Privacy policy

Tileside has no accounts. Everything you enter, including player names, scores, past games, study progress, settings and your license key, is stored only in your browser on your own device, and we can't see it. The one exception is a game you choose to share as a short link (kept on our server for up to 90 days so the link works) or show on a live scoreboard (deleted 12 hours after the last update). See Sharing features.

The app saves the following in your browser's local storage so they survive a page reload: the game in progress, your last setup (player names and settings), finished games you've archived, quiz progress, your dictionary preference, and your Pro license key if you've entered one. The app also saves a small note about the free Pro night: when it started, whether the offer at the end has been shown and whether this device has had Pro. That note stays on your device.

This data never leaves your device unless you choose to share it. Clearing your browser's site data for tileside.app deletes all of it. "Export backup" in Past games creates a file you control; nothing is uploaded.

"Share result" hands a short text summary to your device's share sheet or clipboard. It doesn't go through us.

"Score picture" draws the final scores, with player names, as an image on your device and hands it to your share sheet or saves it. It doesn't go through us.

"Copy link" (Pro) makes a short link at go.tileside.app. To do that, the app sends the finished game (player names, the words played, scores and the date) and your license key to our server. The key is checked and not stored. During a free Pro night there's no key: the app just says it's a Pro night, and no key or device ID is sent. The game is kept for 90 days after the link was last made (30 days for a link made on a free Pro night), so anyone with the link can open the scorecard and messaging apps can show a picture of the final score; then it's deleted automatically. Links are hard to guess but not secret: anyone you send one to can pass it on. To have a shared game removed sooner, email support@tileside.app with the link.

If the short link can't be made (for example, when you're offline), the app builds a longer link that carries the game inside the link itself. We don't receive or store that one.

"Show on TV" (Pro) opens a live scoreboard room on our server. While it's on, the app sends what's on the board after every turn: player names, scores, whose turn it is, the last play, how many tiles are left and, in games scored on the board, the board itself. Your license key is checked when the room opens and not stored. During a free Pro night there's no key: the app just says it's a Pro night, and no key or device ID is sent. Anyone with the room code or QR code can watch. The room and everything in it are deleted when you tap "Stop sharing", or automatically 12 hours after the last update.

Our printable score sheets carry QR codes that open go.tileside.app on the way to the app. We count how many times each printed code is scanned, per day, so we know which sheets are useful. Only the count is kept: nothing about who scanned it.

Links from this site to our Etsy shop and eBay store also pass through go.tileside.app, and we count clicks on them the same way: a number per link per day, and nothing about who clicked. eBay may set its own cookies under eBay's privacy policy.

We don't use advertising trackers, we don't set tracking cookies, and we don't sell or share personal information. (Amazon or Etsy may set their own cookies if you follow a link to them, and YouTube may if you play the video on the Pro or About page; see Third parties below.) The app does not ask for your name or location, and the only time we ask for your email address outside a purchase or a club code is if you choose to sign up for the newsletter. The only measurement we do is the cookie-free page-view count and the app counts described under Analytics below. If you subscribe, newsletter emails also measure opens and clicks, as described under Newsletter.

Fonts. The app loads its typefaces from Google Fonts on first visit, which means Google's servers receive a standard web request from your browser, including your IP address. After that the fonts are cached for offline use. Google's privacy policy governs that request.

Video. The Pro and About pages show an episode from the Pickled Geeks YouTube channel. Nothing loads from YouTube until you press play. When you do, the video plays from youtube-nocookie.com, so Google receives a standard web request from your browser (including your IP address) and may store data in your browser under Google's privacy policy.

Payments. Pro licenses are sold through Stripe. When you buy one, Stripe collects your payment details and email address under its own privacy policy; we receive your email address and order number so we can send your license key and provide support. We keep a record of issued license keys and the email they were issued to, for as long as the product is supported, so lost keys can be re-issued. The key email ends with a one-line note about the Tileside shop on Etsy, and about a week later we send one follow-up to check that Pro is working. That's the only other email you'll get about your purchase. Buying doesn't sign you up for the newsletter. After checkout, Stripe sends you back to this site with your checkout session number, and the page asks our server for that order's key so Pro turns on by itself; that number is then removed from the address bar. We also note which button in the app opened checkout (for example the one after a game), so we know which parts of the app are useful.

