Privacy policy
This policy explains what information Explain It (https://explain.wordpartygames.com) uses, why, and for how long. The game is run by the Explain It team, who is responsible for this information (the "controller").
The short version
- No accounts, no cookies, no ads, no analytics, no tracking, and nothing is sold or shared for marketing.
- The one-phone game keeps everything on your device.
- Online rooms store the nicknames and words players type, only so the game works. They are deleted 48 hours after a room was last used.
- Please use a first name or nickname, not your full name.
One-phone game
When you pass one phone around, nothing about your game is sent to us. Your browser keeps your settings, team names, your own words and the list of words already played in its local storage, so the next game picks up where you left off. You can clear this at any time in your browser settings.
Online rooms
When you create or join a room, the following is sent to our server and stored there:
- the nickname you enter, the team you join and whether you are connected;
- team names, game settings and any of your own words the host adds;
- the game itself: the words played, scores and turns;
- a random reconnect code, so you can come back after a dropped connection. We store only a one-way hash of it. The code itself stays in your browser and stops being used after 12 hours.
Your browser also remembers the nickname you used, so you don't have to type it again.
Everyone in the same room sees the nicknames and team names. Your own words are shown only to the host, and to players when they come up as a word in the game.
How long: a room is deleted from the database 48 hours after it was last used. When a game finishes we keep an anonymous record of it: the language, the number of teams, players and rounds, and the time. It contains no names or words.
Technical information
- IP address. To protect the service from abuse, the server counts connections and new rooms per IP address. These counts are kept only in memory and disappear within an hour.
- Server logs. Microsoft, which hosts the site, receives your IP address with each request in order to deliver it, and keeps its own records to run and secure its service. The game server's log records events such as a room being created or a game starting, with the room code, but no IP addresses, nicknames or words. It is deleted after at most 30 days.
- Offline use. Your browser may save the game's files so it opens without an internet connection. This saves app files only, no personal information.
Storage while the server sleeps
The game server shuts down when nobody is playing. So that a game can continue when it starts again, each room is also saved in Microsoft Azure storage. This copy is deleted 48 hours after the room was last used. If the server is asleep at that time, Azure's daily clean-up deletes it within one more day. There are no other backups.
Who processes the information
The game runs on Microsoft Azure. The game server and the saved rooms are in Sweden (Azure Sweden Central region). The site's pages, images and fonts are delivered by Microsoft's worldwide network (Azure Static Web Apps), which receives your IP address but no information about the game. Microsoft processes this information only on our instructions, and also issues the site's HTTPS certificates. We do not use any other service providers, and the site loads nothing from other websites.
Why we use the information (legal basis)
- To run the game you asked to play: to create rooms, show nicknames, keep score and reconnect you. This is needed to provide the service you request (GDPR article 6(1)(b)).
- To keep the service secure and working: rate limits and logs. This is our legitimate interest in running a safe and reliable service (GDPR article 6(1)(f)).
Children
Explain It is a family game. We do not ask for age, email, phone numbers or real names, and we do not create profiles. Players should use a nickname. Any player can leave a room at any time, which removes their nickname from it, and every room is deleted automatically 48 hours after it was last used.
Your rights
Depending on where you live, you can ask to see, correct or delete information about you, ask us to restrict or stop using it, and complain to a data protection authority. In Israel that is the Privacy Protection Authority. In the European Union, it is the authority in your country.
Because we do not know who players are and the site has no contact address, the way to remove your information is to leave the room, which deletes your nickname from it at once. Everything else is deleted within 48 hours.
Security
All traffic is encrypted with HTTPS. The game server runs in a restricted environment. Rooms are stored on Microsoft Azure with no shared passwords or keys. Reconnect codes are stored only as hashes.
Changes
If we change this policy, we will update the date at the top. If a change affects how we use information you already gave us, we will say so on the game's home page before it takes effect.