Privacy Policy
This policy explains what information Hex Settlers ("we", "us", operated by edgeGear) collects at hexsettler.com, why, and the choices you have. We collect as little as we can to run the game. We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use advertising or cross-site tracking.
1. Information we collect
| Information | When | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Display name and colour you choose | When you create or join a room | Shown to the other players in your room. |
| Game data: room code, game settings, board, moves and results | While you play | To run the game, let you reconnect, and show results. |
| Maps and rule configurations you create | If you use the map and rules editors | To save, reuse and play them. |
| A random seat credential | When you take a seat | To prove it is still you when you reconnect. It is kept in your browser; the server does not store the credential itself. |
| Account information: a unique ID from your sign-in provider, your display name, and your email address if you allow it | If you sign in with Google or Facebook | To create and recognise your account so you keep your games and settings across sessions. |
| Technical information such as IP address, browser type and request details | Whenever you use the Service | To keep the Service secure, prevent abuse (for example rate limiting) and diagnose problems. |
We do not ask for your real name, phone number, address or payment information. Please do not put personal information in display names, room names, or map and rule names.
2. Sign-in with Google or Facebook
If you choose to sign in with Google or Facebook, we request only the basic profile and email permissions needed to create your account. From Google we receive your account's unique identifier, your name and, if you allow it, your email address. From Facebook we receive your app-scoped user ID, your public profile name and, if you allow it, your email address. We do not request, and do not receive, your friends list, your posts, or permission to post on your behalf. We never receive your Google or Facebook password.
We link a provider sign-in to your game account using the provider's stable user ID, not your email address or name, and we do not merge accounts automatically because two share an email address. Facebook and Google handle your information under their own policies.
3. How we use information
- to provide, operate and secure the game, and to let you reconnect to games in progress;
- to create and maintain your account, where you have one;
- to detect, prevent and respond to cheating, abuse, fraud and security incidents;
- to troubleshoot and improve the Service; and
- to comply with legal obligations.
We do not use your information for advertising, and we do not sell or rent it.
4. Who sees your information
Other players in a room can see your display name, colour, public game state and anything the game rules make public. Your private hand and similar private game information are sent only to you. We share information with service providers that host and operate the Service on our behalf (currently Amazon Web Services), who may process it only to provide those services. We may also disclose information when required by law or to protect the safety and security of players and the Service.
5. Cookies and local storage
We use browser storage and, once accounts are available, a session cookie, only for functions the Service needs: keeping you signed in, remembering your seat in a game, and security protections. We do not use advertising or analytics cookies.
6. How long we keep information
- Guest rooms and games are deleted automatically after a period of inactivity (currently 24 hours after the last activity).
- Accounts and saved maps and rules are kept until you ask us to delete them.
- Operational logs that may contain IP addresses are kept only as long as needed for security and troubleshooting, with a target of no more than 30 days.
7. Your choices and rights
You can play as a guest without an account. You may ask us to access, correct or delete the information we hold about you, or to remove your account, by following the steps on our Data Deletion page or emailing us. Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights under local law, such as the right to object to or restrict certain processing; contact us to exercise them. You can also remove Hex Settlers from your Google or Facebook account settings at any time; see the Data Deletion page for what that does and does not delete.
8. Security
We use reasonable safeguards, including encrypted connections (HTTPS), randomly generated and expiring seat credentials, server-side validation of all game actions, and access controls on administrative functions. No system is perfectly secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.
9. Children
The Service is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has provided us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.
10. International use
The Service is operated from the United States. If you use it from elsewhere, your information will be processed in the United States, which may have different data protection laws than your country.
11. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy. The effective date above shows when it last changed, and we will take reasonable steps to notify you of material changes.
12. Contact
Privacy questions or requests: thorn@edgemn.com.