Privacy statement

Last changed on October 29, 2026.

Below is what we keep about you, why and for how long. Open a line for the details. Do you only play against the computer? Then you need no account, and the site only gets the numbers of your game, with nothing that points to you.

What we keep now

• Your account until you delete it

  What we keep

  Your player name, your email address and whether you confirmed it, your language and the date you made your account. Your password only as a hash; that cannot be read back. If you ask for a new password, also a code with your email address, which works for an hour

  Whose

  Anyone with an account

  Why

  To let you log in and recognise you, to write to you in your own language and to stop abuse

  How long

  Until you delete your account. The code for a new password until you use it, ask for a new one or delete your account

• Two-factor login until you turn it off

  What we keep

  The secret key and the recovery codes of two-factor authentication, encrypted

  Whose

  Anyone who turns on two-factor authentication

  Why

  To check your code when you log in

  How long

  Until you turn it off or delete your account

• Your session until you log out, or two hours

  What we keep

  For each browser that opens a page: your IP address, the kind of browser and when you were last there. Once you log in, also which account

  Whose

  Everybody who opens a page

  Why

  To protect forms and to keep you logged in. On your profile you see where you are logged in, and you can log out there

  How long

  Until you log out or the session runs out, after two hours without a visit. At the latest until you delete your account

• Your guest name the cookie a year

  What we keep

  If you play together without an account: a random guest number in a cookie, and the name that follows from it, like Grutto 17

  Whose

  Anyone who plays together without an account

  Why

  To give you the same name in the lobby and the waiting room on every visit, and to set limits per guest

  How long

  The cookie a year in your browser. The site does not keep the number itself. After the botcheck the code that follows from it is in your session while it lasts; the game server knows that code while your room exists

• The botcheck eleven minutes

  What we keep

  Your browser solves a small puzzle from ALTCHA, an open-source program on our own server. Of every solved puzzle we keep only that it has been used, not whose it was. The puzzle does not track your mouse or your keys. If you play together without an account, after the check the code from your guest number goes into your session, next to your IP address and the kind of browser; as long as the session lasts, they belong together. If you make an account, your browser solves the same puzzle, and again we keep only that it has been used

  Whose

  Anyone who plays together without an account or with an email address not confirmed yet, and anyone who makes an account

  Why

  So that bots do not join in as guests or make accounts by the thousand and take the places of real players. The puzzle slows that down; the limits per IP address below are the real protection

  How long

  The code in your session as long as it lasts, up to two hours without a visit. That a puzzle was used, eleven minutes; by then it has expired anyway

• Counts against abuse a minute to a day

  What we keep

  How often something was tried: logging in, the two-factor code, creating an account, asking for a new password, changing your email address, reporting a bug, using the lobby and the chat, the botcheck, and the games against the computer that your browser reports. We count per IP address or per account, sometimes both. An email address is never kept readable here

  Whose

  Anyone who does one of these things, even if it fails; in the chat, guests too

  Why

  To set limits, so nobody can guess passwords or flood the site and the chat, and to let in at most 120 games against the computer per hour and 600 per day. After too many wrong two-factor codes, the account gets at most one mail about it every 24 hours

  How long

  A minute, ten minutes, an hour or a day, per limit. Your IP address is also in the logs, sometimes with your account. We don't keep those for analysis; they are deleted after fourteen days

• Bug reports no fixed term

  What we keep

  A bug report you send in: your text, the room, the version of the game, the kind of browser and your language. If you are logged in, also which account it came from and whether we may mail you about it. We do not keep your IP address here

  Whose

  Anyone who reports a bug

  Why

  To find the bug, to ask you about it if needed, and to analyse the game and make it better

  How long

  No fixed term; every year we check whether that is still needed. If you delete your account, the report stays without your account attached

• Playing together while the game lasts

  What we keep

  Your IP address and the commands you give in the game. That runs through the game server; of that, the site only gets what is listed under Played games. Your browser reports the result to the game server. The lobby counts per IP address and per account or guest how many rooms you create and how often you join, and per IP address how often you give a code that does not exist, or a wrong password. For the limit on players it keeps track of who is connected right now. Whoever just left, it remembers for two minutes, even if it restarts in the meantime; then this is in a file on the game server for a moment

  Whose

  Anyone who plays together

  Why

  To keep the game in step for every player, to set limits on creating and joining rooms, and to let in no more players at once than the game server can handle

