Legal
Privacy Policy
Last updated: November 2026
Overview
BaseMTG writes about Magic: The Gathering, mostly deck guides, card prices and set coverage. This policy explains what data we collect when you visit, how we use it and what your rights are. We don't sell your data. The site shows Google AdSense ads and uses Google Analytics 4, both under Google Consent Mode v2 as described in the cookies section below. Beyond that we keep collection to a minimum.
What we collect
Analytics. We use self-hosted Umami (aggregate page views, referrer domain, approximate country; no personal identifiers, IP addresses not stored) and Google Analytics 4 to understand which pages are popular. Google Analytics sets cookies and processes your IP address only if you consent (see Cookies).
Page view counts (no cookies). To see which pages help readers, each page sends us one small note when you leave it. The note holds the page address (without anything after a ? or #), how long the tab was in view (up to 30 minutes), how far down you scrolled (in steps of 0, 25, 50, 75, 90 or 100%), whether the screen is phone-sized or larger, the kind of site that sent you (a search engine, a social site, an AI assistant, another BaseMTG page, none, or other; we never get that site's address) and how many links to other BaseMTG pages you clicked. If you come back to the tab and leave again, we update the note instead of counting the visit twice. We add the notes up into daily totals per page and keep only those totals. We don't store your IP address, your browser details, a cookie or any ID, so the totals can't be linked to you or to your other visits. We check your browser type only to skip search engine robots, and we don't save it. Nothing is stored on your device, so this counting runs for every visitor, including if you decline cookies.
Saved articles. The “save” bookmark feature stores data in your browser's localStorage only. It never leaves your device and we never see it.
Contact emails. If you email us at [email protected], we receive and store your message and email address solely to reply. We don't add you to any list or share your address.
Cookies and consent. Functional cookies and local storage (theme preference, your cookie choice) are always on. We use Google Consent Mode v2. If you visit from the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or Switzerland, a banner asks before any analytics or advertising cookies are set. Until you choose, and if you click Decline, those storage types stay denied: Google receives only anonymous, cookieless pings and no _ga cookie is written. If you click Accept, Google Analytics and Google AdSense may set cookies. Visitors elsewhere are not shown the banner. Your choice is stored in your browser and you can clear it by clearing site data.
Affiliate links
Some pages contain affiliate links to TCGplayer, which we join through the Impact affiliate network. Clicking one sends you through an Impact tracking address that sets a cookie so the sale can be credited to us. If you click one and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Clicking an affiliate link does not give us access to any of your personal data — the retailer handles the transaction entirely. See our affiliate disclosure for more detail.
Third-party services
Some articles embed a YouTube video or a Reddit post. The embed loads only on the page that contains it, and YouTube or Reddit may set cookies when you play or interact with it. For YouTube, see Google's privacy policy for details. External links (Wizards of the Coast, TCGplayer, Reddit) are subject to their own privacy policies, which we don't control.
Data storage and security
The site is hosted on a VPS that we run. Umami analytics is self-hosted, so that data stays on our server. Google Analytics 4 and AdSense data is collected and processed by Google under Google's own privacy policy. We don't store payment information because we don't sell anything directly on this site.
Your rights
You can ask us what data we hold about you (if any), request deletion, or object to its use. Email [email protected] and we'll respond within 5 business days. Since we collect almost nothing personally identifiable, most requests are quick to resolve.
Changes to this policy
If we change how we handle data in a meaningful way, we'll update this page with a new date. Continued use of the site after an update constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.
Comments
Articles have a comment box. You don't need an account, and commenting is optional.
We store the name and text you type, the article and the time, and keep them visible once the comment is approved. You may add an email address. It is optional and we never show it.
To fight spam we also keep a hashed form of your IP address, your browser's user-agent and how long the form took to fill in. We delete these, and the email address, 30 days after you send the comment.
We read every comment before it appears. Ads, link drops and off-topic promotion are deleted. Links in a published comment are marked
nofollow. To have one of your comments removed, email [email protected] with the article and the text.The spam check is Cloudflare Turnstile. Its script loads only when you click into the comment box or the sign-up form, and Cloudflare sees your IP address and browser details when it runs.