1. Overview

This Privacy Policy explains which data CHESSVOLA collects and uses when you visit chessvola.com, create a profile, sign in through an external provider, play chess games, or solve chess puzzles.

By using CHESSVOLA, you acknowledge that you have read this Policy.

2. Data we may collect

• profile data: username, email address, country, avatar, and sign-in method;
• a Google or Facebook account identifier when social sign-in is used;
• game data: rating, results, moves, game history, invitations, friends, and in-game chat messages;
• chess puzzle progress: attempts, answers, hints, skips, and streaks;
• technical data needed to operate and protect the service: IP address, approximate country, browser type, request time, and error logs;
• for guest access, the selected country and an internal identifier.

3. Google and Facebook sign-in

When you use Google or Facebook sign-in, CHESSVOLA may receive your name, email address, profile image, and a unique account identifier, limited to the permissions you approve.

CHESSVOLA does not receive or store your Google or Facebook password. Provider tokens are used to complete sign-in and are not retained longer than necessary for authentication.

4. How we use data

• to create and authenticate profiles;
• to operate games, ratings, and game history;
• to provide friends, invitations, chat, and chess puzzles;
• to prevent fraud, abuse, and technical attacks;
• to maintain stability and improve the service;
• to comply with applicable legal obligations.

We do not sell users’ personal data.

5. Cookies and local storage

CHESSVOLA uses the necessary secure chessora_session cookie to keep users signed in. A random token is stored in the browser as an HttpOnly cookie, while its hash is stored on the server.

Local storage may remember language, theme, sound preferences, and the analytics choice under chessora-analytics-consent.

We use Google Analytics 4 with measurement ID G-86CG00QS5K to understand traffic and improve CHESSVOLA. Before a user makes a choice and after consent is rejected, analytics cookies are not created. After consent, Google may set _ga and _ga_* cookies and process page-view, approximate-location, browser, device, and site-interaction data. Advertising signals and personalization are disabled.

Under advanced consent mode, the tag may send Google limited cookieless technical signals. You can change or withdraw your choice at any time using the Analytics settings button on this page. Learn more in the Google Privacy Policy.

6. Service providers and data transfers

CHESSVOLA uses Cloudflare infrastructure to host and protect the service. Google and Meta may be used for social sign-in. These providers process data under their own terms and policies.

Data is shared only with providers needed to operate the service or with competent authorities when required by law.

7. Retention

Profile data is retained while an account exists or while needed to provide the service. After profile deletion, personal data, social identifiers, and sessions are deleted. Completed games may remain only in anonymized form to preserve other players’ results. Limited technical logs may be retained longer for security or legal compliance.

8. Data security

We use HTTPS, HttpOnly cookies, session-token hashing, access controls, and other reasonable technical measures. No internet transmission or storage method can guarantee absolute security.

9. Your rights and data deletion

You may request access to your data, correction, or deletion of your profile and associated personal data.

A signed-in user can delete the profile using the Delete profile button on the profile page. Full instructions are available on the Data Deletion page. If you cannot sign in, email [email protected]; we may ask you to verify profile ownership to protect your data.

10. Children

CHESSVOLA is not intended for children below the minimum age required to use online services independently in their country. If a child provided data without the required consent, contact us so it can be removed.

11. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Policy when features, providers, or legal requirements change. The current version is published on this page with a revised date.

12. Contact

For privacy and personal-data questions, contact [email protected].