  How long

  While the room and the game exist, in the memory of the game server. The counts of the lobby an hour at most, and who just left two minutes. After that it is gone, except for the measurements below

• Games and measurements no fixed term

  What we keep

  How the game runs: how smoothly it plays, the ping, how your connection is doing, when and why it dropped, and whether reloading worked. For each slot also the team and the people. Also your browser and system, whether it is a phone, your time zone, the number of cores and how big the game is on your screen. From your IP address the game server works out which country and region you are in and through which provider. It looks this up in its own database, without an outside service; we don't keep your IP address itself. The lobby counts per country how many browsers have it open. Of every online game we keep the replay: all commands, without names. A summary, with room codes but without names, is emailed to the admin. Nowhere in this is your IP address or your name, only whether you played with an account or as a guest

  Whose

  Anyone who plays together, and for the count per country also anyone who opens the lobby

  Why

  To find and fix stutters and dropped connections, and to analyse the game and make it better. From the country, the region and the provider we see where a high ping comes from; once there are more servers, we can send you to a server near you. The replay is for us only; players never get to see it

  How long

  No fixed term, on the game server, with the admin and in the backup storage, where a copy goes every night. Every year we check whether that is still needed. Your name and your account are not in it, but Played games records which room it was

• Played games no fixed term

  What we keep

  Of every online game: when, the version of the game, the map, the teams, whether it was quick play or a private room, for each slot whether it was a human or the computer, your account (as a guest only that you were a guest), your choice and your people, the level of the computers, who left, gave up, came back or dropped out, and when, the result, how long it took and when you reached an age. Also which room it was; with that, the measurements and the replay of that game belong to the accounts that played. Whoever played with you sees your player name with that game in their own list

  Whose

  Anyone who plays together

  Why

  To show you your own games, to make the statistics (without names), and to tune the game

  How long

  No fixed term; every year we check whether that is still needed. If you delete your account, the game stays, without your account

• Games against the computer no fixed term

  What we keep

  When, the version of the game, the map, the people, the level of the computer, the result, how long it took and when you reached an age. With an account also which account. Without an account only these numbers: no guest number, no IP address, and no link to an account you make later

  Whose

  Anyone who plays against the computer on the site

  Why

  To show you your own games (with an account), and to tune the levels of the computer

  How long

  No fixed term; every year we check whether that is still needed. If you delete your account, the game stays, without your account

• Your name in the lobby while you wait or play

  What we keep

  Your player name or guest name in the lobby, while you wait in an open room or play a game. With a game in progress also your people, the map and how long it has been going, also when the game began in a private room. Whoever waits in a private room is not in the lobby. The front page of the site shows only numbers: how many players are playing and waiting right now

  Whose

  Anyone who plays together

  Why

  So that whoever opens the lobby sees who is playing now and where there is still room

  How long

  While you wait or the game is in progress, only in the memory of the game server. The numbers on the front page stay in the cache of the site for a minute and a half at most

• The chat no fixed term

  What we keep

  What you write in the chat, in the waiting room and in the game: the text, your player name and your slot at that moment, whether it was for your team or for everyone in the room, and when. Everyone in the room, guests too, reads it; what is for your team, only your teammates read. If a message in the room is reported, the administrator also reads the five messages before and after it, team messages too. Whoever comes in later sees only what is said after that. If the administrator erases your messages at your request, we keep that: for which account, by which administrator, how many messages and when. If you choose to erase them when you delete your account, only how many and when

  Whose

  Anyone with an account who writes in the chat

  Why

  For the chat itself, to be able to check a reported message, and to analyse the game and make it better

  How long

  No fixed term; every year we check whether that is still needed. If you delete your account, your messages no longer carry your name or your account, and the room no longer shows them. The text is kept, though; if it contains your name or anything else about you, that stays too. When you delete your account, you can choose to erase the text as well; after that we no longer know which messages were yours. If you want your messages erased without deleting your account, ask the administrator

• Chat reports no fixed term

  What we keep

  A report of a message or a name in the chat: who reported, about whom, the message or the name as it was then, and when. Also which administrator handled the report, and when. Whoever is reported does not learn who reported them

  Whose

  Whoever reports and whoever is reported

  Why

  To keep an eye on the chat, and to analyse the game and make it better

  How long

  No fixed term; every year we check whether that is still needed. If either of them deletes their account, the report stays without that account; for whoever was reported, the name as it was then goes too

