Privacy Policy

The Daily Solver ("we," "us," or "our") operates the website at thedailysolver.com and the puzzle services available through it (the "Service"). This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and the rights you have over it.

By using the Service, you agree to the practices described below. If you do not agree, please do not use the Service.

Information We Collect

Information You Provide Directly

• Account information: email address, optional first and last name, and (for email/password sign-up) an encrypted password managed by Firebase Authentication. We never see your password in plain text.
• Display name: when you create an account we generate a name automatically (for example, "SwiftFalcon42"). You can change it at any time, subject to a profanity filter and uniqueness check. Your display name is shown publicly on leaderboards, in friends' feeds, and on any rankings you appear on.
• Profile photo URL: if you sign in with Google, we receive and store the URL of your Google profile picture for display.
• Friend connections: friend requests you send or accept, and the resulting friends list.
• Bug reports and feedback: any text, screenshots, or context you choose to submit through the in-app bug reporter or feedback channels.
• Communications: messages you send to us via email or support forms.

Information Collected Automatically

• Puzzle progress and statistics: for each puzzle you start (Sudoku 6×6 and 9×9, Mini Crossword, Word Trail, Checkmate), we store your completion status, time taken, hints used, errors, completion date, and any achievements earned. This data is tied to your account and used to power leaderboards, friends' activity, achievements, and your personal stats.
• Theme preference: whether you have selected light or dark mode.
• Authentication session: Firebase Authentication issues secure tokens to keep you signed in. We also set a __session cookie that our server uses to protect signed-in pages.
• Local browser storage: we use localStorage andsessionStorage to cache today's puzzles, remember UI choices, and store guest puzzle progress on your device.
• Operational logs: our hosting providers retain limited server logs (such as IP address and error traces) for security, debugging, and abuse prevention. These are typically purged within 30 days.
• Error reports (optional): if Sentry error tracking is enabled for the build of the site you are using, anonymized JavaScript error details (stack traces, browser version, page URL) may be sent to Sentry to help us fix crashes. No puzzle answers or account credentials are included.

Information Received From Third-Party Sign-In

• If you sign in with Google, Google shares your name, email address, profile picture URL, and Google account ID with us so we can create or link your Daily Solver account.
• If you sign in with a magic link, we use the email address that receives the link to create or look up your account.

Payment Information (Subscribers Only)

• All card processing is handled by Stripe. We do not see or store your full card number, expiration date, or CVC.
• We receive and store: subscription status (active, canceled, past due), plan type, current period start and end dates, the card brand and last four digits, and your Stripe customer ID.
• We maintain invoice and payment records as required for accounting and tax compliance.

Information We Do Not Collect

• Government identifiers (Social Security numbers, passport numbers, etc.)
• Biometric data
• Precise geolocation or GPS coordinates
• Contacts or address book data
• Camera, microphone, or device sensor data
• Browsing history outside the Service

How We Use Your Information

• Provide the Service: authenticate you, deliver daily puzzles, save your progress, track achievements, generate leaderboards, and operate the friends system.
• Personalize your experience: remember your theme preference, display name, and the puzzles you have already completed.
• Process payments: create and manage your Premium subscription, send billing emails, and handle cancellations or refunds.
• Communicate with you: send transactional emails such as account verification, password resets, payment receipts, and important service notices.
• Serve advertising: show ads to non-subscribers through Google AdSense (see "Advertising and Google AdSense" below).
• Improve the Service: understand which puzzles and features are popular, fix bugs, and develop new features.
• Protect the Service: detect, investigate, and prevent fraud, abuse, cheating, and security incidents.
• Comply with the law: respond to lawful requests and meet our legal obligations.

Advertising and Google AdSense

• We use Google AdSense to display advertisements to users who do not have an active Premium subscription. This includes interstitial ads shown when starting a puzzle.
• Google and its advertising partners may set and read cookies and similar identifiers on your device to serve ads, measure ad performance, and (where you have not opted out) deliver personalized advertising.
• Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads based on your visit to this and other sites on the internet. You can opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings.
• You can learn more about how Google uses information from sites and apps that use its services at policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.
• Premium subscribers see no ads. Subscribing removes interstitial and display ads entirely.

Cookies, Local Storage, and Similar Technologies

• Strictly necessary: Firebase authentication tokens and our__session cookie keep you signed in and protect account pages. These are required for the Service to function.
• Functional: localStorage andsessionStorage remember your theme, cache today's puzzles for faster load, and store guest puzzle progress on your own device.
• Advertising (non-subscribers only): Google AdSense sets its own cookies and identifiers. These are governed by Google's privacy policy.
• You can clear cookies and local storage at any time through your browser settings. Doing so may sign you out and remove any guest puzzle progress saved on that device.

Social Features and Public Information

Some features of the Service are inherently public or visible to other users. By using them you understand that:

• Your display name appears on global and per-puzzle leaderboards and may be visible to anyone using the Service.
• Your puzzle statistics (such as ranking, streak, achievements, and completion counts) are visible on leaderboards and to your friends.
• Friends can see your puzzle activity and progress as presented in their friends feed.
• Friend requests reveal your display name to the person you search for or who searches for you.
• Achievements you earn may be displayed on your profile and to your friends.
• You can change your display name, remove friends, or delete your account at any time to limit your visibility.

