Privacy policy

Effective [EFFECTIVE DATE]. Operated by [OPERATOR LEGAL NAME]. Contact: [CONTACT EMAIL].

wordghoti.com is a daily word game. You can play it without an account. An account keeps your record on every device, and gives you a name and a profile that other players can see. This page lists exactly what the site collects, why, who else handles it, and how to get rid of it. It is written to be read.

What we collect

Data	When	Why
Your games: which puzzle, the wrong guesses you typed, the clues you took, whether you solved it or revealed the answer, when you started and finished, and when you last guessed or took a clue. From those we work out how long you spent on it, counting each pause between two of your moves as five minutes at most, so a puzzle left open overnight does not count the night. Endless games are not timed. Each game is kept with your account if you are signed in, or else with a random id your browser made (see below). No name, email or location is attached to an anonymous game.	When you open a puzzle, and each time you guess or take a clue.	To run the game (the answer is checked on our server, never in your browser), to keep your streak and statistics, and to show everyone's totals for the day — how many solved it, the median time, the average number of clues. Those totals are counts and averages only; no one else sees your games.
Your games of a message in a bottle: the same as any game, kept with the bottle you opened.	When you open a bottle someone sent, and each time you guess or take a clue.	To run the game, and to show the bottle's numbers on its page: how many opened it, solved it and gave up, the number of guesses, the median time and the bait used. Those are counts only; the page never says who played, and never shows the words anyone guessed.
Bottles you send: the word you chose, the spelling you gave it, and when you sent it. Kept with your account; sending one needs an account.	When you send a message in a bottle.	To make the bottle's link work, and to list it. The link is a random code that says nothing about the word. Every bottle is public: once someone likes it, it can appear on the Top bottles boards, which anyone can open, as "Bottle" and a number, with its sender, its likes and how many opened it — never its word, and its spelling only to you and to a player who has finished it. Anyone can see the spelling by opening the bottle, and the word once their game is over; you can always see both on the bottle's page. Your profile lists your bottles for anyone to open, by their number and link, never their word, and their spelling on the same terms as the boards. The bottle is signed with your name, on its page and on the boards. We check the word and the spelling against a list of offensive words on our own server.
Bottles you like: which bottle you liked and when, kept with your account; liking needs an account, and a finished game of that bottle.	When you like a bottle. Taking the like back deletes it.	To show how many people like each bottle, on its page, on its sender's profile and on the Top bottles boards (the "this week" board counts the likes of the past seven days). Only the count is shown; nobody, the sender included, is told who liked it.
Reports of a bottle: which bottle you reported and when, kept with your account, or with the anonymous device id if you have none.	When you choose "Report this bottle".	So we can see which bottles have been reported, and that each player reports a bottle once. Nobody but us sees a report, and the bottle's sender is not told who made it. A report does not remove a bottle by itself.
Your Fishing contest runs: the puzzles you were dealt, the wrong guesses you typed, which ones you caught and when, and when the minute started. Kept with your account, or with your browser's random id, just like your games.	When you start a run, and each time you guess during it.	To run the contest (the clock is our server's), to hold you to your entries for the day, to show everyone's totals for the day (counts, the median and the best), and to rank the Weekly Top.
Your name: the name other players see. It starts as your first name and the first letter of your last name, as Google gives them ("Kevin D."), or "Angler" if those cannot be used, and you can change it at any time.	When you first sign in, and when you change it.	It is public: it appears on the Weekly Top next to your best catch of the week, on bottles you send (on their pages and on the Top bottles boards), and on your profile. Other players may have the same name. We check it against a list of offensive words on our own server; it is not sent anywhere to be checked. Your profile tells you, once, what others see you as.
Your profile: a page with your name, when you joined, your daily record (games played, the share solved, your streak and best streak, the bait you used, your best and average times), your Fishing contest record (best run, entries, this week's rank) and your bottles (their totals of sent, likes, opened and solved, and each one's number, spelling, link and counts, never the word). Its address is a random code that says nothing about you.	From when you make an account.	It is public: anyone who taps your name on the Weekly Top or on a bottle you sent can open it. It shows nothing that is not listed here: not your email, your full name or your Google picture.
Reports of a name: which player you reported, their name at the time, and when, kept with your account, or with the anonymous device id if you have none.	When you choose "Report this name" on a profile.	So we can see which names have been reported, and that each player reports a name once. Nobody but us sees a report, and the player reported is not told who made it. A report does not change a name by itself.
Account: the name, email address and account identifier Google provides, and the sign-in tokens Google issues. We do not keep your Google picture.	When you sign in with Google, the only way to make an account.	To recognize you, and to make your name the first time. We never show your email or your full name to anyone, and we never email you.
Technical: your IP address, browser identifier and the address of the page you asked for, in server logs and in a short-lived in-memory counter.	Every request.	To run the service, and to limit how often one address can sign in or change a name. If you sign in part-way through making a bottle, the word you were spelling is carried in the page's address so that you come back to it, and so can appear in those logs.

We do not use analytics or advertising trackers.

Cookies and storage on your device

One cookie, set when you sign in: better-auth.session_token (prefixed __Secure- on the live site). It keeps you signed in. No advertising or analytics cookies.
One browser storage entry for everyone who plays: ghoti.device in localStorage, a random id made the first time you play. Your browser sends it with each request so our server knows which games are yours without an account. When you sign in, the games played in this browser move to your account and the id is removed from them.
One browser storage entry if you pick a light or dark look: ghoti.theme in localStorage, so the site opens that way next time. It never leaves your browser.

Who else handles your data

Only the services needed to run the site, each for one job:

Google — sign-in, the only way to make an account.
Neon — hosts the database.
Render — hosts the application and keeps its server logs.

We do not sell data, share it for advertising, or build profiles.

How long we keep it

Account data and the games and contest runs saved with it: until you delete your account. Deleting it from the account menu removes it and everything saved with it at once.
Bottles you sent: until you delete your account. They go with it, their links stop working, and every game anyone played of them is deleted too.
Likes you gave a bottle: until you take the like back or delete your account. A like also goes when the bottle it is about does.
Reports you made of a bottle: until you delete your account, or, for a report made without an account, until the bottle is deleted. A report also goes when the bottle it is about does.
Your name and profile: until you delete your account. A name you replace is not kept.
Reports you made of a name: until you delete your account, or, for a report made without an account, until the account reported is deleted. A report also goes when the account it is about does.
Games and contest runs played without an account: [ANONYMOUS GAME RETENTION — Kevin to decide]. Clearing your browser's site data makes them unreachable from that browser; to have them deleted, write to us with the id shown in your browser's storage.
Server logs: kept by our host for a limited period [RENDER LOG RETENTION — verify], then gone.
Rate limits: the counter forgets an address within a minute.

Your choices and rights

Play without an account.
Choose the name other players see; it does not have to be your real one. Without an account you have no name or profile, and are not on the Weekly Top.
Delete your account yourself, at any time, from the account menu.
Ask us for a copy of your data, a correction, or deletion by writing to [CONTACT EMAIL]. If you are in the EU/EEA, UK, or California, the rights those laws give you apply and this is how to exercise them.

Age

The site is for people [MINIMUM AGE — 13 or 16?] and over. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone younger.

Changes

When this page changes, the effective date above changes with it. Material changes to how we handle account data will also be announced on the site.