Privacy policy
Last updated 21 October 2026
Free Chess is run by [operator name]. This page says what the site stores, where it is stored, and what you can do about it. Questions go to [contact email].
What stays in your browser
Your settings, preferences, puzzle progress and recent time controls are saved in your browser's local storage. They are not sent to us. Clearing the site's data in your browser removes them.
When you join an online game, your seat in that game is kept in session storage for that tab only. It is removed when the tab closes.
What the server keeps for online games
For each online game we keep the moves, the server time of each move, the time each move took, the clocks, the result, the nickname and picture of each player, the secret seat token of each player, and the signals our fair-play checks use: timing patterns and how often a player's tab was hidden. The moves, times and clocks are shown to the two players in that game. Games are stored in Cloudflare Durable Objects.
While you wait for an opponent, the server keeps your time control, nickname, picture, seat token and the time your search began, until you are matched, cancel, or your entry is cleared.
We do not delete old games yet. We will update this page before we start deleting game records, and say how long they are kept.
Accounts (optional)
You can play without an account. To create one, you enter an email address and we send a one-time code to it. The server keeps:
- an account identifier made from your address with a secret key, not the address itself;
- a keyed hash of the current code, the times of recent code requests, and a count of wrong guesses against that code, to limit abuse;
- your nickname and chosen picture, which the players you meet online can see.
The address is passed to our email provider, Resend, so the code can be delivered. The sign-in record for an address is stored under a name made from that address. When you save your profile, the server keeps the time of the save. Signing out raises a sign-in version number that the server keeps with your profile; until you first sign out, it counts as 0.
Your sign-in cookie is HttpOnly, Secure and SameSite=Lax. It lasts 30 days and shows only a masked form of your address, such as t***@example.com. Signing out ends every session for your account on every device.
Fair play
We look for statistical signs of engine help, such as unusually uniform move timing, very fast middlegame play and many tab switches. A check only flags a game for review. A person reviews flagged games before any action is taken, and a flag is not proof that anyone cheated. The people who operate the site can also read the full move history of any game, and the flags and tab-switch counts.
The bot, the coach and the puzzles
The Stockfish bot, the coach, the game review and the puzzles run in your browser. Positions from those features are not sent to us.
Analytics
The site uses Cloudflare Web Analytics to measure how fast pages load. Cloudflare says the service does not track individual end users across websites.
Who processes your data
The site is hosted on Cloudflare, which also provides the storage for games and accounts and the analytics. Cloudflare handles connection data, such as IP addresses, as part of providing these services. Sign-in emails are delivered by Resend.
Your choices
You can play without an account, clear your local data in your browser at any time, and sign out to end your sessions. To ask what we hold about you, or to ask us to delete your account data, email [contact email]. We will tell you what we can delete. Some game records may need to be kept for fair-play review.
You can ask us for a copy of the personal information we hold about you, and ask us to correct it. You can also complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. We handle personal information in line with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and any provincial privacy law that applies.
Children
Free Chess is not aimed at children. If you are too young to agree to this policy where you live, ask a parent or guardian before you create an account or play online.
Changes
We will update this page when the site changes how it handles data, and we will change the date at the top.