Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Welcome to SquareGames ("we," "our," or "us"). We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal data. This privacy policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard your information when you use our website and apps.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide

• Account information (name, email, username, and date of birth, which we use to confirm you are old enough to use SquareGames)
• Profile information (avatar, bio, preferences)
• Game-related information (games created, squares claimed, scores recorded, messages in a board's chat)
• Communications with us (support requests, feedback)

2.2 Automatically Collected Information

• Device information (browser type, operating system)
• Usage data (pages visited, features used)
• Log data (IP address, access times)
• A notification token, if you allow push notifications
• Cookies and similar technologies

3. How We Use Your Information

• To provide and maintain our services
• To authenticate your account and prevent fraud
• To send you notifications about your games and activities
• To improve our platform and develop new features
• To communicate with you about updates and support
• To comply with legal obligations

4. Information Sharing

We do not sell your personal information. We may share your information with:

• Other users: your public profile and game activity (username, avatar, the boards you've joined and the squares you hold), subject to your privacy settings.
• Service providers who run parts of the service for us, under contract, and only for that purpose:
  • Supabase — sign-in (including sign-in and password emails), database and file storage
  • Google Cloud Platform — hosting
  • Stripe — payments on the website and the Windows app
  • Apple and Google — purchases made in their app stores
  • Google, Apple and Facebook — only if you choose to sign in with them
  • Google AdSense and AdMob — advertising on the Free plan (see section 5)
  • OneSignal — push notifications
  • Resend — billing emails
  • Sentry — error monitoring. When something breaks we receive technical details about it, and for a small share of sessions a recording of how the page behaved, with all text and images masked.
• Product analytics: we measure how features are used with our own analytics, not a third-party analytics service.
• SquareGames moderators: what you report, and the chat messages you choose to send with a report (see section 10).
• Legal requirements: when required by law, court order, or to protect our rights and safety
• Business transfers: in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets

5. Advertising, Payments and Venues

Advertising. On the Free plan we show ads served by Google (AdSense on the website, AdMob in the apps). Google may use cookies, device identifiers and similar technologies to show and measure ads, and, where you allow it, to personalise them. Gambling, betting, fantasy-sports and alcohol advertising is blocked. Premium and Pro members, and everyone on a board covered by a pass or a venue plan, see no network ads. We record that an ad was shown (where, and on which board) but we do not receive or store what Google knows about you.

Your choices. On iPhone, the app asks for your permission (App Tracking Transparency) before any tracking; if you decline, ads are not personalised. Where the law requires consent — for example in the EEA, the UK and some US states — we ask for it before personalised ads, and you can change your choice at any time in the app's settings. You can also manage Google's ad personalisation at adssettings.google.com.

Payments. Card payments are handled by Stripe; we never see or store your full card number. In-app purchases are handled by Apple or Google, which send us a receipt so we can confirm what you bought. We keep records of your purchases and subscription changes for accounting and legal reasons, and keep them — without your name attached — if you delete your account.

Product analytics. We record how our pricing and upgrade screens are used (which screen, which plan, which platform) to improve them. These records never contain promo codes or payment details.

Venue boards. If you play on a venue's board without an account, we store only the display name you choose and a code that lets your device claim squares; it is deleted 90 days later. Names shown on a venue's TV are shortened to a first name and last initial. If you use "boards near me", your location is used once to find nearby venues and is not stored.

6. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your data, including encryption, secure servers, and access controls. However, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure.

7. Your Rights

You have the right to:

• Access your personal data
• Correct inaccurate data
• Request deletion of your data (subject to legal obligations)
• Object to processing of your data
• Export your data in a portable format — download it any time from Settings → Account → Your data. The export includes the people you have blocked and the reports you have made.
• Withdraw consent at any time
• Restrict processing in certain circumstances

7.1 Additional Rights for California Residents (CCPA)

If you are a California resident, you have additional rights including:

• Right to know what personal information is collected, used, shared, or sold
• Right to delete personal information held by us
• Right to opt-out of the sale of personal information (we do not sell your data)
• Right to non-discrimination for exercising your rights

7.2 Additional Rights for EU/UK Residents (GDPR)

If you are in the European Economic Area or United Kingdom, you have additional rights including:

• Right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority
• Right to data portability in a structured, commonly used format
• Right to object to automated decision-making
• Right to withdraw consent without affecting lawfulness of prior processing

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@squaregames.app. We respond within 30 days.

8. Deleting Your Account

8.1 In the app or on the website

1. Sign in to SquareGames.
2. Go to Settings → Account.
3. In Danger zone at the bottom, choose Delete account.
4. Type your account email to confirm.

