Privacy Policy (plain version)
Last updated October 20, 2026
This is the plain version of our Privacy Policy. The legal version has the same numbered sections and makes the same promises in formal language. If the two ever seem to say different things, the reading that is better for you applies.
1. Who this covers
This policy covers Hestia Games at games.hestiascreations.com and its apps. Hestia Games is run by Hestia's Creations (HESTIAS CREATIONS LLC), an Oregon company. "We" means Hestia's Creations.
2. The short version
- We collect as little as we can: an email address, a username and what's needed to run your membership.
- We have no ads, no tracking scripts, no analytics and no advertising IDs.
- We never sell your information, and never share it for advertising.
- You can delete your account yourself, at any time.
3. Playing without an account
The free games run on your device. Your progress and settings are saved in your browser's storage on that device. They aren't sent to us, unless you have an account and choose to keep a copy of your saves with it (section 4). A saved copy of the games is also kept on your device so you can play offline.
Like almost every website, our server records basic details of each visit: your IP address, the page asked for, your browser type and the time. We use these records only to keep the site running and safe, and we delete them after 14 days.
4. What we keep when you make an account
| What | Why |
|---|---|
| Your email address | To send sign-in codes, renewal reminders and important notices about your account |
| "13 or older", and when you answered | To follow the children's privacy law. We ask for your birth month and year, use them once to check your age, and don't keep them |
| Your username | So other players and your household know who you are |
| A sign-in cookie | To keep you signed in for up to 90 days. It's the only cookie we use |
| Your membership: plan, dates, status, and your customer number at Stripe | To know what you've paid for and which releases you keep |
| Household: who shares with whom | To share one membership between up to 6 people. It holds no addresses |
| Free membership records, with the reason given | To know who has a free membership and why |
| Proof you agreed to automatic renewal | California law requires us to keep this for 3 years, or 1 year after your membership ends if that is later |
| Copies of your game saves, only if you turn on "Keep a copy of my game saves with my account" | So another phone or computer can pick up where you left off. Turning it off deletes them |
| Online chess: your games, ratings, reports you make or that are made about you, weekly challenge results, and settings such as turn reminders and an optional country flag | To run online chess and keep it fair |
| Friends: who you are friends with, requests sent and received, and your friend code | So you and your friends can see each other's weekly results. Both people agree to each friendship |
| Weekly challenge results in every game, and the reactions (paw, heart, star, "Nice one!") you leave and receive | To show the weekly boards |
| Reports you make about a username, or that are made about yours | To keep usernames friendly. Who made a report is never shown to the person reported |
We never collect passwords (there aren't any), card numbers, real names, home addresses, phone numbers, birth dates, precise location, contacts or advertising IDs.
5. Payments
Stripe handles payments. When you pay, you give your card details and billing information to Stripe, not to us. Stripe tells us whether a payment went through, along with the plan and dates. Stripe's own privacy policy covers what it keeps: stripe.com/privacy.
6. Emails we send
We send sign-in codes, renewal reminders, receipts and notices about your account or membership. If you play online chess, we can send turn reminders, which you can turn off. We don't send marketing emails. If we ever start a newsletter, it will be one you choose to join.
7. What other players can see
- Your username, your online chess games and results, your chess ratings, and your place on leaderboards and in weekly challenges.
- In each game's weekly challenge: your best result that week. Friends and your household see it in every game. Everyone sees it only in games where our server checks the whole game (Merge, Solitaire, Reversi & Mancala, Charlie's Diner and Chess).
- Friends and your household see the reactions left on your results. Nobody sees who reported a username.
- Your country flag, only if you choose to show one.
- People in your household can see each other's usernames.
- Nobody else sees your email address or your membership details.
8. Companies that help us run Hestia Games
We use a few companies to run the service. They may handle your information only to provide that service to us.
| Company | What it does | What it handles |
|---|---|---|
| Hetzner Online (Germany) | Hosts our server | Everything in section 4, stored on our server |
| Stripe (United States) | Takes payments | Payment and billing details, your email |
| Google Workspace (United States) | Delivers our emails | Your email address and the emails we send you |
If you join through Google Play or the App Store, that store also handles your payment under its own privacy policy.
9. Cookies and tracking
We use one cookie, which keeps you signed in. We don't use advertising or analytics cookies, and we don't follow you around other websites. Because we don't track you, there is nothing for a browser's "Do Not Track" or Global Privacy Control setting to turn off.
10. When we would share information
We share information only:
- with the companies in section 8, to run the service;
- when the law requires it, such as a valid court order;
- to protect someone's safety, or to protect Hestia Games from fraud or attack;
- if Hestia Games is sold or moved to another company. The new owner would have to follow this policy, and we would tell you first.
11. Children
Children of any age can play the free games without an account, and those games don't send us anything. Accounts are for people 13 and older. If someone tells us they are under 13 when signing up, we don't make an account, and we delete the email address they gave. If we learn that someone under 13 has an account anyway, we delete it. Parents or guardians who think this has happened can email us.
12. How long we keep things
| What | How long |
|---|---|
| Sign-in codes | They stop working after 10 minutes and are deleted within a day |
| Sign-in cookie | Up to 90 days after your last visit |
| Household invite codes | 7 days |
| Server visit records | 14 days |
| Your account and everything in it | Until you delete your account |
| Copies of your game saves | Until you turn save copies off, or delete your account |
| Proof you agreed to automatic renewal | 3 years, or 1 year after your membership ends if that is later, and then deleted. If you delete your account, it is kept only under your Stripe customer number, without your email |
| Backups | Up to 30 days |
When you delete your account, your email address, username, membership, household place and chess ratings are removed straight away, and Stripe is told to delete your email from its records. Your past online chess games stay for the players you played, shown as "deleted player". Stripe keeps its own payment records for as long as the law requires.
13. Your choices and rights
- See your information: your account page shows your email, username and membership. Email us for a copy of everything we hold about you.
- Correct it: change your username on your account page. Email us to change your email address.
- Delete it: delete your account from your account page at any time.
- Turn off emails: turn off chess reminders in chess settings. Sign-in codes and renewal reminders can't be turned off while you have an account, because the law requires the reminders.
Some states give their residents specific privacy rights. We give these rights to everyone, wherever you live. We answer within 45 days. If we turn down a request, you can ask us to look at it again by replying. We will never treat you differently for using your rights.
14. Keeping it safe
Everything travels over an encrypted connection. Sign-in codes and sign-in tokens are stored scrambled (as hashes), so a copy of our database couldn't be used to sign in. Only the people who run Hestia Games can reach the server. If a breach ever affects your information, we will tell you as the law requires.
15. Where your information is stored
Our server is in Germany. Stripe and Google handle information in the United States. By using an account, you understand your information is stored in those places.
16. Changes to this policy
If we change this policy in a way that matters, we will email account holders at least 30 days before the change starts and update the date at the top.
17. Contact
Email games@hestiascreations.com with any question or request about your privacy. Hestia's Creations, Oregon, United States.
Parts of this policy are adapted from 37signals' policies (github.com/basecamp/policies), used under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license, and changed for Hestia Games.