Privacy policy
This page explains which personal data Playalike processes, for what purpose, and what rights you have. Personal data is any information that can be used to identify you personally.
Playalike does not use any analytics, tracking or advertising tools and does not load content from third-party servers when you visit. The data involved in the individual features (account, Steam, AI description, release radar, feedback) is described further down under “What data Playalike processes in detail”.
2. Controller
The controller responsible for data processing on this website is:
Andreas Kort
Hohe Mark 6
48734 Reken
Germany
Email: hello@playalike.de
The controller is the natural or legal person who, alone or jointly with others, decides on the purposes and means of processing personal data.
3. Hosting and server log files
This website is hosted by ALL-INKL.COM – Neue Medien Münnich, owner René Münnich, Hauptstraße 68, 02742 Friedersdorf, Germany (“All-Inkl”). The website, the database and the email mailbox are located there, and the website’s emails are also sent via All-Inkl. We have a data processing agreement with All-Inkl in accordance with Art. 28 GDPR, which ensures that your data is processed only on our instructions and in compliance with the GDPR.
Each time the website is accessed, the server automatically records information that your browser transmits in so-called server log files: browser type and version, operating system, referrer URL, host name of the accessing computer, time of the request and IP address. This data is not combined with other data sources. The processing is based on Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR; we have a legitimate interest in the technically error-free and secure operation of the website. Details, including how long the log files are kept, can be found in All-Inkl’s privacy policy: https://all-inkl.com/datenschutzinformationen/
4. SSL/TLS encryption
For security reasons and to protect the transmission of confidential content, such as your login details, this site uses SSL/TLS encryption. You can recognise it by “https://” in the address bar and the padlock symbol in your browser. When encryption is active, the data you send to us cannot be read by third parties.
5. Legal bases
We only process personal data where there is a legal basis:
your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR), e.g. for the release radar,
the performance of a contract or pre-contractual measures (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR), e.g. for your user account and features you use yourself,
a legal obligation (Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR),
our legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR), e.g. in the secure operation of the website.
Storing information in your browser (cookies, localStorage) is additionally governed by Section 25 of the German TDDDG. We only store what is strictly necessary for the site to work (Section 25(2) no. 2 TDDDG); the overview can be found below under “Cookies and browser storage”.
The legal basis that applies in each case is stated with the respective feature further down.
6. Recipients and transfers to third countries
We only pass on personal data where this is necessary for the respective feature, where we are legally obliged to do so or where another legal basis permits it. Recipients are our host All-Inkl (processor) and – only if you use the corresponding feature – Valve (Steam sign-in and Steam library) and Anthropic (analysis of descriptions in your own words). Valve and Anthropic are based in the USA; details and the basis for the transfer are given with the respective feature further down.
7. Storage period
Unless a more specific storage period is stated for the respective feature, we only keep personal data for as long as is necessary for the purpose. If you make a justified request for deletion or withdraw your consent, we delete your data unless statutory retention obligations prevent this; in that case we delete it once those reasons no longer apply.
8. Your rights
You have the right at any time:
to access the data we hold about you, its origin, recipients and the purpose of processing (Art. 15 GDPR),
to have inaccurate data corrected (Art. 16 GDPR),
to have your data erased (Art. 17 GDPR) – you can also delete your account yourself under “Account”,
to restrict processing (Art. 18 GDPR),
to data portability, i.e. to receive your data in a common, machine-readable format (Art. 20 GDPR),
to withdraw consent you have given at any time with effect for the future (Art. 7(3) GDPR); this does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before the withdrawal.
Right to object (Art. 21 GDPR): Where we process your data on the basis of our legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR), you may object at any time on grounds relating to your particular situation. We will then no longer process your data unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds that override your interests, rights and freedoms, or the processing serves to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.
An email to hello@playalike.de is all it takes for any of these requests.
Right to lodge a complaint: You can lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority, in particular in the member state of your residence, your place of work or the place of the alleged infringement. The authority responsible for us is the State Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information of North Rhine-Westphalia (www.ldi.nrw.de).