This works however you signed up — email, Google, Apple or Facebook. Your account is deleted straight away; there is no waiting period and it cannot be undone. Want a copy first? Download your data from the same page.

A subscription bought on our website is cancelled when you delete your account. A subscription bought through the App Store or Google Play is not — cancel it in that store's subscription settings. If you are the only owner of a venue with an active Venue plan, cancel the plan or add another owner first.

8.2 If you can't sign in

Email privacy@squaregames.app with the subject "Data Deletion Request" from the address on your account, and include your username if you know it. We verify the request and complete it within 30 days.

8.3 What Gets Deleted

• Your account information (name, email, username, date of birth, profile)
• Your game history and activity records
• Your preferences, settings and notification tokens
• Your sign-in connections with Google, Apple or Facebook

Things you created that belong to other people too — messages you sent in a shared chat, for example — stay for them but are no longer linked to you.

8.4 What We Keep

• Records of purchases and subscription changes, without your name, for as long as tax and accounting law requires
• Records of communications with us where the law requires them
• Aggregated, anonymized statistics that cannot identify you

Deleted data can remain in encrypted backups for a limited period until those backups are overwritten; it is not restored from them.

9. Data Retention

• Account data: kept while your account exists, and deleted when you delete your account (see section 8).
• Game data: kept while your account exists, as the history of the boards you played on.
• Venue guest data: deleted 90 days after it was created.
• Communications with us: kept for 3 years for support and legal purposes.
• Purchase records: kept, without your name once your account is deleted, for as long as tax and accounting law requires.
• Analytics data: aggregated data may be retained indefinitely.
• Reports, chat evidence and moderation records: see section 10.

10. Reports, Blocks and Moderation

10.1 Reporting encrypted messages

Board chat and direct messages are encrypted on your device before they are sent, and we store them only in encrypted form. Each conversation has its own key, shared only with its members. Your copy of that key is protected by a chat password you choose: when you unlock chat, your password is sent to our servers over an encrypted connection so they can unlock your key and return it to your device. We do not store your chat password or your unlocked key, we do not use them to read messages, and we do not monitor chat. When you report chat or direct messages, your device decrypts the messages you select — at most 10, from one conversation — and sends that text to SquareGames moderators. This is the only way our team reads a chat message. No other messages are shared. We check each reported message against the encrypted copy we store, which makes a fabricated report hard to pass off.

10.2 Who can see a report

• Only SquareGames moderators can see reports and the messages sent with them, and every time a moderator views chat evidence it is logged.
• The person you report is never told who reported them.
• You can see the status of your own reports.
• Your blocks are visible only to you. The person you block is not told.

10.3 How long we keep it

• Chat messages sent with a report: 90 days after the report is resolved if we found no violation, or 1 year if we took action. We keep them longer only when the law requires us to preserve them (a legal hold).
• Reports: until the case is resolved plus 1 year. After that the reporter, the details and any snapshot are deleted, and only an anonymised record is kept for statistics.
• Moderation actions (warnings, restrictions, suspensions and bans): 3 years, so repeat abuse can be recognised.
• Snapshots of reported content (for example a reported photo): for as long as the report's evidence is kept.
• Blocks: until you unblock the person, or either account is deleted.

If you delete your account, reports you made stay open so they can still be acted on, but are no longer linked to you.

11. International Data Transfers

Your information may be transferred to and processed in countries other than your country of residence. These countries may have different data protection laws. When we transfer data internationally, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your information in accordance with this privacy policy.

12. Cookies

We use cookies and similar technologies to keep you signed in, remember your settings, understand how the service is used and, on the Free plan, show ads. You can control cookies through your browser settings.

12.1 Types of Cookies We Use

• Essential cookies: required for sign-in and basic functionality
• Analytics: help us understand how you use our platform
• Preferences: remember your settings, such as light or dark theme
• Advertising cookies: set by Google to show and measure ads on the Free plan (see section 5)

12.2 Do Not Track Signals

Some browsers include a "Do Not Track" feature. Currently, there is no industry standard for responding to DNT signals. We do not currently respond to DNT signals, but we limit our use of tracking technologies as described in this policy.

13. Children's Privacy

SquareGames is for adults only: you must be at least 18 to use it, and sign-up asks for your date of birth to enforce that. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe we have, please contact us and we will delete it. See also our Child safety standards.

14. Third-Party Links

Our platform may contain links to third-party websites or services. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these external sites. We encourage you to read their privacy policies before providing any information.

15. Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new policy on this page and updating the "Last updated" date.

16. Contact Us

If you have questions about this privacy policy or our privacy practices, or if you wish to exercise your privacy rights, please contact us at:

Note: This privacy policy applies to the SquareGames platform only. Game hosts and participants are responsible for their own privacy practices when communicating and transacting outside of our platform.