Privacy Policy
Last updated: 4 May 2026
About this policy
This site is operated under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, with a commitment to handling your personal data responsibly and transparently.
For any questions about this policy, contact contact@playcards.games.
Analytics (optional)
You can opt in to sharing anonymised usage data to help improve the app. Use the toggle below, or find it on the home page under “About”.
If you opt in, usage data is processed by New Relic, Inc. who provide a platform to store this information and display it to this website's maintainers. It is not shared with any other parties. It is stored in their EU data centre in Frankfurt, Germany. See the New Relic Services Privacy Notice for details on how they handle data as a processor.
If you opt in then the following fields may be sent for each action you take:
| Field | What it contains |
|---|---|
| HTTP method (e.g. GET, POST) |
| HTTP response status code (e.g. 200, 500) |
| The API endpoint URL. This does not include identifying fields like player names or IDs. |
| Hostname and port of the server being called |
| Browser name and major version only (e.g. Firefox 150) |
| Operating system (e.g. Linux, Windows) |
| Browser window size in pixels |
| Screen resolution in pixels |
| App version |
| The short code used to join the game (e.g. DB3EHI) |
| A hash of the identifier for your player session. It is derived using a per-game key so it cannot be used to identify you or link your activity across games. |
These fields have been chosen carefully to capture only what is needed to diagnose errors and for building aggregations to understand common user devices. In particular, only the major browser version is recorded (not the full version string), and no precise location or hardware identifiers are collected, in order to minimise the risk of users being fingerprinted.
You can withdraw consent from sending this telemetry information from your browser at any time using the toggle above or the one on the home page.
Separately, our servers generate their own anonymised technical traces as a normal part of running the service. These are produced on the server when it processes your game activity, not in your browser, and do not contain your player name or any directly identifiable information. These traces are necessary for operating the service and cannot be opted out of.
Cookies
This site uses one cookie, which is strictly necessary for the service to function.
| Name | Purpose | Type | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
__host-auth | Identifies your browser session so you can join and play games. Contains a randomly generated identifier only — no personal information is stored inside this cookie. | Strictly necessary | 7 days |
Game session data
When you join a game, your chosen player name and an identifier are stored temporarily to enable gameplay. This data is automatically and permanently deleted after 24 hours.
Legal basis for processing
| Processing activity | Legal basis |
|---|---|
| Auth cookie | Legitimate interests — necessary to operate the service |
| Game session data | Legitimate interests — necessary to run gameplay |
| Analytics traces (opt-in) | Consent |
| Server-side technical traces | Legitimate interests — service operation and security monitoring |
Data retention
| Data | Retention period |
|---|---|
| Auth cookie | 7 days (auto-renewed on use) |
| Game session data | 24 hours from last activity |
| Analytics traces (if opted in) | 8 days |
| Server-side technical traces | 8 days |
Your rights
Under the UK GDPR you have the right to:
- Access the personal data held about you
- Correct inaccurate data
- Request deletion of your data
- Restrict or object to processing
- Data portability
- Withdraw consent for analytics at any time (via the toggle above or on the home page)
Because game session data is deleted within 24 hours and the auth cookie contains only a pseudonymised identifier, there is limited persistent personal data held about you. To exercise any of your rights, contact contact@playcards.games.
Changes to this policy
This policy may be updated from time to time; the “last updated” date at the top of this page will always reflect the most recent version.
Contact and complaints
For any questions or concerns about how your data is handled, contact contact@playcards.games.
If you are unhappy with how your data has been handled, you have the right to complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO):
- Website: ico.org.uk
- Phone: 0303 123 1113