Flamenet's own OSCAR server — nothing is passed to AOL, which discontinued AIM in 2017 — but the OSCAR protocol contains no encryption. Messages sent through AIM or ICQ pass through and are held on our servers in the clear. Staying on Flamenet is not the same as being private: it means we are the party who can read them. Do not use AIM or ICQ for anything sensitive.

5. Payments

Payments for listings and auction Buy It Now purchases are processed by Stripe, Inc. Flamenet never receives, transmits, or stores your full credit or debit card number, CVV, or billing address. When you complete a purchase, you are interacting directly with Stripe's payment infrastructure. We receive only a confirmation of success or failure and a Stripe-generated session identifier for our records.

Stripe's privacy practices are governed by the Stripe Privacy Policy.

6. Cookies and local storage

We use only the following cookies:

We do not use advertising cookies, cross-site tracking cookies, or cookies from third-party analytics services. Our analytics tool (Umami) is cookieless by design.

You can configure your browser to refuse all cookies or to alert you when a cookie is being set. Refusing session cookies will prevent you from signing in to Flamenet.

7. Third parties

We share personal data with a small number of third parties only where necessary to operate the Service:

We do not share data with data brokers, advertising platforms, social networks, or any party for purposes other than those listed above.

Legal disclosures

We may disclose your information if required to do so by a valid and binding legal order (court order, subpoena, or equivalent). Where legally permitted, we will notify you before complying. We will challenge requests that we believe to be overbroad or legally deficient.

We will never voluntarily provide user data to law enforcement without a specific, valid legal demand targeting your account.

8. Data retention

9. Your rights

Regardless of where you are located, you have the following rights with respect to your personal data:

Access

You can view the personal data we hold about you by signing in to your account and visiting your profile page. You may request a full data export by contacting us at privacy@flamenet.io.

Correction

You can update your username, email address, and profile information directly from your profile page at any time.

Deletion

You can delete your account by contacting us at privacy@flamenet.io. Upon deletion:

• Your account, profile, private messages, and job application data are permanently deleted.
• Public forum posts and Q&A answers are anonymized (your username is replaced with "Deleted User") rather than deleted, to preserve the integrity of discussions.
• Payment records required for financial compliance are retained for 7 years (see Section 8).

Objection and restriction

You may object to or request restriction of any processing of your data by contacting us. We will respond within 30 days.

Portability

You may request an export of your personal data in a machine-readable format by contacting privacy@flamenet.io.

Complaints

If you believe we have handled your data unlawfully, you have the right to file a complaint with a relevant data protection authority in your jurisdiction.

US state privacy rights

If you live in California, Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Texas, Oregon, or another US state with a consumer-privacy law, you also have the right to know what personal data we hold about you, to request its correction or deletion, and to receive a copy. We do not sell your personal data, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. Exercising these rights will not result in worse treatment. To make a request, email privacy@flamenet.io — we may need to verify your identity first.

10. Children

Flamenet is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 13. If we become aware that we have collected personal data from a child under 13 without verifiable parental consent, we will delete that data promptly. If you believe a child under 13 has created an account, please contact us at privacy@flamenet.io.

11. Contact us

For any questions, requests, or concerns about this Privacy Policy or the data we hold about you, contact us at:

Email: privacy@flamenet.io
Postal: Extant 2000 LLC, 7051 Brookfield Plz, Springfield, VA 22150, USA
Subject line: Privacy Request — [your username]

We aim to respond to all privacy inquiries within 10 business days.

12. Policy changelog