9. No automated decision-making
Game recommendations are generated automatically from the information you provide (favourite games, library, description). They are only suggestions and have no legal effect on you; there is no automated decision-making within the meaning of Art. 22 GDPR.
This translation is provided for information; the German version is legally binding.
What data Playalike processes in detail
User account
For an account we store your email address, your password (only as a non-reversible hash), your display name, your language and whatever you set in your account: favourite games, your wishlist, games marked as played (with your "Was it a fit?" rating) or hidden, and your release radar setting. Links for confirming your email address and resetting your password are valid for 24 hours and one hour respectively and can only be used once. The legal basis is providing the account you created (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR). The data is kept until you delete your account; you can do this yourself at any time under “Account”, which removes the account, favourites, marks and library immediately. This also removes your highlight, your memberships in “Play together” groups including their cached results, and your profile’s preview image. When we ask during sign-up or after your first sign-in via Steam how you heard about us, answering is optional; we only count it as a total per answer, without any link to your account.
We also store when you created your account and when you were last active while logged in (to within 15 minutes), to see whether and how the account features are used. The legal basis is our legitimate interest in developing the site (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). This information is also removed when you delete your account. If your profile is public, we sort the community overview by who was active most recently; only the order is visible there, not the time.
Signing in with Steam and your Steam library
When you sign in with Steam or link Steam, you sign in on Steam’s own page (Valve Corporation, USA). We only receive your Steam ID. We then use the Steam interface to request your profile name, your profile picture and – if your game details are public on Steam – your games with playtime. We store the profile picture on our own server so that nothing is loaded from Steam when it is displayed. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR, because you use this feature yourself. The data is kept until you unlink Steam in your account or delete your account. Valve’s privacy policy applies to signing in with Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/privacy_agreement/
Combined analysis for better recommendations
Once a week we count across all accounts which games are often liked together. This is based on the most-played games from linked Steam libraries, favourites and played games marked as enjoyed. We only store how many people like a pair of games, and only once at least three people do; no link to individual accounts is kept. Likewise, we count thumbs on recommendations per game pair only, without any link to you. The legal basis is our legitimate interest in relevant recommendations (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). Hidden games are never included.
Library from a screenshot (AI)
If you are signed in and upload a screenshot of your game library or a photo of your games (e.g. on a shelf) under “Library” in your account, we scale the image down, strip embedded metadata such as camera and location data and send it to Anthropic PBC (USA), the provider of the AI model Claude, for recognition. We get back the store or console and the game titles found. We do not store the image itself. Only after you confirm do we save the added games with their store to your account, until you remove them or delete your account, plus the time of your requests for the daily limit (for two days). The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR, because you request the analysis yourself. The transfer to the USA is based on Anthropic’s data processing agreement with EU standard contractual clauses (Art. 46(2)(c) GDPR). Screenshots often show user names or profile pictures; please crop them out first. Photos should not show any people. More: https://www.anthropic.com/legal/privacy
If our server can’t re-save the image (and so can’t remove the metadata), we don’t send it to Anthropic at all. Recognised titles that aren’t in our catalogue yet are noted with a link to your account and the store; we look them up on IGDB and add them to your account once we find them. Processed entries are deleted after 30 days, open ones with your account. Imported games only appear on your public profile if you switch on “Show collection” there.
Describing your taste in your own words (AI)
If you use the “Describe it in your own words” feature while signed in, we send your text for analysis to Anthropic PBC (USA), the provider of the AI model Claude. What comes back is a classification of your taste, from which we calculate recommendations. We do not store your text; we only keep a non-reversible check value (hash) of the text together with the result, so that identical descriptions do not have to be analysed again, and the times of your requests for the daily limit (for two days). The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR, because you request the analysis yourself. The transfer to the USA is based on Anthropic’s data processing agreement with EU standard contractual clauses (Art. 46(2)(c) GDPR). Please do not include anything in the description that could identify you personally. More information: https://www.anthropic.com/legal/privacy
Public taste profile
When signing up or later in your account you can switch on a public profile under an address of your choice. It shows your display name, since when you’ve been a member, your Steam avatar, your favourite games, your highlight with your line about it (if chosen) and the defining traits calculated from them. Only if you also switch on “Show collection” are your whole Steam library with playtime, the games from other stores imported via screenshot, the number of your games, your total playtime and a link to your Steam profile (it contains your Steam ID) visible as well. Email address and played and hidden games stay private. Signed-in visitors also see how well their taste matches yours; this comparison is calculated on each visit and not stored. Profiles are blocked for search engines (noindex). The legal basis is your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR); you can switch the profile off in your account at any time, and it becomes unavailable immediately.
