Privacy policy
ThoughtMatch is built to need as little information about you as possible. There are no accounts, no sign-up and no database of players. This page explains exactly what is stored, where, and for how long.
Who runs ThoughtMatch
ThoughtMatch is run by Ansh R. Suryavanshi, an independent developer based in India. You can reach us at hello@thoughtmatch.online about anything on this page.
What stays on your device
The game keeps a few small items in your browser's local storage so it can reconnect you if your connection drops or you reload the page:
- A random guest token. It identifies your seat in a room. It's generated at random and isn't linked to your name, email or any account.
- The room code and the name you typed, so you can rejoin the same room.
- Your settings, such as whether sound is muted.
You can clear all of these at any time by clearing this site's data in your browser. If your browser blocks storage, the game still works, but it can't reconnect you after a reload.
What our server handles
To run a game, our server holds the room's state in memory:
- the names players typed;
- a public player ID derived one-way from each guest token;
- the words and clues played;
- scores.
Secret words and private clue words are only sent to the players the rules allow to see them.
This game data is not written to a database. It lives in the server's memory while the room is in use and is discarded once everyone has left, at the latest a few minutes after the room empties. It's also cleared whenever the server restarts.
The server runs on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, in its United States region.
Server logs
Like most websites, our web server records basic request logs:
- your IP address;
- the page or file requested;
- the time;
- your browser's user agent.
We use these only to keep the site running and secure, for example to stop abuse. They're deleted automatically after 14 days.
The game server's own logs record events such as starting up and clearing empty rooms. They don't contain names, words or IP addresses.
Google Fonts and Google ads
Fonts. Pages load their fonts from Google Fonts, so your browser connects to Google's servers to download them. Google receives your IP address as part of that request.
Advertising. Our articles and guides (not the game itself) show ads served by Google AdSense, a third-party vendor.
- Google uses cookies to serve ads based on your visits to this and other websites.
- Google's advertising cookies let it and its partners serve ads to you based on those visits.
- You can opt out of personalized advertising in Google's Ads Settings. You can also opt out of some third-party vendors' cookies at aboutads.info.
- If you're in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or Switzerland, you're asked for consent before personalized ads are shown.
To learn how Google uses this information, see how Google uses information from sites that use its services.
We don't use any analytics or tracking scripts of our own, and we don't sell personal information.
Children
ThoughtMatch isn't directed at children under 13. It has no accounts and doesn't knowingly collect personal information from children. Families who play together should have an adult set up the game. If you believe a child has shared personal information with us, email us and we'll help.
Your choices and rights
Because we don't keep player records, there's usually nothing to look up, correct or delete once a game is over. Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access or delete personal information, or to object to its use. To make a request or ask a question, email hello@thoughtmatch.online and we'll respond as quickly as we can.
Changes and contact
If we change how ThoughtMatch handles information, we'll update this page and its effective date before the change takes effect. Questions are always welcome at hello@thoughtmatch.online.