• Blocks and mutes no fixed term

  What we keep

  Whom you blocked in the chat and when, and whether and when you undid that; and whether the administrator muted you and until when. A mute stays in the database after it has run out

  Whose

  Anyone with an account

  Why

  So that you no longer see messages from whoever you blocked and a muted account does not write, and to analyse the game and make it better

  How long

  A block works until you undo it on your profile; after that it is kept, together with the moment you undid it. No fixed term; every year we check whether that is still needed. If either of them deletes their account, the block stays without that account. A mute until the administrator removes it or your account is deleted, even if the time is already over

• Replaced player names as long as the site exists

  What we keep

  A player name that the administrator replaced in the chat, only as a key: the name in lower case, without accents, characters in between and invisible characters. With it the moment it was replaced, without the account

  Whose

  Anyone who had a name that the administrator replaced

  Why

  So that nobody picks that name again

  How long

  As long as the site exists. If you delete your account, the key stays, with no link to you

• A ban no fixed term

  What we keep

  Whether your account may play online, with the reason, the date, who set the ban (the administrator, or the site itself) and when and by whom it was lifted. A lifted ban is kept

  Whose

  Whoever gets a ban

  Why

  To keep the game fair and safe for whoever plays along, and to be able to show what happened if you disagree

  How long

  No fixed term; a lifted ban is kept, and a ban can always be lifted. If you delete your account, your name disappears from the ban and the rest is kept without a name

We keep bug reports, measurements, replays, played games, chat messages, reports, blocks and bans with no fixed term, to analyse the game and make it better. Every year we check whether that is still needed.

Why we may do this: we need your account, your session, your guest name, playing together, the chat and your played games on My games to provide the game. The botcheck, the counts, the logs, the backups, moderating the chat, the measurements, the bans and the played games for the statistics and for tuning the game are our legitimate interest: keeping the site safe, keeping the game fair and making the game better. We only email you about a bug report if you tick the box.

Cookies

The site only sets the cookies it needs to work. There are no cookies from advertisers or from measuring services, and no page fetches anything from another site.

• The session cookie "frisiansea-session", to protect forms and keep you logged in.

  It protects forms and remembers that you are logged in. If you play together without an account, it also remembers whether you passed the botcheck. It disappears when your session runs out.

• The cookie "taal", with the language you picked. It stays for a year.
• If you tick "Remember me" when you log in: a cookie that keeps you logged in until you log out, for 400 days at most.
• If you play together without an account: the cookie "frisiansea_gast", with a random guest number your guest name follows from. It stays for a year, and no script on the page can read it.
• The game keeps your settings, your last game and your slot in your browser.

  The game keeps in your browser how loud the sound and the music are, which language and which people you chose, which level you set the computer to, which parts of the screen you folded away, what you have already seen on the "What's new" page, and the replay of your last game. The tab holds what the game needs to go on after a reload; when you play together, also a key that gets you your slot back. When you play against the computer, the tab also holds the number of that game and whether the result was already reported. Only that key and that number leave your computer.

Who else can get at it

• Our servers are in the European Union for now. The company that rents them to us looks after the machines and does not read along.
• All traffic to the site and the game goes through Cloudflare, which protects us against attacks and sees your IP address to do so.

  Cloudflare sits between you and our server and stops attacks with very many requests. To do that it sees your IP address and what your browser asks for and receives. Cloudflare is an American company and takes part in the EU-US Data Privacy Framework.

• A nightly encrypted backup, in the European Union, kept for two years at most.

  Every night we make an encrypted backup of the database. It is kept on the server itself and in separate storage of the same company, also in the European Union. We keep every backup of the last seven days, then one a day up to sixteen days, one a week up to eight weeks, one a month up to four months and one a year up to two years. We only use a backup to restore the site after an outage or a mistake.

• Mail goes through a mail service in the European Union, which gets your email address.

  For instance the mail to confirm your email address. The mail service gets your email address and the mail itself.

• The chat runs on a service of its own on the server of the site. No message goes to anyone else.
• The botcheck is ALTCHA, an open-source program. It runs on our own server and in your browser; the company behind ALTCHA gets nothing from us or from you.
• We do not sell your data and share nothing with advertisers.

What you can do yourself

If this statement changes

If anything changes in what we keep, we change this page and put the new date on it.