1. Overview
This Privacy Policy explains how FreeMC.Host ("we", "us") processes personal data when you visit our website, use the dashboard, the control panel or the status page, contact our support or run a game server with us (the "Service"). We only collect the data we need to provide and protect the Service, and we do not sell your personal data.
2. Data we collect
Account data
You sign in with Discord. From Discord we receive your Discord ID, username, email address and profile picture. For the control panel we create a username and a password, which is stored only as a secure hash.
When you log in to the dashboard with Discord, you allow us (permission "join servers for you") to add your Discord account to the FreeMC.Host community server. We do this on every login; you can leave the server at any time. We store whether you are a member of our Discord server and keep a copy of your Discord profile picture link for up to 24 hours so our team can recognise accounts.
Server data
Everything needed to run your server: its settings, type and version, installed mods and plugins, world files, backups, databases, console output, the subusers you invite and your activity in the control panel.
Technical and log data
When you visit our websites, our servers automatically log technical information such as your IP address, date and time of the request, the page requested, browser type and operating system. We use this to deliver pages, fix errors and detect abuse.
To prevent abuse such as ban evasion or mass account creation, we also store the IP addresses you use with the dashboard (the 15 most recent) together with the country of each address, and the IP addresses recorded in the control panel's activity log. The country is provided by Cloudflare (section 3) – we do not use any other location service. Only our administrators can see this data. Dashboard IPs are deleted together with your account; the panel activity log is deleted automatically after 90 days.
Abuse protection
To protect the Service, our systems automatically check running servers for abuse: running programs and their command lines, outgoing network connections, traffic, CPU usage and files such as plugins, mods and executables. Results are logged and, in case of abuse, sent to our team.
Support requests
If you contact us, for example with a ticket on our Discord server, we process the information you share with us to answer your request (see also the AI assistant in section 3).
3. Third-party services
Cloudflare
Our websites are delivered through Cloudflare (Cloudflare, Inc., 101 Townsend St, San Francisco, CA 94107, USA), which protects them against attacks and caches static files. Cloudflare processes your IP address and request data for this purpose and tells us which country a request comes from. Cloudflare may process data outside the European Union.
Google Fonts and Google Translate
Our websites load the "Outfit" font from Google Fonts, a service of Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland. Your browser connects to Google's servers and transmits your IP address. Google may process this data outside the European Union.
Our websites are written in English and offer an optional automatic translation via Google Translate. Google Translate is only loaded after you actively choose a language with the language button or accept the translation suggestion. Only then does your browser transmit your IP address and the text of the page to Google so that it can be translated. The legal basis is your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR); you can withdraw it at any time by choosing "English" again.
Advertising
To keep FreeMC.Host free, our dashboard and control panel show ads from the ad network Adsterra, including banners, recommendation tiles and a short ad screen before a server starts. Ads are loaded in separate, isolated frames from freemc.host; the ad provider has no access to your account, your servers or your session. When an ad is shown, your browser connects to the ad provider's servers and transmits your IP address, browser information and the page the ad is shown on. The ad provider may set its own cookies or similar identifiers to count impressions, limit how often an ad is shown and prevent fraud, and may process this data outside the European Union. Administrators of FreeMC.Host see no ads. Our public website at freemc.host and the status page show no ads.
AI support assistant
When you open a support ticket on our Discord server, an AI assistant answers first. It uses Google Gemini (Google Ireland Limited, address above) and, if Gemini is unavailable, a language model running on our own server. To help you, the assistant receives your ticket messages and read-only information about your own account and servers: server type and version, status and resource usage, the names of installed plugins and mods, and the last lines of your server log and crash report. IP addresses in logs are masked before they are sent. The assistant cannot change anything on your account or servers. Google may process this data outside the European Union.
Content in the control panel
- Plugins & Mods, Bedrock crossplay and voice chat: when you browse or install add-ons, your browser contacts Modrinth, Poggit and GeyserMC to search and download them. These services receive your IP address and your search terms.
- Players tab: player heads and skins are loaded from mc-heads.net. Your browser transmits your IP address and the names or UUIDs of the players shown.
5. Purposes and legal bases
If you are in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, we rely on the following legal bases under the GDPR:
- Performance of a contract (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR): creating your account, running your server, installing the software you choose and answering support requests.
- Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR): keeping the Service secure, preventing abuse, ban evasion and DDoS attacks, the automated abuse checks, fixing errors, showing ads to finance the free service, and displaying the website correctly.
- Legal obligations (Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR): where the law requires us to keep or hand over data.
- Consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR): for Google Translate and browser notifications. You can withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future.
6. Data on your game server
Players who join your server may leave data in your server files and logs, such as usernames, UUIDs, IP addresses and chat messages. As the server owner, you decide what your server collects, which plugins you install and who can access the files. We process this data only to operate your server on your behalf. Players who try to join a server while it is offline receive a short message from us; we do not store data about them.
8. Retention
- Account data is kept for as long as your account exists.
- Server files are deleted when you delete the server or your account.
- Our internal backups of the account database (no server files) are kept for 14 days and then deleted.
- Technical logs are kept for up to 30 days, unless we need them longer to investigate a specific security incident or abuse.
- Abuse reports about a server are kept for as long as needed to handle the case.
- The control panel activity log is deleted after 90 days.
- The status page only stores whether our services were reachable – no personal data.
9. Security
We protect your data with technical and organisational measures, including encrypted connections (HTTPS), hashed passwords, restricted administrator access, isolated containers for game servers, automated abuse detection and network-level DDoS protection. No system is completely secure, so please keep your login details secret.
10. Your rights
Under the GDPR and similar laws, you have the right to:
- access the personal data we hold about you;
- have incorrect data corrected;
- have your data deleted (you can delete your account yourself in the dashboard);
- restrict how we process your data;
- receive your data in a portable format;
- object to processing based on legitimate interests;
- withdraw any consent you have given;
- lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority.
To exercise any of these rights, contact us as described below.
11. Children
The Service is intended for people aged 16 and over. Younger users need the permission of a parent or legal guardian. If you believe a child has given us personal data without that permission, please contact us and we will delete it.
12. Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy when the Service or the law changes. The date at the top of this page shows when it was last updated. We will announce material changes on the website, in the dashboard or on Discord.
13. Contact
For privacy questions or requests, open a ticket in our Discord server. See also our Terms of Service.