Printables. When you buy a printable on this site, Stripe handles the payment as above. We receive your name, email address and order number so we can email your download link, and we keep a record of the order and how many times its files were downloaded, so we can help if a file goes missing. We only email you about your order unless you sign up for our newsletter yourself.

Gifts. If you give Pro as a gift, we also receive the name, email address and note you type for the person it's for. We use them only to email them the gift and send you a copy, and we keep them with the order record so the gift can be re-sent if it goes missing. We never add them, or you, to the newsletter or any other mailing list.

Hosting. The website is served by our hosting provider, which, like any web host, may keep standard server logs (IP address, browser type, pages requested) for security and reliability. Our own small server, which makes short links, runs live scoreboards, takes newsletter sign-ups and keeps the app counts, is on Cloudflare; its request logs (which can include IP addresses) are kept for up to 7 days to fix problems and stop abuse. It also briefly counts requests from each IP address for the same reason. We don't use these logs to identify you.

Analytics. We use Cloudflare Web Analytics to count page views. It sets no cookies, does no fingerprinting and no cross-site tracking, and shows us only aggregate counts: which pages were viewed, from which countries, in which browsers. It cannot tell us who you are. How Cloudflare Web Analytics handles privacy.

App counts. When a game starts, when a free Pro night starts, when the Pro offer appears (and where in the app), and when someone taps Get Pro, the app adds one to a daily total on our server at api.tileside.app, on Cloudflare. We keep only those totals, never your name, account or anything about your games. Like any request to our server, it can appear briefly in the server's request logs described under Hosting (up to 7 days).

Amazon links. Our buying guides link to products on Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, Tileside earns from qualifying purchases. If you follow one of those links, Amazon may set cookies to credit the sale to us, under Amazon's own privacy policy. Amazon doesn't tell us who you are or what you bought; we only see totals.

Etsy links. Tileside's shirts and other gear are sold in our shop on Etsy, and the printable score sheets are sold there and on this site. If you follow a link to the shop, Etsy may set cookies, including ones that credit the visit to our shop for a lower sales fee, under Etsy's own privacy policy. If you buy something, Etsy shares the order details we need to fill it, as it does for every Etsy seller.

Support email. If you email support@tileside.app, we keep the conversation for as long as needed to help you. If you reply to one of our emails, we read it and may keep a short note of what you said, without your name or email address, to make Tileside better. We never quote you publicly without asking.

If you sign up for the Tileside newsletter, we keep your email address, where on the site you signed up and the date, so we can send you two short welcome emails (three scoring habits, then what Tileside Pro adds), then word tips, new lessons and Tileside news (about once a month, a little more around the holidays). We send one email first to confirm it's you, and nothing else goes out until you confirm. Every newsletter has an unsubscribe link and our mailing address.

Unsubscribing works right away. After that your address stays only on our unsubscribed list, with the sign-up details above, so you're never emailed or added again; to have it deleted completely, email support@tileside.app. The newsletter is sent through MailerLite, under its own privacy policy. Our newsletter emails include open and click tracking: like most newsletter services, MailerLite uses a tiny invisible image and tracked links to note whether each email is opened and which links are clicked, so we can tell what's useful. It also records the time and IP address when you tap the confirmation link, as proof that you signed up. We don't sell or share the list, and we never add buyers, gift recipients or anyone who emails us unless they sign up themselves. The newsletter is for adults; please don't sign up if you're under 18.

Tileside is for general audiences and isn't directed to children under 13. The app itself has no accounts and collects no personal information. Getting Pro, by purchase or with a club or school code, asks for a name and email, and signing up for the newsletter asks for an email; only an adult should do either: for schools, codes go to the teacher. If a game with a child's name was shared as a link or shown on a live scoreboard, or you believe a child under 13 sent us their details, email support@tileside.app and we'll delete it.

Because your data lives on your device, you control it directly: delete individual past games in the app, or clear the site's data in your browser to remove everything. To ask about anything we hold on our side (license records, games you've shared as short links, or support emails), contact support@tileside.app.

If this policy changes, the date at the top will be updated. Continued use of the app after a change means you accept the updated policy.

See also the terms of service.