Privacy

Pipside has no accounts. Player and team names, scores, hand history, house rules and settings are stored only in your browser, on your own device, and we don't see them. The one exception is when you choose to share: sending games to another phone with a code, or turning on Show on TV. Then only what's needed passes through our server, briefly, as described below.

The app saves the following in your browser's local storage so they survive a page reload: the game in progress (including a hand you're partway through counting), the final scores of games you finish (names, scores, capicús and the date), your preferences such as whether sound is on and your language, and, if you use Pro, your saved rule sets, your theme and your Pro license key. 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. If you hide the Android test invite, your browser also saves a note that you hid it. To decide whether to show that invite, the site checks your device's time zone on the device itself; it is never sent to us.

This data stays on your device unless you use one of the sharing features below. Finished games are kept whether or not you have Pro, so upgrading shows the rivalries you've already built. With Pro you can delete any past game. Clearing your browser's site data for pipside.app deletes all of it.

Sending games with a code. When you tap "Get a code", the finished games on your phone (names, final scores, capicús and dates) go to Pipside's server at api.pipside.app, which runs on Cloudflare. They're kept for at most 10 minutes and deleted as soon as the other phone collects them, or when the code expires. The phone that collects them sends its Pro license key so the server can check it; the key isn't stored.

Show on TV (live scoreboard). While it's on, the phone keeping score sends the player or team names, the totals, the target and the number of hands to api.pipside.app, and anyone with the room code or its QR code can see them. The hands themselves and the rest of your history aren't sent. The room is deleted when you stop it, or 12 hours after the last update. Starting one sends your Pro license key to be checked; it isn't 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.

Season standings links (Pro). When you tap "Share standings", the app puts that season's standings into the link itself: the group name, player and team names, wins, scores and the dates each person played. Nothing is sent to or stored on our server; the part of the link after the # stays in the browser. Anyone who gets the link, including anyone it's forwarded to, can see those names and dates, and a link already sent can't be taken back, so share it only with your group.

QR codes and shop links. The QR codes on Pipside's printable score sheets, and the links from this site to our Etsy shop and eBay store, go through go.pipside.app. It adds one to a daily count for that link and then sends you on. It doesn't keep your IP address or anything else about you.

Like any web service, Cloudflare may keep standard request logs (such as IP address and browser type) for a short time for security. We don't use them to identify you. To slow down anyone guessing codes, flooding the newsletter sign-up or inflating the app counts, the server also briefly counts requests from each IP address. Newsletter sign-ups pass through this server on their way to MailerLite and aren't kept here.

We don't use advertising trackers, we don't set cookies to track you, and we don't sell or share personal information. The app never asks for your location, and the only time we ask for your email address outside a purchase is if you choose to sign up for the newsletter. The only counting we do is the visit counts and app counts described under Third parties. If you subscribe, newsletter emails also measure opens and clicks, as described under Newsletter.

The screen-awake feature and the light vibration when you tap a tile use your device's built-in features. They don't send anything anywhere.

Visit counts. We use Cloudflare Web Analytics to count visits: which pages are viewed, roughly where visitors come from (country and referring site), and how quickly pages load. It doesn't use cookies, doesn't identify you, and doesn't follow you across other sites. It never sees your games, scores or license key. Cloudflare's privacy policy governs that data.

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.pipside.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 request logs described under When you share.

Fonts. The app loads its typefaces from Google Fonts on first visit, so 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.

Videos. A few pages, like How to Play, show a Pipside video from YouTube. Nothing loads from YouTube until you tap play. Then the video plays in YouTube's privacy-enhanced mode (youtube-nocookie.com), and Google may collect data such as your IP address and use cookies or similar storage, under Google's privacy policy and YouTube's terms of service.

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. We don't use these logs to identify you.

Payments. On the website, Pipside Pro is sold through Stripe. When you buy it, 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 help if it goes missing, and we keep a record of issued keys and the email each was sent to for as long as Pro is supported, so lost keys can be re-issued. The app checks your key offline. It sends the key only to Pipside's own server, to confirm Pro when you start a live scoreboard or add games by code, and it isn't stored there. The key email ends with a one-line note about the Pipside 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.

Right after you pay, Stripe sends you back to pipside.app with your order number, and the app uses it to fetch your key from Pipside's server so Pro turns on by itself. This works only for an hour after the order. We also note the checkout's language and which button you tapped to buy (for example, the game-over card). Neither is personal.

Google Play. In the Pipside app from Google Play, Pro is sold through Google Play, which handles the payment under Google's own privacy policy. Google doesn't send us your name, email address or payment details. When you buy, the app sends Pipside's server the purchase token Google gives it, and the server checks it with Google. We keep the Google Play order number, the country or region of the purchase, a scrambled (hashed) copy of the token, the app's language and which button you tapped to buy, so Pro comes back by itself if you reinstall, and so a refund through Google Play turns Pro off. Until Google confirms the purchase and we've acknowledged it (usually within a few days), the server also keeps the token itself, then deletes it.

Android testers. If you join the Pipside testers Google Group to try the Android app before its public launch, Google lets us, as the group owner, see your email address. We use it only to run the Google Play test, never for marketing or the newsletter. You can leave the group at any time in Google Groups, or write to support@pipside.app and we'll remove you.

Printables. When you buy a printable, Stripe handles the payment as above. We receive your 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.

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 to 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.

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

Our Etsy shop and eBay store. Pipside's shirts, mugs and other gifts are sold on Etsy and eBay, and its printable score sheets on Etsy. If you follow a link to either shop, Etsy or eBay may set cookies to credit the visit, under its own privacy policy. If you buy, Etsy or eBay handles the order under its own privacy policy and shares the details a seller needs to fulfill it. We use those details only to fill your order, and our print partner, Printful, receives the shipping details to make and ship it.

Support email. If you email support@pipside.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 Pipside better. We never quote you publicly without asking.

If you sign up for the Pipside newsletter, we keep your email address, the language you picked, where you signed up (for example, the footer or the end of a game) and the date, so we can send you the free scoring guide and two short welcome emails (a table tip, then what Pipside Pro adds), then domino tips, new lessons and Pipside 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, write to support@pipside.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 isn't meant for children; please don't sign up if you're under 13.

Your games and settings are stored on your device. To delete them, clear pipside.app's site data in your browser. The Android app keeps them in Chrome: open Chrome, tap the ⋮ menu, then Settings › Site settings › All sites › pipside.app, and clear its data. To delete what we keep (an order record, a newsletter address or support emails), write to support@pipside.app.

The scorekeeper and lessons work without any personal information and are fine for all ages; the optional newsletter sign-up after a game is for adults. Buying Pro or a printable, claiming a club code, giving a gift, signing up for the newsletter or emailing us shares an email address, so those are for adults (or a parent on a child's behalf). If you believe a child under 13 has sent us their email, write to support@pipside.app and we'll delete it.

If this policy changes, the date at the top will be updated. Questions about privacy: support@pipside.app.

See also the terms of service.