Privacy Policy for Go Chess

Effective date: November 13, 2026

This policy explains what information Go Chess (the “app”) collects when you play, how it is used, and the choices you have. The app is made by Double Hound, the name under which David J. Heberle makes games. Double Hound runs the app and its game server (“we”, “us”). If you have any questions, email us at dev@doublehound.com.

The short version

• You don’t need an email address, phone number, password or real name to play.
• We keep only what the game needs to work: the name you choose, a random player ID, the devices you play on and your games.
• We don’t show ads, we don’t use analytics or tracking tools, and we don’t sell or rent your information to anyone.
• You can delete your account at any time from Settings in the app.

What we collect

Information you choose to give us

• Your display name. The name you type in the app. Other players see it during games, so please don’t use your real full name or anything else that identifies you.

Information created when you play

• Player ID. A random identifier the server makes when you first open the app. It isn’t linked to your real identity.
• Device sign-in tokens. Each device you play on gets its own secret token so you stay signed in. We store only a scrambled (hashed) copy of each token, never the token itself.
• Device list. For each device signed in to your account, we store the device’s name as your phone reports it (for example “iPhone” or “Pixel 8”; on some Android phones this can be a name you gave your phone), when it was added and when it was last used. You can see this list, and sign devices out, under Devices in the app.
• Link and recovery codes. If you create a code to sign in on another device, or a recovery code, we store only a hashed copy, so we can check a code without being able to read it.
• Games. For each game: the moves, the result and how it ended, the time control and clocks, when it started and ended, and which player sat on each side. Your win, loss and draw record is worked out from these.

Information collected automatically

• IP address. While you are connected, your IP address is used to prevent abuse, for example to limit how many accounts or connections can come from one place. It is held in the server’s memory only, and we don’t store it with your account or in our logs. If a connection is refused for going over one of these limits, the log records only the general network it came from (the first part of the address), not the full address.
• App version. The version of the app you are using, so the server can ask very old versions to update.
• Overall usage counts. The server keeps running totals such as the number of players online and games in progress. These numbers aren’t tied to any player.

Stored only on your device

The app saves your player ID, sign-in token, display name and sound settings on your device so you stay signed in between sessions. Deleting the app removes them from the device.

What we don’t collect

We don’t collect your email address, phone number, contacts, photos, precise or approximate location, or advertising identifiers. The app has no ads, no in-app purchases and no third-party analytics or tracking.

How we use information

We use the information above only to:

• run the game: match you with opponents, keep games going and show results and statistics;
• keep you signed in, and let you add or remove devices;
• keep the service secure and fair, and prevent spam and abuse;
• find and fix bugs, and keep the server running smoothly.

We don’t use your information for advertising or profiling, and we don’t sell it.

Who can see your information

• Other players. Your display name, whether you’re connected, and the moves and result of any game you play are visible to your opponent and to anyone watching that game.
• Our hosting provider. The game server and database run on Fly.io, which stores and processes data on our behalf in the United States. They may not use it for their own purposes.
• When the law requires it. We may disclose information if required by law, or to protect the safety of players or the service.

We don’t share your information with anyone else.

How long we keep it

• Your account (name, player ID, devices and codes) is kept until you delete it.
• Link codes expire after 10 minutes. A recovery code is erased once it’s used or replaced.
• Games are kept so players’ records stay accurate. When you delete your account, your seat in your past games is emptied, so those games are no longer linked to you.
• Server logs are kept for up to 30 days.
• Backups of the database are kept for up to 30 days, then deleted. Information you delete may remain in a backup until that backup is deleted.

Deleting your account

In the app, go to Settings and choose Delete account. This immediately and permanently:

• deletes your display name, player ID, device list, link code and recovery code;
• ends any unfinished games as if you resigned, and cancels games nobody has joined yet;
• removes you from your finished games, which stay in your opponents’ records without your name;
• signs out every device on your account.

If you can no longer open the app (for example, you lost your phone), email dev@doublehound.com with your recovery code or as many details as you can, such as your display name and roughly when you last played, and we’ll delete your account within 30 days.

Simply deleting the app removes the information stored on your device, but does not delete your account on our server.

Security

The app talks to our server over an encrypted connection (TLS). Sign-in tokens and codes are stored only as hashes, and the server limits repeated attempts to guess codes. No system is perfectly secure, but we take reasonable steps to protect your information.

Children

The app is not directed to children under 13, and we don’t knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child under 13 has given us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

Your rights

Depending on where you live, including in the European Union, the United Kingdom and California, you may have the right to access, correct, delete or get a copy of your information, and to object to or restrict how we use it. You can change your name and delete your account in the app; for anything else, email dev@doublehound.com. You also have the right to complain to your local data protection authority.

If the GDPR applies to you: we process your information to provide the game you asked to play (performance of a contract), and to keep the service secure and working (our legitimate interests).

We don’t sell or share personal information as those terms are defined under California law.

International transfers

Our servers are in the United States. If you play from elsewhere, your information is transferred to and processed in the United States.

Changes to this policy

If we change this policy, we’ll post the new version at this address and update the effective date above. If a change is significant, we’ll also announce it in the app’s store listing release notes.

Contact

Double Hound (David J. Heberle), New York, USA https://doublehound.com dev@doublehound.com