Privacy Policy

Last updated: November 8, 2026. Stringle is operated independently by Ali Alahmad in Ontario, Canada. Contact and privacy enquiries: alahmadali012@gmail.com.

The current game

Stringle is a free word-ladder game. The application does not include advertising, analytics, payments, a contact form or a game-account system. Normal play keeps progress on your device. Completing a Daily puzzle automatically sends its completed ladder to the results service to display the Daily comparison. Endless play remains on your device.

Browser storage

The game reads and writes localStorage under stringle:state:v1. For compatibility, it can also read the original rung:state:v1 entry when no new save exists; old data may remain until you clear site data. It stores theme, sound and onboarding preferences, daily/endless puzzle details and word history, hints, start/completion timestamps and completed results for local statistics and streaks. This storage supports resuming play and remembering settings. It is not an advertising identifier.

There is no automatic expiry. Data remains until cleared by you, removed by the browser or overwritten by play. Use your browser’s site-data settings to remove it; playing afterward starts a new save. Storage can be blocked in browser settings, and the game attempts to remain usable for that session. Progress is not encrypted and should not contain sensitive information.

Daily comparisons

Completing a Daily puzzle, or reopening its completed screen, automatically sends today’s completed ladder, puzzle date, hint count and a random day-specific submission code to Stringle’s same-origin results service. The ladder is validated in memory; the database stores the date, derived move count, hint count and a SHA-256 hash of the day-specific code and a day-specific, secret-keyed hash of the source IP address (IPv6 addresses are grouped by network prefix), not the ladder or raw IP address. These records support aggregate comparisons, duplicate prevention and abuse limits. Aggregate move buckets and quota counters are maintained alongside results. No player name, email or cross-day game identifier is requested. This is pseudonymous processing, not a promise of anonymity.

The code and a server-signed daily receipt are saved in localStorage under stringle:daily-submission:v1 and replaced when you submit on a different day. It otherwise remains until site data is cleared. Your first accepted submission for that code and date is counted. A new submission requires server-verified Cloudflare Turnstile proof; reopening the result uses a signed receipt when available. Shared-network and global daily limits may temporarily prevent new submissions without affecting local play. Comparisons show only aggregate move counts and are not verified unique-player rankings. Endless mode does not submit results. Daily results are submitted automatically when the completed screen opens.

A daily cleanup is configured to remove result rows, aggregate buckets and abuse counters dated more than 30 days ago; a failed job may delay deletion. Provider backups can retain deleted records temporarily. Cloudflare documents D1 recovery windows of 7 days on Workers Free and 30 days on Workers Paid: D1 backup documentation. To request deletion of a submitted result, contact the privacy email with its date and day-specific code if still available. Clearing browser data does not delete an already submitted server result.

Hosting and cookies

The configured production hosting and results provider is Cloudflare (Workers and D1). Delivering the site and handling API requests involves connection information such as IP addresses, requested URLs and browser/request metadata. The API uses your IP address for short-lived rate limiting and derives a secret-keyed daily network hash for daily quotas. The hash is stored with the result and quota counters for the result-retention period. Raw IP addresses are not written into the results database. Worker observability logging is disabled in the deployment configuration, and the application does not log submission bodies. This does not disable Cloudflare’s own operational or security processing.

The game sets no application cookies and loads no advertising or marketing analytics scripts. When a new Daily submission needs verification, it loads Cloudflare Turnstile scripts and frames from challenges.cloudflare.com. Cloudflare processes request, browser, device and challenge-interaction information to distinguish automated traffic; the API sends the verification token and source IP to Cloudflare for validation. Turnstile is configured without pre-clearance cookies. See Cloudflare’s Turnstile Privacy Addendum. Blocking verification does not prevent playing, but can prevent a new community result from being counted. Provider security features may introduce their own cookies if configured. Cloudflare’s processing may occur outside Ontario or Canada. The D1 database was created in Cloudflare’s ENAM region; this is not a guarantee of Canadian residency. See Cloudflare’s Privacy Policy and D1 data location documentation. Exact provider operational/security log retention and processing locations are not established by the application code and should not be inferred from the game’s 30-day database cleanup.

Sharing and email

Only when you choose Share, the game passes your result summary and the site URL to your device’s share interface or clipboard. The summary includes the puzzle date/number or Endless label, score, moves, optimal moves and hints, without the word ladder. Your chosen destination handles information under its own policies.

If you email Ali Alahmad, your address, message and attachments are received through Gmail. They are used to respond to the request, investigate issues and maintain necessary correspondence, not to subscribe you to marketing. Avoid sensitive information. Information should be kept only as long as needed to address the request, maintain necessary records or meet applicable obligations.

Requests and complaints

Ali Alahmad is the privacy contact at alahmadali012@gmail.com. You may ask about information held by the operator, request access/correction/deletion, object to processing or raise a complaint. Applicable rights and exceptions depend on your location and the processing involved. We may need proportionate verification to handle a request. The operator cannot retrieve browser-only progress; you control it through site-data settings. Requests involving information held by the production hosting provider may require coordination with that provider.

Advertising and advertising choices

Current status: passive AdSense ownership verification is configured. Advertising and Google’s advertising consent message remain inactive. The advertising practices described below are planned rather than currently enabled.

If Google AdSense is activated after approval and consent testing, third-party vendors, including Google, may use cookies or similar identifiers to serve ads based on visits to Stringle and other websites. Google and its partners may use advertising cookies to personalize ads. Advertising services may process IP addresses, browser/device details, ad impressions, clicks and consent signals for ad delivery, measurement and fraud prevention. Non-personalized ads can still use cookies for frequency limits and reporting; they are not a substitute for consent where required.

The planned consent platform is Google’s certified consent message through AdSense Privacy & messaging. Before advertising is enabled, it must be published and tested for EEA, UK and Swiss visitors, including consent, refusal, management and withdrawal choices. Relevant US state privacy messages and opt-out signals must also be reviewed for the actual audience and processing. Consent records may use cookies or browser storage, separately from game preferences. Playing a puzzle or dismissing How to play does not give advertising consent. Refusing optional advertising consent must not prevent playing.

Once the real consent message is active, use its Privacy choices link to revisit your decision. That control is not displayed while the message is inactive. Google’s own advertising controls are available at My Ad Center; some third-party advertising choices are available at AboutAds. These controls are separate from deleting local game progress. See how Google uses information from partner sites, Google advertising technologies and Google’s Privacy Policy.

Before activation, this notice must be updated to reflect the actual account configuration, participating partners, consent-storage practices and applicable retention information. Active ad partners and their purposes must be identifiable through the real consent message; no partner list, cookie duration or advertising data residency has been assumed here.

Children and changes

The game is general-audience and is not designed or marketed specifically to children. Younger users may access it; no age gate is implemented. Do not send children’s personal information unnecessarily. Advertising may be introduced later, but is not enabled now. Before advertising, analytics, accounts, cloud saves or other new processing starts, this notice and any required controls must be reviewed and updated. Continuing to play is not consent to new tracking.