Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how goScribble ("we", "us", or "our") handles information when you use our website and multiplayer draw-and-guess game (the "Service").

Active room state is processed ephemerally while a room is live. Separately, we retain first-party gameplay analytics and may copy selected drawing data into a dedicated Replay library as described below.

We want you to understand what information is involved when you play, so you can make informed choices. This policy should be read together with our Terms and Conditions.

We are the data controller for personal information processed through the Service, unless we state otherwise.

This policy applies to visitors to our website, players who create or join game rooms, and anyone who otherwise interacts with the Service.

It does not apply to third-party websites, apps, or services that may be linked from the Service. Those services have their own privacy policies.

Active room and live game state is held temporarily so multiplayer play can run in real time. It is not a permanent room archive and is removed when no longer needed to run the live session.

Completed-drawing analytics are retained separately from live room state. Those analytics are pseudonymous and may include player, room, game, and round identifiers.

Selected drawing data may be copied into a dedicated Replay library. A Replay library record contains the drawing operations and version only, together with word associations; it contains no drawer name, avatar, player ID, room ID, game ID, or round ID.

Information you choose to provide: when you set up a player, you may enter a display name and choose an avatar. During a game, you may submit drawings, guesses, and chat-style messages visible to others in the room. Active room copies are temporary, but completed drawing information may also be included in first-party gameplay analytics and selected drawings may enter the Replay library.

Information on your device only: to make play smoother, your browser may store preferences locally, such as your display name, avatar, theme (light/dark), interface language, word-language preference, and a random client identifier used to help reconnect you after a refresh or brief disconnect. This stays on your device unless you clear it.

First-party gameplay analytics may include pseudonymous player or session identifiers; player, room, game, and round identifiers; completed drawing operations or final strokes and their format version; stroke timing; the word and locale; completion information; and aggregate information about guessing outcomes. Analytics source records remain distinct from unattributed Replay library records.

We do not require you to create a registered account to use the core game.

We may use third-party analytics and measurement services, such as Google Analytics and comparable tools, to understand how visitors use our website (for example, pages viewed, general usage patterns, and technical information like browser type).

Third-party website analytics are separate from our first-party gameplay analytics. Optional analytics cookies are not part of the drawing licence and, where required by law, run only after the relevant consent.

Analytics providers may set cookies or similar technologies and may process data such as IP address, device identifiers, and usage events according to their own privacy policies. Where required by law, we will ask for your consent before non-essential analytics run.

You can learn more about how Google handles data at policies.google.com/privacy, and you may be able to opt out of Google Analytics using Google's browser add-on or your browser settings.

We use transient session data to provide and operate the Service, including hosting rooms, syncing drawings in real time, displaying scores, and keeping sessions running smoothly.

We use analytics data to understand how the website is used and to improve performance and features.

We use first-party gameplay analytics to understand game performance, completion and aggregate guessing patterns, investigate issues, improve and moderate the Service, and identify drawings that may be suitable for Replay curation.

We use selected Replay Drawings in goScribble, including paid, advertising-supported, or otherwise monetised modes such as Replay Mode, and in marketing and promotion of goScribble. We do not use this permission to sell a drawing dataset, license it to unrelated third parties, or train AI or machine-learning systems.

We use information stored on your device to remember your preferences so you do not have to re-enter them each visit.

We do not use your gameplay for third-party behavioural advertising, and we do not sell personal information.

If you are in the United Kingdom or European Economic Area, we process personal information only where we have a valid legal basis under UK GDPR / GDPR.

Performance of a contract or steps at your request: to provide the game when you create or join a room and to carry out the Service you ask us to deliver.

Legitimate interests: to secure, maintain, and improve the Service; understand first-party gameplay performance; curate suitable drawings; and use selected Replay Drawings in goScribble modes and promotion. We balance those interests against your rights and give particular weight to the rights and interests of players aged 13 to 17.

Consent: where required for non-essential analytics, cookies, or similar technologies. You may withdraw consent at any time through your browser settings or any consent tool we provide.

