Privacy Policy
Petteia — The Mother of Chess
- Private messages between friends, and how long we keep them (90 days).
- Challenges and draw offers, and what we record about them.
- A report made from a game can include the reported player's last chat lines in that game.
- The app version you use, so new features only reach apps that can show them.
- Your username is kept after you delete your account, but never shown to other players.
1. Who we are
Petteia ("Petteia", "the Platform", "we", "us", "our") is an online chess-variant game. This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, why, how we use and protect it, and the choices and rights you have.
The data controller responsible for your information is Sameer Maldar, based in the United Kingdom. For any privacy question or request, contact us at thisdelivery@gmail.com.
2. The short version
We collect the minimum we need to run the game: an account (username, email, password), your gameplay and rating data, your chat, private and forum messages if you use them, and — if you turn notifications on — a notification token so we can reach your device. We do not sell your personal information. We do not show third-party advertising. We do not use your data to train AI. You can delete your account and data at any time. The game is intended for people aged 13 and over.
3. Information we collect
3.1 Information you give us
- Account information: a username, an email address, and a password (which we store only in encrypted/hashed form — we never store or see your actual password).
- Profile information (optional): anything you choose to add, such as a display name or region/country.
- Communications: messages you send in in-game chat, private messages you send to your friends, forum posts and comments, friend requests, and any reports or support messages you send us. If you report a player from a game, the report can include the most recent chat messages that player sent in that game, as they appeared on your screen, so that we can see what happened.
3.2 Information created as you play
- Gameplay data: the games you play, moves made, draw offers, results, and your Elo rating history.
- Competitive data: your position on leaderboards and, where applicable, tournament participation and results.
- Social data: your friends list, the challenges you send and receive (who sent each one and to whom, when, the time control, rated or casual, the colours chosen, and whether it was accepted, declined, withdrawn or ran out), and interactions you initiate on the Platform.
3.3 Information collected automatically
- Technical/log data: IP address, browser or device type, and basic event logs (for example, sign-in times and error logs). We use these to keep the service secure and working, and to prevent abuse.
- Local storage: we store small amounts of data on your device (for example, your login session and game preferences) so the game works. This is not third-party advertising tracking.
- Push notification token: if you allow notifications, your device is issued a notification token by Google's Firebase Cloud Messaging. On iPhone, Apple's Push Notification service (APNs) first gives your device its own push token, which Firebase Cloud Messaging uses to create the notification token. We store this token against your account so we can send you the notifications you have chosen to receive. The token identifies an installation of the app, not you personally, and it does not tell us anything about your device beyond the platform it runs on. You can refuse notifications when asked, or withdraw them at any time in your device settings, and the app works fully without them.
- App version: the version number of the Petteia app you use. We keep the one you last used with your account, so that features such as draw offers and challenges are only sent to an app that can show them.
We do not knowingly collect biometric data, precise geolocation, government identifiers, or special-category data. Please don't share such information in chat or forums.
4. How we use your information
- To create and maintain your account and let you log in securely.
- To run games, calculate and display ratings, leaderboards, and tournaments, and match you with opponents.
- To provide social features (chat, private messages, forum, friends and challenges) that you choose to use.
- To keep the Platform safe — detecting cheating, rating manipulation, spam, and abuse, and enforcing our Terms.
- To respond to your support requests and reports.
- To understand, in aggregate, how the game is used so we can fix problems and improve it.
- To send you essential service messages (for example, password resets or important changes). We will only send optional messages if you opt in, and you can opt out at any time.
- To send the notifications you have switched on — that it is your turn, that your time is running low, that an opponent has resigned, offered a draw or offered a rematch, or that somebody has sent you a friend request, or a friend has sent you a private message or a challenge, or has accepted your challenge. Each kind can be turned off separately in Settings, and all of them stop if you withdraw notification permission. We do not use notifications for advertising or marketing. A notification about a private message says who sent it, never what it says, and we do not send notifications about in-game chat.