When a link to your profile is shared (e.g. on Discord or WhatsApp), these services load a preview image and a short text from our server: a collage of the covers of your highlight, your favourite games and – only with “Show collection” – your most-played games, plus your player type and favourite games as text. The image stays in our cache for at most 7 days and is removed immediately when you switch off your profile or delete your account; services that have already loaded it may show it for up to one more hour.
Link Discord
When you link Discord in your account, you sign in on Discord's site (Discord Inc., USA) and grant us the "identify" permission there. We only receive and store your Discord ID and username; no email address, no servers, no messages. We use the access token only for this one request and do not store it. Your username only appears on your public profile if you also switch that on. The legal basis is your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR). "Unlink Discord" or deleting your account removes the data immediately. Discord's privacy policy applies to signing in there: https://discord.com/privacy
Viewer vote for streamers (Twitch)
If you connect your Twitch channel under “For streamers” while signed in, you sign in on Twitch’s site (Twitch Interactive, Inc., USA) and grant us permission to start and read polls in your channel and to post messages in your chat on your behalf. We only use the latter if you switch it on in the control panel: for a message with a link to the winner and, optionally, when the poll starts. We store your Twitch ID, your channel name, whether your channel is an Affiliate or Partner, and the access to Twitch in encrypted form, plus the games you picked, the question, the duration, a secret URL for your OBS overlay and the polls and tournaments you started with the number of votes per game. Twitch doesn’t share who voted for what, so we don’t store that either. Your channel page (playalike.gg/ plus your Twitch name) shows the current vote and past winners; signed-in visitors also see how well their taste matches yours (a percentage and traits you both like, no individual games). You can switch the match off in the control panel; it is calculated on every visit and not stored. The legal basis is providing a feature you use yourself (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR). “Disconnect Twitch” revokes access at Twitch and deletes all of this immediately, as does deleting your account. Twitch’s privacy notice applies to signing in with Twitch and to the polls in your channel: https://www.twitch.tv/p/legal/privacy-notice/
Anyone who knows the address can open your channel page; it is blocked for search engines (noindex). Besides the vote and past winners, it shows tournaments that are running or ended up to a day ago, with their bracket. During a vote the page re-checks the count every few seconds; this only produces the usual server log data. If someone shares a link to your channel page (e.g. on Discord or WhatsApp), those services load a preview image from our server: a collage of the covers of the games in your latest vote and past winners. The image stays in our cache for at most 7 days and is removed immediately when you disconnect Twitch or delete your account; services that already loaded it may keep showing it for up to an hour.
If you also turn on “Show Twitch channel” under “Visibility”, your channel name and a link to Twitch appear on your profile and in the community while your profile is public. We then check with Twitch at most every two minutes whether you are live, using our app’s access, not yours. While you are live, we show your stream’s game, title and viewer count on your profile and under “Live now”. We keep this status only briefly in our cache, until the next check. The legal basis is your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR); you can turn it off at any time, and it also disappears immediately when you disconnect Twitch or make your profile private.
Play together (group finder)
If you create or join a group under “Play together”, we store the group name, the group details (how many of you there are, genre, language), the name you choose, your platforms and the games you name; if you are signed in, also the link to your account so your favourite games count. Your library (Steam and imported games from other stores) only counts if you tick “Use my library for this group” when joining; the other members will then see which picks you already own. Anyone with the link to the group can see names, platforms and the picks with each person’s match; only members of the group can see who already owns which game. Groups are blocked for search engines (noindex). Private groups don’t need an account. The legal basis is providing the feature you use (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR), and for the library your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR). Every group is deleted automatically with all its data after 30 days, cached results after one day; if you delete your account, we remove you from all groups immediately.
