The short version
- You do not need an account. Without one, Gameverse's server stores no account information and no game saves about you. Your Library and saves stay in your own browser. Gameverse does count visits as anonymous totals (see Counting visits).
- If you sign in with GitHub or Google, Gameverse keeps your name and, if your provider shares it, your email address, plus your settings. Unless you turn it off, your game saves are also kept in your account so they follow you between devices. Public leaderboards are optional.
- No ads, no selling data, no tracking across other sites. Gameverse serves all its own pages and scripts. The only other companies involved are GitHub or Google, if you choose to sign in with them, and the company that hosts the server.
- You can delete your account yourself, at any time, from the menu with your name in the top right.
Without an account
- Game files you open or add to your Library are read in your browser. They are not uploaded.
- Your Library and game saves are kept in your browser's own storage, on your device. Clearing your browser's site data removes them. Gameverse cannot see them.
- Games cannot see anything about you. Each game runs in an isolated box with no network access, so it cannot send anything anywhere or read your Library, your other saves or your account.
The server that delivers the site (a DigitalOcean server in New York, United States) does not keep a log of which pages you visit, and Gameverse sets no cookies when you are not signed in. Like any web host, the hosting company's network necessarily sees your IP address while it delivers pages to you.
Counting visits
To understand how the site is used, Gameverse counts the following for everyone, signed in or not, as totals per day, such as "the Store was opened 40 times on 11 October":
- how many times each page was opened, and how many different browsers visited;
- the kind of screen (phone, tablet or desktop) and your browser's main language, each as a separate total;
- which country visitors come from, as a separate total: the server looks your IP address up in a country list from DB-IP and counts only the two-letter country code, never together with the page, your screen, your language or an account;
- how many times each game was started and for how many seconds it was open. Games Gameverse does not list, such as ones you made yourself, are counted together as "other", and their names are not kept;
- how many people signed in or signed up, and how many scores were accepted or refused.
The totals contain no IP address, no browser details, no cookie and no link to any account, and nothing in them says what one person did. To avoid counting the same browser twice in a day, the server briefly holds a scrambled, one-way code made from your IP address and browser details (mixed with a secret and the date). It is held in memory only, never saved to disk or to a log, and discarded at the end of the day (UTC) or when the service restarts. In the same way, your IP address is used for a moment to find your country, and then forgotten.
If your browser sends Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control, nothing is counted for you. Only the people who run Gameverse can see the totals.
If you sign in
Signing in is optional and uses an account you already have with GitHub or Google. Gameverse never sees or stores a password.
What Gameverse stores
| What | Why |
|---|---|
| Which provider you used and the identifier it gives for you | So that signing in again finds your account. |
| Your name from the provider, and a different display name if you choose one | To show who is signed in. |
| Your email address, only if the provider says it is verified and shares it | A way to contact you about your account. Gameverse does not send marketing email. |
| Your email address and the plans you are interested in, only if you ask on the Plans page to be told when paid plans open. This is kept on its own list, not on any account, and you do not need an account to join. | Only to write to you once, when paid plans open. It is not shared or used for anything else. To be taken off the list, write to the address under Contact from the address you gave, and it will be deleted. |
| Your settings: whether you want to make games, whether cloud saves are on, and whether you have finished the settings page | To do what you asked and to show the settings page only once. |
| Which plan your account is on (there is nothing to buy yet) | To decide how much cloud-save room you have, and whether you have a synced Library. |
| If you add a second sign-in (GitHub and Google) to your account: the name, email address and id that second provider gave | So either one signs you in to the same account. You can remove one at any time under Account settings, as long as one is left. |
| When the account was created and when you last signed in | To run the service. |
| Your cloud game saves, if you leave that on: the game, what it saved, when, and the version it replaced. Each plan has a size limit. | So your progress follows you to other devices and a mistake can be undone. You can turn this off or delete saves under Account settings. |
| Your synced Library, if your plan includes it and you leave it on: the game files in your Library, with each game's title and id. Each plan has a size limit. | So the same Library appears on all your devices. The server stores these files and gives them back to you; it never runs them. You can turn this off or remove games under Account settings. |
| Your Studio, if you are a developer on a plan that includes it: the game files you upload, with each game's title, id and version. Each plan has a size limit. | So you can play-test your own games from any device. They are private: only you can see or download them, they are not in the store, and the server stores and returns these files but never runs them. You can delete them on the Studio page, and they are deleted with your account. |
| If you choose a public leaderboard name: that name and your best score on each board you post to | To show leaderboards. These are visible to everyone, including people who are not signed in. Nothing is posted unless you turn on "Show my scores on public leaderboards". To check a score, your browser uploads a recording of the round (the random seed, the buttons pressed and the game's save data from the start). Gameverse plays the game again with it, then discards the recording: only the score is kept. You can hide or delete your scores at any time. |
| A sign-in session | To keep you signed in for up to 30 days. Only a one-way scrambled version is stored, so a copy of the database cannot be used to sign in as you. |
From GitHub, Gameverse asks only to read your public profile and your email addresses. From Google, it asks only for your name and email address. It cannot see your repositories, mail, files or contacts, and it keeps nothing else the providers send.
Cookies and browser storage
Gameverse uses two small cookies, both only for signing in: one keeps you signed in (up to 30 days, or until you sign out), and one lasts a few minutes while you are sent to your provider and back. There are no tracking or advertising cookies. While you are signed in, your browser also keeps a small note in its own storage so the home page can take you straight to the store; it is removed when you sign out.
What it is used for
To sign you in, show your name, keep your game saves, show the leaderboards you chose to take part in, and run and look after the service (for example, fixing problems and setting your plan). Gameverse does not use your information for advertising or profiling and does not sell it or share it with anyone. If a future feature needs more, this page will be updated first, and what you have already given will not be used for something different without telling you.
Who else is involved
- GitHub or Google, whichever you choose, takes part when you sign in, under its own privacy policy. Gameverse does not share your information with it beyond the sign-in request itself.
- DigitalOcean hosts the server in New York, United States. Your account information is stored there. If you are outside the United States, using an account means your information is processed in the United States.
Keeping it and deleting it
- Your account information is kept for as long as you have an account.
- To delete it: sign in, click your name at the top right, then Delete my account. Your account, saves, scores and sign-in sessions are removed immediately.
- The database is backed up automatically every day, and the last 14 daily copies are kept. After you delete your account, a copy of your information can remain in those backups for up to 14 days, and is then removed.
- To sign out without deleting anything, use Sign out in the same menu.
Your rights
Wherever you live, you can ask what Gameverse holds about you, ask for a correction, or ask for it to be deleted (you can also delete it yourself, as above). If the European Union or United Kingdom data protection rules apply to you, you also have the right to receive a copy of your data, to object to how it is used, and to complain to your local data protection authority. Gameverse handles your information because you chose to sign in and to have the sign-in you asked for.
Children
Gameverse is not aimed at children under 13, and accounts are not meant for them.
Contact
Questions, or a request about your information: GaryDaviesHome@gmail.com. Please write from the email address on your account, so the request can be matched to it. Gameverse is run by Gary Davies.
Changes
If this page changes in a way that matters to you, the date at the top changes too. The history of this page is public in the project repository.