Third-Party Service Providers

We rely on the following service providers to operate the Service. Each has its own privacy policy that governs how it handles information we share with it.

Google Firebase (Authentication, Firestore, Cloud Functions, Hosting)

• Purpose: user authentication, database storage, serverless backend, and hosting infrastructure.
• Data shared: all account, puzzle, friends, and subscription records described above.
• Policy: firebase.google.com/support/privacy

Google Sign-In

• Purpose: optional sign-in method.
• Data shared: your basic Google profile (name, email, profile picture URL, Google account ID).
• Policy: policies.google.com/privacy

Google AdSense

• Purpose: display advertising to non-subscribers.
• Data shared: we do not directly send AdSense your account information. Google may collect device identifiers, IP address, ad-interaction data, and approximate location from your browser.
• Policy: policies.google.com/privacy

Stripe

• Purpose: payment processing and subscription management.
• Data shared: email address, subscription details, and payment-method metadata. Full card data is collected directly by Stripe and never reaches our servers.
• Policy: stripe.com/privacy

Amazon Web Services (Simple Email Service)

• Purpose: deliver transactional emails (verification, receipts, account notices).
• Data shared: recipient email address and message contents.
• Policy: aws.amazon.com/privacy/

Vercel (Hosting and Edge Network)

• Purpose: hosts and delivers the website.
• Data shared: standard HTTP request data (IP address, user agent, requested URL).
• Policy: vercel.com/legal/privacy-policy

Sentry (Optional Error Tracking)

• Purpose: capture client and server errors so we can fix them.
• Data shared: error message, stack trace, browser type, page URL, and an anonymized user ID. We do not send puzzle answers, passwords, or payment data.
• Policy: sentry.io/privacy/

Data Storage and Security

• Where data is stored: account, puzzle, friends, and subscription data live in Google Cloud Firestore in the United States. Guest progress lives only on your own device.
• Encryption in transit: all traffic between your browser and our servers uses HTTPS/TLS.
• Encryption at rest: Firebase, Stripe, and AWS encrypt stored data at rest using industry-standard methods.
• Access controls: administrative operations are restricted to verified administrator accounts and protected by Firestore Security Rules and Cloud Function authorization checks.
• No method is perfect: while we apply commercially reasonable safeguards, no internet transmission or electronic storage is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security.

Data Retention

• Account data: kept while your account is active.
• Puzzle progress and statistics: kept while your account is active so we can show your stats, streaks, and achievements.
• Billing and subscription records: kept for up to 7 years after your last transaction for tax, accounting, and legal reasons.
• Operational logs: typically purged within 30 days.
• Account deletion: when you delete your account, we begin deletion immediately and complete it within 30 days, except for records we are legally required to retain (such as billing history).
• Guest data: stored only in your browser and cleared whenever you clear browser data for this site.

Your Privacy Rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the following rights with respect to your personal information:

• Access: request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
• Correction: update your account email, display name, and other profile fields directly from your account settings, or contact us for help.
• Deletion: delete your account and associated data from the account settings page at any time.
• Portability: request your data in a structured, machine- readable format.
• Object or restrict: object to or restrict certain types of processing.
• Withdraw consent: withdraw consent for processing that relies on consent (you may also discontinue use of the Service).
• Complain: lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.

To exercise any of these rights, email privacy@thedailysolver.com with "Privacy Request" in the subject line and enough information for us to verify your identity. We respond within 30 days.

California Residents (CCPA / CPRA)

• Right to know what categories of personal information we collect, why we collect it, and to whom we disclose it.
• Right to delete personal information we have collected from you.
• Right to correct inaccurate personal information.
• Right to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information. We do not sell personal information. We do allow Google AdSense to set advertising cookies on non-subscribers' devices, which under the CPRA may be considered "sharing" for cross-context behavioral advertising. To opt out, use the Google Ads Settings link above or your browser's Global Privacy Control signal.
• Right to non-discrimination for exercising these rights.

European Economic Area, United Kingdom, and Switzerland (GDPR / UK GDPR)

If you are in the EEA, UK, or Switzerland, you have the GDPR rights listed above (access, rectification, erasure, restriction, portability, objection, and the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority). The legal bases on which we process your personal information are:

• Performance of a contract: creating and managing your account, delivering puzzles, processing subscriptions.
• Legitimate interests: securing the Service, preventing fraud, improving features, and serving non-personalized ads to non-subscribers.
• Consent: personalized advertising cookies (where required by law) and any optional features that ask for your permission.
• Legal obligation: keeping billing records and responding to lawful requests.

Children's Privacy

• The Service is not directed to children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 13.
• If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided personal information, please contact privacy@thedailysolver.com and we will delete it.

International Data Transfers

• Our service providers operate primarily in the United States. By using the Service from outside the United States, you consent to the transfer of your information to the United States and other countries where our providers operate.
• For transfers out of the EEA, UK, or Switzerland, we rely on appropriate safeguards such as the Standard Contractual Clauses where required.

Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

• We do not sell your personal information for money.
• We allow Google AdSense to set advertising cookies on non-subscribers' devices, which some U.S. state laws treat as "sharing." You can opt out of personalized ads at any time using Google Ads Settings or by subscribing to Premium to remove all ads.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

• We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the "Last Updated" date at the top.
• If we make material changes, we will notify you by email (if you have an account) or by posting a prominent notice on the website before the changes take effect.
• Your continued use of the Service after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

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