Privacy Policy

VLSIgeek (“we”, “us”) is an online platform for learning and practising Verilog and RTL design. It is run by an individual based in India, who is responsible for your personal data (the “data controller” or “data fiduciary”). You can reach us at support@vlsigeek.com.

This policy explains what we collect, why, how long we keep it, who else receives it, and the rights you have. It applies to everyone who uses VLSIgeek, wherever they are.

• Account details: your email address and username; your password, stored only as a one-way argon2 hash, never in readable form; and, if you sign in with Google, your Google account ID and profile picture.
• Profile details you choose to add: first and last name, company or university, bio, and profile picture.
• Your submissions: the code you submit, its grading results and score, when you submitted it, how long you had the problem open, and your attempt count. On challenges only, we also record how many characters were pasted into the editor, to help keep the leaderboard fair.
• Your vbits: each time you earn or spend vbits (for example, unlocking a reference solution), with the date.
• Feedback you send us: the name, email address and message you enter in the feedback form.
• Technical data: your IP address and the pages you request, recorded in our server logs, and short-lived counters used to stop abuse (for example, too many sign-in attempts).
• Activity: when you sign in (and how: Google or password), and how many minutes a day you have the site open while signed in. Your browser tells us once a minute while a VLSIgeek tab is visible; nothing is recorded about other sites or apps.
• Anonymous performance figures: how fast pages load. These are counted in aggregate, with no identifier, cookie or IP address attached, so they can't be linked to you.

We don't collect payment details, precise location, contacts, or any special categories of data (such as health or religion).

• To run the service you signed up for: your account, grading your code, saving progress, and showing your results, streak and rank. (Legal basis: performing our agreement with you.)
• To keep the platform secure and fair: preventing abuse, attacks on the grader and cheating on the leaderboard. (Legal basis: our legitimate interest in a safe, fair service.)
• To communicate with you: verification emails, password resets, responses to your feedback, and important changes to the service. We don't send marketing email. (Legal basis: performing our agreement; legitimate interest.)
• To run and support the service: seeing who was on the site, when and for how long (the activity above), to notice problems, help students who are stuck, and understand how VLSIgeek is used. Only the platform owner sees it. (Legal basis: legitimate interest.)
• To improve VLSIgeek: for example, spotting problems that many people find confusing. We use aggregate data for this, not individual profiles. (Legal basis: legitimate interest.)
• To meet legal obligations, such as responding to lawful requests from authorities.

We never sell your personal data, share it for advertising, or use it for automated decisions with legal or similarly significant effects on you.

Only signed-in members see other members' details; a visitor who isn't signed in sees none of them. Members see your username, profile picture, rank and score on the leaderboard and in each problem's top solvers, and your profile card shows them the same plus how many problems you've solved. Your name, company, bio, activity, which problems you solved, your email address and your code are never shown to other members.

You can change or remove optional profile details at any time in your profile and Settings.

We share data only with the service providers needed to run VLSIgeek, who process it on our behalf and under our instructions:

• Hetzner Online GmbH (Germany) hosts our servers and database.
• Google handles “Sign in with Google” if you choose it, and delivers our emails.
• An off-site backup storage provider keeps copies of our database for disaster recovery.

We may also disclose data if the law requires it, or to protect the rights and safety of our users or the public.

VLSIgeek is used worldwide, and our providers may process data outside your country. Where the law requires it (for example, for data from the European Economic Area or the UK), transfers are covered by safeguards such as the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses.

• Account, profile, submissions and vbits: until you delete your account. Deleting it in Settings removes your account and all your submissions immediately.
• Backups: deleted data can remain in database backups for up to 14 days, after which those backups are erased.
• Server logs (including IP addresses): 7 days.
• Activity (sign-in times and active minutes): 35 days.
• Abuse-prevention counters: from a few minutes to a few hours.
• Feedback emails: as long as needed to handle your message.

We use one cookie, to keep you signed in. It is strictly necessary for the service and can't be read by scripts or other sites. We also save a few preferences in your browser's local storage: your theme, unsent code drafts, whether you've seen the site tour, and list page sizes. These never leave your device.

We use no advertising or tracking cookies and no third-party analytics, so there is no cookie banner to accept.

Connections are encrypted (HTTPS) and passwords are stored only as hashes. Submitted code runs in an isolated sandbox with no network access. Administrative access is limited and protected with two-factor authentication. The platform owner can look at an individual account, including the code it submitted, when that's needed to run the service, answer your support request, or investigate abuse or cheating; every such look is logged. No system is perfectly secure; if a breach affects your data, we will notify you and the relevant authorities as the law requires.

Wherever you live, you can ask us to:

• access your personal data or receive a copy of it;
• correct data that is inaccurate or incomplete;
• delete your data. You can also delete your account yourself in Settings;
• restrict or object to how we use it, or withdraw consent where we rely on consent;
• nominate someone to exercise these rights for you if you die or become unable to (a right under India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act).
• if you're a parent or guardian, exercise these rights on behalf of your child.

Email support@vlsigeek.com with your request. We reply within 30 days and may need to confirm your identity first. You can also complain to your local data protection authority, for example the Data Protection Board of India or, in the EU or UK, your national supervisory authority.

You must be at least 13 to use VLSIgeek, or older if the law where you live sets a higher age for using online services without a parent's consent (up to 16 in some EU countries). If you're under 18, a parent or guardian must agree to you using VLSIgeek and to this policy.

We don't knowingly collect data from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has created an account, or that a minor is using VLSIgeek without a parent's permission, contact us and we will delete the account.

Under India's Information Technology Rules and Digital Personal Data Protection Act, you can raise any concern about this policy or your data with our grievance officer, who is the operator of VLSIgeek, at support@vlsigeek.com. We acknowledge complaints within 24 hours and resolve them within 15 days.

When we change this policy, we update the date at the top. For significant changes, we'll also tell you by email or on the site before they take effect.