You can only create or join public groups with an account that has Steam or Discord linked. They are listed for 7 days under “Open groups” on the home page, under “Play together” and in the community; there, all visitors can see the group name, language, genre, the name of the person who created it, the platforms and covers of the named games. In public groups you appear with your account name, and the other members of that group see the link to your Steam profile (it contains your Steam ID) or your Discord username with a link to your Discord profile, so you can meet up to play. These contacts stay hidden from everyone else. The legal basis is your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR), which you give by ticking “Public group” or by joining. If you want to be removed from a group before the 30 days are up, write to us via the feedback form or by email and we will delete your data straight away.
Release radar (email notifications)
You switch on the release radar yourself in your account. We then email you when a game comes out that matches your taste. For this we store when you gave your consent and which games we have already told you about, so nothing arrives twice. The legal basis is your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR). You can withdraw it at any time via the unsubscribe link in every email or in your account; after that you will not receive any more radar emails.
Radar emails contain game covers that your email program loads from our server when you open them. This only produces the usual server log data, as with any page view. We do not include tracking pixels or tracking links and do not analyse whether or when you open an email or which links you click.
Wishlist by email
You turn on wishlist emails yourself in your account, separately from the release radar. We then write at most once a day when a game on your wishlist comes out or goes on sale on Steam. For this we store when you gave consent and which games we told you about and when. The legal basis is your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR), which you can withdraw at any time via the unsubscribe link in every email or in your account. As with the radar, your email app loads the game covers from our server, without tracking pixels or tracking links.
Feedback form
Only if you tick “Include technical details” do we also store window and screen size, pixel density, browser and device (user agent), colour scheme, language and up to five error messages of the site from your current visit. This helps us reproduce reported problems; the legal basis is your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR), which you can refuse by leaving the box unticked.
Through the feedback form we store the type of feedback, your message, the page you came from, the time, your account if you are signed in and – only if you provide it – your email address for follow-up questions. We receive a notification about it by email. The legal basis is our legitimate interest in improving the site based on feedback and in replying to you (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). We delete feedback once it has been dealt with, or immediately if you ask us to.
Emails and contact
We send emails about your account (confirmation, password, notices) and from the release radar via our host’s mail server. If you email us, we store your address and your message in order to reply (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR, or (b) if it concerns your account), and delete them once the matter has been resolved and no retention obligations apply.
Visitor statistics
To understand how the site is used and where visitors come from, we count page views ourselves – without cookies, without third-party scripts and without storing your IP address. We store the page viewed, the domain of the previous page (e.g. “google”), campaign details from the link, whether it is a mobile device, the language, the time and individual actions such as “recommendations shown” or “registered”. To tell visits apart, we create a shortened check value from your IP address and browser identifier using a random key that is generated anew every day and then discarded. This makes it impossible to trace it back to you or to recognise a visit on the next day. If your browser sends “Do Not Track” or “Global Privacy Control”, we do not count you at all. The legal basis is our legitimate interest in improving the site (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR); the entries are deleted after 180 days.
Shop links (affiliate programmes)
Some links to shops are partner or affiliate links (marked with *). If you buy something there after clicking, we may receive a commission; the price does not change for you. When you click, you are forwarded to the shop, which may set its own cookies and attribute the click to our partner account. The shop is responsible for this and its privacy policy applies.
