Privacy Policy

Last updated: 25 September 2026

This policy explains what data the Penalty.kz website at penalty.kz and our mobile applications (together, the "Service") collect about readers, why we use it, and who we share it with. By using the Service you agree to this policy.

1. Who we are

Penalty.kz is a football news outlet based in Astana, Kazakhstan. For any question about this policy or about your data, write to info@penalty.kz.

2. Data we collect

Automatically. When you open the Service, our server logs record your IP address, technical details of your browser and device, the referring page and the pages you view. We need this to operate the Service, to protect it from attacks and spam, and to monitor load.

Data you give us.

when you post a comment — the display name you choose and the text of the comment;
when you sign in with Telegram — the identifier, display name and avatar that Telegram passes to us;
when you opt in to notifications — your browser's subscription endpoint (not the device itself);
when you write to the editorial office — your email address and the content of your message.

In our mobile application. We store a device notification token so that notifications can be delivered. The application does not access your photo library, camera or contacts.

We do not ask for and do not collect payment details, identity documents or precise location.

3. Why we use it

to run the website and the application and keep them secure;
to display and moderate comments;
to send notifications about news and match events, if you opted in;
to understand in aggregate which material readers read, and improve the Service;
to comply with legal obligations.

We do not sell personal data and do not pass it to advertisers.

4. Cookies and analytics

The Service uses cookies to keep your session, remember your settings and collect audience statistics. For statistics we use Yandex.Metrica and Google Analytics; these services set their own cookies and act under their own policies: Yandex, Google.

You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings; some features of the Service may then stop working.

5. Advertising

The Service carries advertising blocks. Advertising providers may set their own cookies. We do not pass readers' personal data to advertisers.

6. Social media and embedded content

We publish our own editorial content to our own official accounts on Instagram, Telegram, TikTok and YouTube. This flow is one-way: we send our content to our accounts, and we do not collect, store or read personal data of users of those platforms.

Our articles may contain embedded posts and video from third-party platforms such as Instagram, X and YouTube. Opening an embed may allow that platform to set its own cookies, under its own policy.

7. Who we share data with

Access inside the newsroom is limited to a small number of staff. Technically, data is processed by our hosting provider, by the service that delivers notifications, and by the analytics services named above. We do not share data with anyone else, except where the law directly requires it.

8. Retention

Comments and account data are kept until the account is deleted. Server logs are kept for a limited period and are cleared automatically. A notification subscription is kept until you unsubscribe.

9. Security

The Service runs over HTTPS. Access tokens and service credentials are stored on our server with restricted access. No system is completely secure, but we take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect the data we hold.

10. Your rights

You may ask us what data we hold about you, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it. Write to info@penalty.kz; we will consider the request and reply within 30 days. Deleting your account also deletes your comments.

11. Children

The Service is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect their data. If we learn that such data has reached us by mistake, we delete it.

12. Google account data and the YouTube API

To publish our own short videos to our own YouTube channel, the Penalty.kz admin panel connects to a single YouTube channel that we own, using Google OAuth 2.0 and the YouTube Data API v3. This connection is set up by our own staff with our own Google account and does not involve site readers.

We request the scopes https://www.googleapis.com/auth/youtube.upload and https://www.googleapis.com/auth/youtube.force-ssl. We use them only to: upload videos to our own channel; delete a video we previously uploaded when the matching source post is removed; and read the name of our own channel. We never access, read or modify any other user's YouTube data.

The only information we keep from this connection is the OAuth access and refresh tokens and our own channel identifier, stored on our own server for the sole purpose of keeping the connection working. We do not sell this information and do not share it with third parties, and it is never used for advertising. Access can be revoked at any time at myaccount.google.com/permissions.

Penalty.kz's use and transfer of information received from Google APIs to any other app will adhere to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.

The Penalty.kz admin panel uses YouTube API Services. By connecting a YouTube channel to it, the channel owner agrees to be bound by the YouTube Terms of Service, and the Google Privacy Policy applies to data processed by Google. When the channel is disconnected in the admin panel, the stored tokens and channel identifier are deleted from our server immediately. Access can also be revoked at any time in Google security settings; the stored tokens then stop working at once and are deleted when the channel is disconnected.

13. Changes to this policy

When this policy changes, the date at the top of the page is updated. We will announce material changes on the Service.

14. Contact

Penalty.kz editorial office
2/6 Zhanibek Tarkhan Street, Astana, Kazakhstan
Phone: +7 (747) 565 4340
Email: info@penalty.kz