Privacy Policy
Last updated: 2 October 2026
Dots & Boxes has no accounts, no ads and no tracking. Playing offline sends nothing anywhere. Playing online sends only what a match needs.
This policy covers the Dots & Boxes game (package com.yousif93.dotsandboxes) on Android, iPhone and Windows, and the web version served from this site. "We" means Yousif Almaliki, the individual developer of the game. Contact: yousifalmaliki9999@gmail.com.
1. Playing offline
Matches against the computer or against friends on the same device run entirely on your device. Your settings (language, theme, sound, player names, last board size) are saved only on your device. Nothing is sent to us.
2. Playing online
Online play is optional. When you use it, the game sends the following to our game server so that the match can work:
- A random device ID that the game creates the first time you go online. It is not your advertising ID, phone number or any hardware identifier. It lets you get your seat back after a lost connection, and it is what a report or a restriction refers to.
- The player name you type (up to 16 characters). If you leave it empty, or if you are under 13, the server calls you "Player 1", "Player 2" and so on.
- Your language (Arabic or English), your platform (Android, iPhone, Windows or web) and the game version.
- What you do in the room: the room code, your moves, your color, emoji reactions, quick phrases and, if typed chat is on, the chat messages you send.
The other players in your room see your name, color, platform, moves, reactions and messages.
Like every internet service, the server also receives your IP address and basic request details. They are handled by our hosting provider, Cloudflare, to deliver the service and to protect it from abuse, and they may appear in technical logs that are kept for a few days (seven at most).
3. The age question
Before the first online match the game shows the safety rules and asks for your year of birth. The year is used once, on your device, to decide whether typed chat is available. It is not saved and it is not sent to us. The game only remembers on your device whether you are under 13.
4. Children
The game is intended for players aged 13 and older and is not directed at children under 13. As a safeguard, if the year of birth entered shows that a player may be under 13, typed chat (sending and reading) and custom online names are turned off; emoji reactions and the fixed quick phrases still work. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has given us personal information, write to us and we will delete it.
5. What we do not collect
- No account, email address, phone number or password.
- No location, contacts, photos, files, microphone or camera.
- No advertising ID. The game has no ads, no analytics and no third-party tracking code.
- No payment information. The game is free and sells nothing.
6. Reports and moderation
Chat messages and names pass through an automatic filter for bad language and links. You can mute or report any player from the chat panel. When a player is reported, we store the report: the random IDs and names of both players, the room code and the last chat messages (ten at most) of the reported player. We use reports only to keep online play safe, for example to restrict the chat of a player who was reported by several people, or to block a player from online play.
7. How long we keep things
- Rooms (names, moves, the last 30 chat messages): deleted automatically. An empty lobby is deleted after 10 minutes, a finished or abandoned match 30 minutes after the last activity.
- Reports: deleted after 90 days.
- Restrictions (the random ID of a restricted player and the reason): until they expire or we lift them.
- Technical logs of the hosting provider: a few days (seven at most).
8. Who we share data with
We do not sell your data and we do not share it for advertising. The game server runs on Cloudflare (Cloudflare, Inc.), which processes the data above on our behalf. Their servers may be in a country other than yours. We may disclose information if the law requires it.
9. Your choices
- You can play offline and never send anything.
- You can turn typed chat off in Settings, and mute or report any player.
- Uninstalling the game, or clearing its data (in the browser: clearing the site data), deletes the random ID and your settings from your device.
- To ask what we hold about you, or to have a report that concerns you deleted, write to the address below. Rooms delete themselves as described above. The steps are on the Delete Your Data page.
10. Security
The game talks to the server over encrypted connections (HTTPS / WSS).
11. Changes
If this policy changes, the new version is published on this page with a new date.