Privacy Policy

Last updated: October 19, 2026

1. Introduction

DankMinecraftServers.com ("the Site", "we", "us", "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website and use our services. By using the Site, you consent to the practices described in this policy.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide:

  • Account Information: When you register, we collect your username, email address, and password (stored as a bcrypt hash — we never store plaintext passwords).
  • Server Information: When you list a server, we collect server name, IP address/hostname, port numbers, description, social media links, banner images, and Votifier configuration.
  • Voting Information: When you vote, we collect your Minecraft username.
  • Discord Account: If you sign in with Discord, Discord gives us your Discord user ID, username, email address and profile picture. If you press Connect Discord on your profile, it gives us your user ID, username and profile picture, plus a one-time access token that we use straight away to add you to our Discord server and then discard. We keep the user ID, username and the address of the profile picture.
  • Payment Information: When you purchase premium plans, payment is processed by PayPal. We receive transaction confirmation details (transaction ID, amount) but do not receive or store your credit card numbers, bank account numbers, or PayPal password.

2.2 Information Collected Automatically:

  • IP Address: We collect your IP address for security purposes including rate limiting, vote fraud prevention, and abuse detection.
  • Browser Information: We collect your User-Agent string for session security (browser fingerprinting to prevent session hijacking).
  • Page Views: We log page visits with timestamps, referrer URLs, and visitor IP addresses for analytics purposes.
  • Statistics for server owners: When you copy a server's address or try to vote, we add one to that server's daily totals (address copies, and vote attempts by result, such as "already voted today"). To count each network once a day these totals keep a keyed hash of your network for that day, never your IP address, and they are deleted after 40 days. Owners only see the totals.
  • Cookies: We use session cookies to maintain your login state, and two voting cookies that enforce the one-vote-per-server-per-day rule. These are essential cookies required for the Site to function and cannot be opted out of while using the Site. If you collapse sections on a server page, one more cookie remembers which. We also use Google Analytics cookies to count visits. See section 7.

2.3 Minecraft Server Data:

  • We periodically ping listed Minecraft servers to retrieve publicly available status information including player count, MOTD, version, server icon (favicon), and player sample lists. This data is publicly broadcast by the Minecraft server protocol and is not private information.
3. How We Use Your Information

We use collected information for the following purposes:

  • Service Operation: To create and manage your account, display server listings, process votes, and provide analytics.
  • Security: To prevent fraud, vote manipulation, unauthorized access, and other malicious activities. IP addresses are used for rate limiting and abuse detection.
  • Communication: To send email verification, password reset emails, payment confirmations, and important service announcements. If you list a verified server, we also email you a summary of its stats on the 1st of each month. Each of these emails has an unsubscribe link, and you can also turn them off on your profile. We do not send marketing emails without your consent.
  • Analytics: To understand how the Site is used, improve our services, and provide server owners with aggregated analytics about their listings.
  • Our Discord Server: If you connect Discord, our Discord bot adds you to our Discord server and gives your Discord account the Verified Server Owner role while you own a verified server with at least one vote. Anyone in our Discord server can see the role, but not which server you own. We check about every 30 minutes and take the role off when you no longer qualify. Disconnect on your profile takes it off straight away (you stay in our Discord server unless you leave it).
  • Payment Processing: To process premium plan purchases through our payment provider (PayPal).
4. Information Sharing & Disclosure

We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal information to third parties. We may share information in the following limited circumstances:

