Privacy Policy

This privacy policy explains how aoevolve.com collects, uses, and protects your personal information when you visit or interact with this site. Please read it carefully. By using aoevolve.com you agree to the practices described below.

This policy was last updated in July 2026.

Who we are

aoevolve.com is an independent Age of Empires 2 strategy and esports guide site. For the purposes of this privacy policy, references to “we”, “us”, or “our” refer to the operators of aoevolve.com.

For any privacy-related enquiries please contact us via our contact page.

What information we collect

Information you provide directly

We may collect personal information that you voluntarily provide when you:

  • Submit a message via our contact form, including your name and email address
  • Subscribe to our email newsletter, including your email address and any preferences you provide

We do not collect more information than is necessary for the purpose for which it is provided.

Information collected automatically

When you visit aoevolve.com, certain information is collected automatically through cookies and analytics tools, including:

  • Your IP address and approximate geographic location
  • Browser type and version
  • Operating system and device type
  • Pages visited on this site and time spent on each page
  • Referring website or search query that brought you to this site
  • Links clicked, including affiliate links

This information is collected in aggregate and is used to understand how visitors use the site, which content is most useful, and how to improve the experience for future visitors.

Cookies

aoevolve.com uses cookies — small text files stored on your device — to enable certain site functions and to collect analytics data. The cookies used on this site fall into the following categories:

Strictly necessary cookies

These cookies are required for the site to function correctly. They cannot be disabled. They include cookies that remember your cookie consent preferences and session cookies used by the content management system.

Analytics cookies

We use Google Analytics 4 to collect anonymised data about how visitors use aoevolve.com. This includes pages viewed, session duration, traffic sources, and device type. Google Analytics uses cookies to distinguish between visitors. Data collected by Google Analytics is processed by Google in accordance with their privacy policy, available at policies.google.com/privacy.

You can opt out of Google Analytics tracking by installing the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on.

Advertising cookies

aoevolve.com displays advertisements served by third-party ad networks including Google AdSense and Ezoic. These networks may use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this site or other sites on the internet. You can opt out of personalised advertising by visiting Google’s ad settings or the Your Online Choices platform.

Affiliate and third-party cookies

When you click an affiliate link on aoevolve.com, the destination website may set its own cookies to track your visit and attribute any subsequent purchase or registration to this site. These cookies are set by third parties and are governed by their own privacy policies. We do not have access to or control over cookies set by third-party operators.

Managing cookies

You can control and delete cookies through your browser settings. Disabling cookies may affect the functionality of some parts of this site. For guidance on managing cookies in your browser please visit allaboutcookies.org.

How we use your information

We use the information we collect for the following purposes:

  • To respond to messages submitted through our contact form
  • To send newsletter emails to subscribers who have opted in
  • To analyse site traffic and user behaviour in order to improve our content and user experience
  • To serve relevant advertisements through third-party ad networks
  • To track affiliate link clicks and attribute commissions correctly
  • To comply with legal obligations where required

We do not use your personal information for automated decision-making or profiling.

Email newsletter

If you subscribe to the aoevolve.com newsletter your email address will be stored and processed by ConvertKit, our email marketing provider. ConvertKit is based in the United States and processes data in accordance with standard contractual clauses approved under applicable data protection law.

You can unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any email we send. Following unsubscription your email address will be removed from our active mailing list promptly.

ConvertKit’s privacy policy is available at convertkit.com/privacy.

Affiliate programmes

aoevolve.com participates in affiliate programmes operated by third parties including sportsbook operators, game retailers, and product marketplaces. When you click an affiliate link and complete a qualifying action such as a purchase or account registration, we may receive a commission.

Affiliate partners we work with may include but are not limited to:

  • Esports sportsbook operators including GG.bet, Thunderpick, and 22Bet
  • Game retailers including Fanatical and Green Man Gaming
  • The Amazon Associates programme

Each of these third parties operates under its own privacy policy and data practices. We encourage you to review the privacy policy of any third-party site before providing personal information or completing a transaction.

Third-party services

aoevolve.com uses the following third-party services which may collect data about your visit:

Data sharing and disclosure

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties.

We may disclose personal information in the following limited circumstances:

  • To service providers who assist us in operating the site, such as our hosting provider, email marketing platform, or analytics provider, where those providers are contractually required to keep your data confidential and use it only for the purpose of providing their service to us
  • Where required to do so by law, court order, or regulatory authority
  • Where necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of aoevolve.com, its operators, or others

Data retention

We retain personal information only for as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy:

  • Contact form submissions are retained for up to 12 months and then deleted
  • Newsletter subscriber data is retained until you unsubscribe, after which it is removed from our active list promptly
  • Analytics data is retained in accordance with Google Analytics’ standard retention settings, which we have set to 14 months

Your rights

Depending on your location, you may have certain rights in relation to your personal data. These may include the right to:

  • Request access to the personal information we hold about you
  • Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal information
  • Request deletion of your personal information where we no longer have a lawful basis to retain it
  • Object to or restrict certain types of processing
  • Withdraw consent for processing where consent is the lawful basis
  • Lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority or data protection regulator in your jurisdiction

To exercise any of these rights please contact us via our contact page. We will respond to all legitimate requests within 30 days.

For Australian residents

If you are located in Australia, you have rights under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles. You may lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at oaic.gov.au if you believe your privacy rights have been breached.

For UK and European residents

If you are located in the United Kingdom or European Economic Area, you have rights under the UK GDPR and EU GDPR respectively. You may lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority if you believe your rights have been violated.

For California residents

If you are a California resident, you have rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) including the right to know what personal information is collected about you, the right to delete that information, and the right to opt out of the sale of personal information. We do not sell personal information. To exercise your rights please contact us via our contact page.

Children’s privacy

aoevolve.com is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has provided personal information to us please contact us and we will delete it promptly.

Betting and gambling content on this site is intended for adults aged 18 and over only. We do not direct any betting-related content at minors.

Security

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss, or misuse. These measures include SSL encryption on all pages of this site and restricted access to any data we hold. However, no transmission of data over the internet can be guaranteed as completely secure and we cannot warrant the security of any information you transmit to us.

International data transfers

Some of the third-party services we use, including Google Analytics and ConvertKit, may transfer and process your data outside of your country of residence including in the United States. Where such transfers occur they are subject to appropriate safeguards including standard contractual clauses or equivalent mechanisms under applicable data protection law.

Changes to this privacy policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or applicable law. When we make material changes we will update the date at the top of this page. Continued use of aoevolve.com following any update constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

We encourage you to review this page periodically to stay informed about how we protect your information.

Contact

If you have any questions or concerns about this privacy policy or how we handle your personal information, please contact us via our contact page and we will respond as promptly as possible.