Introduction
SideoutHQ ("SideoutHQ," "we," "us," or "our") provides a software platform that volleyball leagues and tournament organizers ("organizations") use to manage their activities. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your personal information when you create an account, register for activities hosted on our platform, or otherwise interact with us. The organizations you participate in are operated independently of SideoutHQ and may have their own policies, waivers, and practices.
By creating an account, registering for activities on our platform, or using our services, you consent to the practices described in this Privacy Policy.
Information We Collect
Information You Provide Directly
We may collect the following personal information when you create an account, register, contact us, or participate in activities on the platform:
- Full name and gender
- Address, phone number, and email address
- Emergency contact name and phone number
- Team preferences, availability, and skill level
- Profile photos, team logos, and organization images you upload
- Messages you send through the platform (team chat, direct messages) and support requests you submit
- Waiver acceptances, game RSVPs, check-ins, and scores you record
- Public registration: if you sign up for a public tournament or season without creating an account, we collect the name and email address you provide in order to process that registration and send you a confirmation
Payment for organizer subscriptions is processed by our payment processor, Stripe. We never receive or store card numbers — we retain only a payment reference (customer and subscription identifiers) and billing status.
Information Collected Automatically
When you use our platform, we may automatically collect:
- IP address and browser type. IP addresses are additionally recorded in security audit logs for certain sensitive actions (for example, accepting a waiver or completing onboarding) and are used transiently for rate limiting, which is processed through Upstash Redis
- Device information and operating system
- Pages visited and time spent on our platform
- Referring website or source
- The application version your browser is running (attached to support requests to help us debug)
- Cookies and similar technologies (see below)
Cookies We Use
Essential cookies (always on — the platform cannot function without them):
- Session cookie — keeps you signed in. Scoped to
.sideouthq.com so your session works across both our public site and the app - Security (CSRF) cookie — protects sign-in against cross-site request forgery
- Consent cookies — remember your analytics-consent choice and whether consent is required in your region
Analytics cookies and identifiers are set only with your consent (see below).
Analytics, Diagnostics & Tracking Tools
We use the following third-party services to understand how our platform is used, keep it reliable, and improve the experience:
- PostHog — Behavioral analytics that tracks pageviews, feature usage, and user interactions. PostHog uses localStorage for session persistence and assigns anonymous identifiers. Analytics tracking is only active when you grant consent via our cookie banner. Authenticated users who consent may be identified by their user ID and role for product improvement purposes. PostHog Privacy Policy
- Sentry — Error monitoring that helps us find and fix problems. When an error occurs, Sentry receives diagnostic details such as the error message, technical stack trace, and the page URL involved. We configure Sentry not to receive IP addresses, cookies, or your identity, and we do not use session replay. Sentry Privacy Policy
- Vercel Analytics — Aggregate performance monitoring that collects Web Vitals and page load metrics. Vercel Analytics is cookieless, does not track individual users, and does not collect personal data. It runs on all pages regardless of cookie preferences as it is exempt from consent requirements. Vercel Privacy Policy
Local Storage
We use browser localStorage for functional purposes such as saving tournament bracket state, UI preferences (sidebar collapse, filter selections), and dismissed banner states; this functional data stays on your device. If you consent to analytics, PostHog also uses localStorage as described above.
How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect for the following purposes:
- To provide the platform: accounts, rosters, schedules, standings, brackets, messaging, and notifications
- To communicate about the activities you participate in — schedules, reminders, cancellations, and announcements from your organizations
- To process organizer subscription billing through Stripe (we do not currently process player registration payments)
- To respond to inquiries and provide customer support
- To keep the platform secure, prevent abuse, and maintain audit trails for sensitive actions
- To improve our platform and services
- To comply with legal obligations
How We Share Your Information
We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties. We may share your information in the following limited circumstances:
- Service Providers (subprocessors): With vendors who help us operate the platform, each contractually bound to protect your information and use it only to provide services to us: Neon (database hosting), Vercel (application hosting and performance analytics), Resend (email delivery), Stripe (payment processing), Ably (real-time messaging delivery), Cloudflare R2 (image storage), Upstash (rate limiting), Sentry (error monitoring), PostHog (consent-gated analytics), and Google Workspace (support email).
- Within Your Organizations: Your name, team assignments, schedules, RSVPs, and scores are visible to organizers, captains, and other participants in the organizations you join, as necessary for running their activities.
- Content You Upload: Profile photos and team or organization images you upload are displayed on the relevant pages within the platform. Organizations may additionally have their own media policies in the waivers they ask you to accept.
- Legal Requirements: We may disclose your information if required by law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request, or to protect the rights, safety, or property of SideoutHQ, our users, or others.
Data Security
We take reasonable administrative, technical, and physical measures to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, use, alteration, or destruction. However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
Data Retention
We retain personal information for as long as your account is active and as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this Privacy Policy or as required by law. Operational records — such as notification and email delivery logs, expired invitations, and old audit entries — are purged automatically on shorter schedules. You may request deletion of your information at any time (see "Your Rights" below).
Children's Privacy
SideoutHQ accounts are intended for adults. You must be at least 18 years old to create an account. Minor participants may appear on rosters that are created and managed by adult account holders (such as a parent, guardian, captain, or organizer); consent for a minor's participation — including any waiver — is handled by the organization running the activity together with the minor's parent or guardian. We do not knowingly collect personal information directly from children. If you believe a child has created an account or that we have collected information from a child, please contact us immediately so we can take appropriate action.
Your Rights
Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have the following rights regarding your personal information:
- Access: Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you. Email support@sideouthq.com and we will fulfill your request within 30 days.
- Correction: Most profile information can be corrected directly in your account settings; for anything else, contact us and we will correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
- Deletion: Request that we delete your personal information, subject to certain legal exceptions. Email support@sideouthq.com and we will fulfill your request within 30 days.
- Opt-Out of Communications: Unsubscribe from non-essential emails at any time by clicking the "unsubscribe" link in the email, adjusting your notification preferences in Settings, or contacting us directly.
- Cookie Preferences: You can manage your analytics cookie preferences at any time using the cookie consent banner. To reset your preferences, clear your browser cookies for this site — the consent banner will reappear on your next visit.
Third-Party Links
Our website may contain links to third-party websites or services. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those third parties. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any third-party websites you visit.
Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on our website with an updated effective date. Your continued use of the platform after any changes constitutes your acceptance of the revised Privacy Policy.
Contact Us
If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy, contact us at support@sideouthq.com or by mail at: SideoutHQ, 2501 Chatham Rd #8024, Springfield, IL 62704.
Last updated: July 10, 2026