  • Public Information: Your username, server listings, vote counts, and server status are publicly visible on the Site. Do not use personal information as your username.
  • Payment Processor: We share necessary transaction details with PayPal to process payments. PayPal's use of your information is governed by their own privacy policy.
  • Votifier Callbacks: When you vote for a server with Votifier configured, your Minecraft username and IP address may be transmitted to the server's Votifier endpoint. This is a standard feature of the Votifier protocol.
  • Legal Requirements: We may disclose information if required by law, court order, or government request, or if we believe disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, your safety, or the safety of others.
  • Service Providers: We may share information with trusted service providers who assist in operating the Site (hosting, email delivery), subject to confidentiality obligations.
5. Data Retention
  • Account Data: Retained for as long as your account is active. You may request account deletion by contacting us.
  • Discord Link: Your Discord user ID and username are kept until you disconnect Discord on your profile or your account is deleted. If you sign in with Discord, they stay while that is how you sign in.
  • Vote Records: Retained indefinitely for the integrity of the voting system.
  • IP Addresses in Votes: Retained for fraud detection purposes. Vote rate limit records are automatically purged after 24 hours.
  • Daily Vote Markers: The record that a network, Minecraft username or browser ID has voted for a server today expires shortly after midnight (server time).
  • Page View Logs: Automatically purged after 30 days.
  • Server Ping History: Automatically purged after 30 days.
  • Player Session Data: Player online presence snapshots are automatically purged after 30 days.
6. Data Security

We implement reasonable security measures to protect your information, including:

  • Passwords are hashed using bcrypt with a high cost factor — we never store plaintext passwords
  • All connections are encrypted via HTTPS/TLS
  • CSRF tokens protect against cross-site request forgery
  • Input sanitization and parameterized queries prevent SQL injection and XSS attacks
  • Rate limiting protects against brute force attacks
  • Session cookies are HttpOnly, Secure, and SameSite protected

However, no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security.

7. Cookies

7.1 Essential Cookies: We use session cookies to keep you logged in and to maintain CSRF protection. These are strictly necessary for the Site to function.

7.2 Voting Cookies: When you vote for a server we set two first-party cookies. dms_bid is a random ID for your browser, kept for one year. It doesn't contain your name or any other details. Until the end of the day of a vote, we keep a record that this ID voted for that server and which Minecraft username it used. That lets us enforce the one-vote-per-day rule and show "You voted today as …", even when you come back through a server's vote link. dms_mc_user remembers the Minecraft username you last voted with for 90 days, so the vote form can fill it in and show your cooldown. Neither cookie is used for advertising or shared with anyone.

7.3 Display Preference: If you collapse a section on a server page (the description, the overview, the vote statistics or the uptime history), dms_cards remembers which ones for a year, so they stay collapsed on other server pages. It holds only the names of those sections and is removed when you open them all again.

7.4 Third-Party Cookies: Our captcha provider (Google reCAPTCHA or hCaptcha) and payment processor (PayPal) may set their own cookies. Google Analytics sets _ga cookies so we can count visits and see which pages are used; it is not loaded on account, admin or payment pages. These are governed by their respective privacy policies.

7.5 No Advertising Cookies: We do not use advertising tracking cookies or social media tracking pixels.

8. Your Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the following rights:

  • Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
  • Correction: Request correction of inaccurate personal data.
  • Deletion: Request deletion of your account and associated personal data.
  • Data Portability: Request your data in a machine-readable format.
  • Objection: Object to certain processing of your personal data.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at dankminecraftservers@gmail.com. We will respond within 30 days.

9. Children's Privacy

The Site is not intended for children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we become aware that we have collected information from a child under 13, we will take steps to delete that information promptly. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, please contact us.

10. International Users

The Site is operated from the United States. If you access the Site from outside the United States, your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States. By using the Site, you consent to this transfer. We will take reasonable steps to ensure your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

11. GDPR Compliance (European Users)

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), you have additional rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):

  • Our legal basis for processing your data is: (a) your consent (account registration), (b) contract performance (providing services you requested), and (c) legitimate interest (security, fraud prevention).
  • You have the right to withdraw consent at any time by deleting your account.
  • You have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.
12. California Privacy Rights (CCPA)

If you are a California resident, you have the right to: (a) know what personal information we collect, (b) request deletion of your personal information, (c) opt out of the sale of personal information — we do not sell personal information. To exercise these rights, contact us at dankminecraftservers@gmail.com.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated "Last updated" date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically. Continued use of the Site after changes constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

14. Contact Us

For questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, contact us at:

Email: dankminecraftservers@gmail.com
Website: https://dankminecraftservers.com