The short version.
- We collect what the game needs: your account, your games and your progress. No location, contacts or photos.
- No ads, no advertising trackers, no data brokers. We do not sell personal information.
- Gameplay statistics are stored in our own database. We don't use third-party analytics SDKs.
- You can play as a guest without giving us an email address, and you can delete your account from inside the app (see section 5).
1. Who we are
Checkers Byte is operated by Byte Ranch, LLC, [registered address to be confirmed] (“we,” “us,” or “our”). This policy covers checkersbyte.com, the browser game at checkersbyte.com/play and the Checkers Byte app for iOS and Android, including pre-release testing. They share one account system.
The app is in development. Collection described below applies when you use the corresponding feature in an available build.
Our privacy contact is [email protected].
2. Information we collect
Guest accounts
When you first open the game we create a guest account so your games, XP and settings persist. A guest account has a random identifier and a generated display name, and no email address. If you uninstall the app or sign out before upgrading, a guest account cannot be recovered.
Accounts and profile
If you create an account, we process your email address, username, display name, sign-in identifiers, authentication records and any avatar or cosmetic choices. Email sign-in uses a hashed password. Apple or Google sign-in provides the account information those services make available, such as your name and email or private relay address; we never receive your Apple or Google password. When you upgrade a guest account, its progress moves to your new account.
Gameplay data
We store the games you play with friends and other players, including every move, the result, timestamps and any emote reactions you send. We also store your ratings, XP, level, streak, achievements, daily puzzle attempts and results, leaderboard positions, friend connections and invites. Games against the AI may be recorded with their result and move-quality summary so we can tune the difficulty levels.
Game Center and Google Play Games
If you're signed in to Game Center on an iPhone or iPad, or to Google Play Games on Android, the app sends that service a copy of some of your Checkers Byte achievements and your scores on two leaderboards (XP this week, and your best win against the AI), so they show up in Apple's and Google's game apps. This is not a way to sign in to Checkers Byte, and your Checkers Byte account works the same without it. Your Game Center or Play Games identity stays on your device: we don't receive your player ID, your friends there or anything else from those accounts. Apple and Google process what the app sends, and what their own game services collect, under their own privacy policies; who can see your achievements and scores is set in your Game Center or Play Games settings.
Notifications and turn emails
If you allow notifications, we store your device's push token (or, in a browser, its web push subscription), platform and app version so we can tell you when it's your turn, when a friend invites you, or when the daily puzzle is ready. Turning notifications off in your device or browser settings stops delivery; deleting your account removes the token. If you play in a browser and opt in to “your turn” emails, we send them to your account email, at most one per game every 12 hours; you can switch them off on the Account screen.
Usage events
The app sends first-party usage events, such as app opens, games started and finished, puzzles solved and invites sent or accepted, with the platform, app version and time. They are stored in our own PostgreSQL database and used to understand how the game is played, for example how many players come back the next day or how often each AI level wins. They are not shared with advertisers or analytics companies.
Logs and support messages
Requests to our servers generate logs containing IP addresses, request information, device or browser information and timestamps, used for security and troubleshooting. If you email us, we receive your email address, message and any attachments you send.
3. How we use information
- Provide accounts, games against the AI and other players, invites, ratings, daily puzzles, leaderboards and progression.
- Send the account emails and notifications you ask for.
- Understand how the game is played, balance the AI levels and puzzles, diagnose errors, maintain security and prevent cheating or abuse.
- Respond to support, access, correction and deletion requests.
- Meet applicable legal obligations and protect the service and its players.
We do not sell personal information or use it for targeted advertising. We do not use advertising identifiers.