With other players in your room: your display name, avatar, drawings, guesses, and messages are visible to others who have access to the same room link during an active session.

With analytics providers: we may share website usage data with services such as Google Analytics as described above. These providers process data under their own terms and privacy policies.

With infrastructure providers and contractors: they may process live room data, analytics, and Replay Drawings on our behalf as needed to host, secure, maintain, analyse, moderate, and provide the Service.

With Replay players and audiences: selected Replay Drawings are stored without player identifiers and displayed without attribution. Other players or marketing audiences may see the drawing, but not drawer identity from the Replay record.

For legal reasons: we may disclose information if we reasonably believe it is required by law, regulation, legal process, or to protect the rights, safety, and security of users, the public, or the Service.

We do not sell your personal information.

Your information may be processed in the United Kingdom and in other countries where our service providers operate. Those countries may have different data-protection laws than your own.

Analytics providers such as Google may process data in the United States and other countries. Where required, we use appropriate safeguards for international transfers.

Live room state is retained only while needed to run an active session and for brief operational recovery. Pseudonymous gameplay analytics are retained while reasonably needed for performance analysis, security, moderation, product improvement, Replay selection, and legal obligations, then deleted or aggregated according to operational policy.

A selected Replay Drawing may be retained while it remains suitable and useful for the Service or its promotion. We may reject or remove drawings containing personal information, names or signatures, prohibited material, or apparent third-party intellectual property.

Because the Replay library is stored without player identifiers, we may be unable to connect a Replay Drawing back to a particular player when responding to a rights request. This is precise storage without identifiers, not a claim that re-identification is impossible in every circumstance.

Information stored in your browser remains until you clear your browser storage.

Analytics providers retain data according to their own settings and policies. You can review those policies for retention periods and deletion options.

The Service is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13.

If you are under 13, please do not use the Service. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided information to us, please contact us so we can take appropriate steps.

Users between 13 and the age of majority in their jurisdiction should use the Service only with permission from a parent or guardian where required by law.

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, restrict, or object to certain processing of your personal information, and to receive a copy of information you provided in a portable format.

We may be unable to retrieve temporary live-room content after a session ends. We will assess requests relating to pseudonymous analytics using the identifiers and information reasonably available to us.

Replay library records contain no drawer or session identifiers, so we may be unable to locate a particular player's drawing in that library. This does not limit any non-waivable rights you have under applicable law.

For analytics data held by third parties, you may need to exercise rights directly with those providers or through your browser settings.

You can clear locally stored preferences by removing site data for goScribble in your browser settings.

If you are in the UK, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk. If you are in the EEA, you may complain to your local data protection authority.

We will not discriminate against you for exercising your privacy rights.

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures designed to protect information processed through the Service. No method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

You are responsible for keeping room links private if you do not want others to join. Anyone with a room link may be able to see activity in that room.

We use browser local storage to remember preferences such as your display name, avatar, theme, language, and client identifier. This data stays on your device.

We may use analytics cookies or similar technologies through services such as Google Analytics to measure website usage. These are distinct from the game itself.

Our website may load fonts from third-party providers (such as Google Fonts). Those providers may receive technical data like your IP address when your browser requests font files.

You can control cookies and local storage through your browser settings. Where required, we will ask for consent before non-essential cookies run.

The Service may contain links to third-party websites or services. We are not responsible for their privacy practices. We encourage you to read their policies before providing information to them.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Material changes to drawing retention or use will be highlighted prominently before they take effect.

This policy describes drawing retention and commercial Replay use prospectively from the effective date of the updated Terms; it does not retroactively make older analytics drawings eligible for Replay curation.

This updated Privacy Policy and the new Replay eligibility rules take effect on 10 August 2026.

This Privacy Policy is governed by the laws of England and Wales, without regard to conflict-of-law rules, except where mandatory local consumer or data-protection laws apply in your country of residence.

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or want to exercise your rights, please contact us through the contact information published on https://goscribble.io.