The text of a notification is delivered through Google's messaging service and, on iPhone, also through Apple's Push Notification service, and may include the username of the player it concerns.
5. Legal bases (UK GDPR)
As we operate in the United Kingdom, we rely on these legal bases under the UK GDPR:
- Contract: to provide the game you signed up for (accounts, matchmaking, ratings).
- Legitimate interests: to keep the service secure, prevent abuse, and improve the game — balanced against your rights.
- Consent: for anything optional you opt into. You can withdraw consent at any time.
- Legal obligation: where we must keep or disclose data to comply with the law.
6. How we share information
We do not sell your personal information. We share it only in these limited situations:
- Publicly, by design: your username, rating, leaderboard position, and public forum posts are visible to other users. Please choose a username that doesn't reveal information you want kept private.
- Service providers: companies that host our servers and database and help us operate the game. They may process data only on our instructions and under confidentiality obligations.
- Notification delivery: Google, through Firebase Cloud Messaging, delivers push notifications to your device. Your notification token and the text of each notification pass through this service. Google processes this data on our instructions for the sole purpose of delivering the message. On iPhone, Firebase Cloud Messaging passes each notification to Apple, which delivers it through the Apple Push Notification service (APNs). Your device's push token and the text of each notification pass through APNs, and Apple handles them to deliver the notification to your iPhone.
- Legal reasons: if required by law, court order, or to protect the rights, safety, and security of our users, the public, or Petteia.
- Business transfer: if Petteia is ever acquired or merged, data may transfer as part of that transaction; we will notify you and this Policy will continue to protect you.
7. International transfers
Our servers are currently hosted in the European Union (Frankfurt, Germany). If you access Petteia from outside the UK or EU, your information may be transferred to and processed in countries whose data-protection laws differ from your own. Where required, we use appropriate safeguards (such as UK International Data Transfer Agreements or Standard Contractual Clauses) for such transfers.
8. How long we keep your data
We keep your account information for as long as your account is active. Gameplay and rating records may be retained to preserve the integrity of leaderboards and game history. When you delete your account, we delete or anonymise your personal information within 30 days, except where we must keep certain records to comply with law, resolve disputes, or prevent abuse. Your username is kept, but never shown to other players, so that nobody else can register it and be mistaken for you.
Private messages are deleted automatically 90 days after they are sent. Deleting a message in the app removes it from your own view; the other person's copy is deleted on the same 90-day schedule. Reports are kept for as long as we need them to deal with the report and to prevent further abuse. Challenges are deleted 90 days after they are sent, except a challenge that started a game, which is kept with that game's record.
Notification tokens are kept for as long as the app is installed and you are signed in. They are deleted when you sign out or delete your account, and removed automatically when Google tells us the app has been uninstalled or the token has been replaced.
9. Your rights
Under UK data-protection law you have the right to:
- Access — get a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
- Correction — fix inaccurate information (you can edit most profile details in-app).
- Deletion — delete your account and associated personal data.
- Portability — receive your data in a portable format.
- Object or restrict — object to or restrict certain processing.
- Withdraw consent — for anything you opted into.
To exercise any right, contact thisdelivery@gmail.com or use the in-app account controls. We will respond within the time required by law. You also have the right to complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.
10. Children's privacy
Petteia is intended for users aged 13 and over, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us information, contact thisdelivery@gmail.com and we will delete it promptly.
11. Security
We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your information: passwords are stored hashed (never in plain text), logins use signed tokens, connections to our database use SSL/TLS encryption, and access to systems is restricted. No online service can be perfectly secure, but we work to protect your data and to respond quickly if a problem occurs. If a data breach affects you, we will notify you and the ICO where the law requires.
12. Third-party links
The Platform may link to third-party sites. We are not responsible for their privacy practices; review their policies separately.
13. Changes to this Policy
We may update this Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will make reasonable efforts to notify you (for example, an in-app notice) before they take effect. The "Last updated" date above shows the latest revision.