4. Providers and other disclosures
We use service providers for specific parts of the service. Information is provided only as needed for those functions:
| Provider | Purpose and information |
|---|---|
| Apple and Google sign-in | Authenticate you when you choose their sign-in options, under their own policies. |
| Apple Game Center and Google Play Games Services | Show copies of your achievements and leaderboard scores in Apple's and Google's game apps when you're signed in to them on your device, under their own policies. |
| Mailgun | Sends account emails such as verification and password resets; processes your email address and the message content. |
| Firebase Cloud Messaging and Apple Push Notification service | Deliver notifications; process your push token and the notification text. |
| Your browser's push service (for example Google, Mozilla or Apple) | Delivers browser notifications; processes the push subscription and the encrypted notification. |
| Hosting and backup providers | Host our servers, database and encrypted backups. |
Other players can see your username, display name, level, rating, avatar and cosmetics, your games with them, and your position on leaderboards you appear on. Friends can see your head-to-head record with them. Your email address is never shown to other players.
We may also disclose information when required by law, to protect rights or safety, or in connection with a business transfer subject to applicable privacy requirements.
If you report another player, we store the report, your reason and the reported content. The reported player is not told who reported them. If you block a player, we store who you blocked and when, so the block can keep you apart; they are not told, and you can unblock them in Account.
5. Retention and account deletion
We keep account and gameplay information while your account is active. You can delete your account in the game under Account → Delete account, or by email. Deletion signs you out everywhere and stops sign-in immediately, and your account records are deleted after seven days: account and authentication records, profile, settings, ratings, XP, achievements, puzzle results, leaderboard entries, friend connections, invites and push tokens.
Your games and moves are deleted too, including games against other players, so those games also leave your opponents' history. Usage events remain only after their link to your account is removed.
Achievements and scores already copied to Game Center or Google Play Games are held by Apple or Google, not by us. Manage or delete them in your Game Center or Play Games settings, or through Apple's or Google's privacy tools.
We may retain limited information where needed for security, dispute resolution or legal obligations. Database backups are kept for 30 days, so removed data can remain in a backup until that cycle expires. Support correspondence and server logs are kept as long as needed for their purposes.
For step-by-step instructions and a way to request deletion without the app, visit Delete your account.
6. Your choices and privacy rights
- Notifications. Turn them on or off in your device or browser settings, or on the game's Account screen.
- Profile. Change your display name on the game's Account screen.
- Game Center and Play Games. Sign out of Game Center in your iPhone's or iPad's Settings, or out of Play Games in the Google Play Games app, and the game stops sending them anything.
- Requests. Email [email protected] to request access, correction, a copy of your information, deletion, or other rights available where you live.
We may need to verify that a request comes from the account holder. We respond within the time required by applicable law. Depending on where you live, for example under the GDPR or the California Consumer Privacy Act, you may also have rights to restrict or object to processing, withdraw consent, or complain to your local data protection authority.
7. This website and the browser game
The pages of checkersbyte.com do not use cookies or analytics scripts. Fonts and images are served with the site, and the sounds on the home page's practice board are made in your browser. If you turn that board's sound off, your browser's local storage remembers the choice; it stays on your device and is never sent to us. Invite pages read the invite code from the address in your browser to show it to you, and ask our API for that invite's public details (who sent it, and whether it's still open) so they can show the sender's display name. That request carries the invite code and no cookies.
The browser game at checkersbyte.com/play stores what it needs in your browser: a sign-in session (a cookie or local storage entry), your settings, and a cached copy of the game so you can play the AI offline. These are needed for the game to work; there are no advertising or analytics cookies. Clearing your browser's site data signs you out, and a guest account that was never upgraded cannot be recovered afterwards.
Hosting systems receive ordinary request and security-log information when you load a page.
8. Security and international processing
Traffic between the app, the website and our servers is encrypted with TLS. Passwords are stored only as hashes. No service can guarantee absolute security; contact us if you suspect unauthorized account activity.
Byte Ranch, LLC is based in the United States. Information may be processed by us and our providers in the United States or other countries where they operate, which may have different data-protection laws.
9. Children
Checkers Byte is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided information, contact us so we can delete it.
10. Changes and contact
We will update this policy as the game evolves and change the date on this page. We will give additional notice or ask for consent for material changes where required by law.
Byte Ranch, LLC
[registered address to be confirmed]
[email protected]