Cookies and browser storage
We do not use cookies or similar technologies for analytics, tracking or advertising. We only store what is technically necessary for the site to work or what you explicitly choose:
| Name | Type | Purpose | When | Storage period |
|---|---|---|---|---|
gs_session | Cookie | Signing in and protecting forms against abuse | only when signing in, in your account and in the feedback form | until you close the browser; when logged in, up to 30 days after your last visit |
lang | Cookie | chosen language | only when you switch the language | 1 year |
gt-prefs | Cookie | your preferences without an account (platforms, Steam Deck, minimum rating) so pages filter by them; contains nothing about you | only when you choose “Save platform and rating” on the home page | 1 year, or until you choose “Forget” |
gt-theme | Browser storage (localStorage) | Light or dark mode | only when you switch | until you delete it in your browser |
gt-library-view | Browser storage (localStorage) | Steam library view (grid or list) | only when you switch | until you delete it in your browser |
gt-errors | Browser storage (sessionStorage) | remembers up to five error messages of the site from this visit; we only receive them if you include them in the feedback form | only if an error occurs on the site | until you close the browser |
gt-hint | Browser storage (sessionStorage) | remembers which companion tip has already popped up on its own, so it does not reappear on every page. Which tips you dismissed is stored in your account so they do not come back | only when signed in and a tip appears | until you close the browser |
gt-tonight | Browser storage (localStorage) | remembers your choices in the evening mode (time, mood, with whom); never sent to us | only if you choose something there | until you delete it in your browser |
gt-vote:… | Browser storage (localStorage) | remembers your thumbs-up or thumbs-down on a recommendation so it is not counted twice; we only receive the vote itself, not linked to you | only when you click a thumb | until you delete it in your browser |
gt-wall-view | Browser storage (localStorage) | View of the topic pages (grid or list, covers per row); not sent to us | only when you switch | until you delete it in your browser |
gt-view-deals | Browser storage (localStorage) | View of the deals on the home page (carousel or list), only without an account; with an account the choice is stored in your account | only when you switch | until you delete it in your browser |
gt-lang-hint | Browser storage (localStorage) | Remembers that you have seen the hint about the other language version so it does not come back | only when you close the hint or switch language | until you delete it in your browser |
gt-thread | Browser storage (localStorage) | remembers the games you picked on the home page so the sections below (game of the day, radar, dice, profiles) show the match with them. For this the page only sends the short names of these games to our server, not linked to you; nothing is stored there | only when you pick a game on the home page | until you click “Forget” or delete it in your browser |
gs-group-… | Browser storage (localStorage) | remembers that you are already in a “Play together” group so “Join” stays collapsed; not sent to us | only when you create or join a group | until you delete it in your browser |
pa-shelf-view | Browser storage (localStorage) | View of the collection on profiles (shelf or covers); not sent to us | only when you switch | until you delete it in your browser |
optionsSeen | Browser storage (localStorage) | remembers that you’ve opened “More options” once, so it stops lighting up; not sent to us | only when you open the options | until you delete it in your browser |
gt-notice | Browser storage (localStorage) | remembers that you closed the note on cookies | only when you click “Got it” | until you delete it in your browser |
This storage is strictly necessary for the service you requested; under Section 25(2) No. 2 of the German TDDDG no consent is required. You can delete it in your browser at any time.
Fonts, game covers, logos and preview images are hosted on our own server; no content from Google, IGDB, Steam or other providers is loaded when you visit. The only exception are trailers on the “New releases” and “Games like …” pages: they load from YouTube (Google, via youtube-nocookie.com) only once you click “Watch trailer” or “Trailer”. Links to shops such as Steam or Amazon only open their sites when you click them; their privacy policies and cookies apply there. We count clicks on purchase links without IP address or user ID (only game, shop, platform and time).
Searches for which we find no game are stored without any link to you (only the search text, count and time) so we can extend the catalogue; they are deleted after 90 days. Registrations that are not confirmed within 48 hours are deleted automatically, including the email address.
Purchase links marked with * (e.g. Gamesplanet, Amazon) are partner links: we add our partner code so the shop can attribute a purchase to us. After the click the shop may set its own cookies; we only receive an anonymous commission statement, no information about you.
Abuse protection: for login attempts, account emails, the feedback form and when creating or joining groups under “Play together” we store a non-reversible, keyed check value (hash) of your IP address or email address and the time – not the address itself – to fend off attacks and spam. These entries are deleted after 24 hours at the latest. The legal basis is our legitimate interest in secure operation (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).
The link to our Discord community leads to Discord (Discord Inc., USA). We do not embed Discord in the site; data is only transferred to Discord when you click the link. Discord’s privacy policy applies there.
The “Buy me a coffee via PayPal” button leads to PayPal. Data is only transferred to PayPal when you click it; PayPal's privacy policy applies there.