Privacy Policy

Our Commitment to Privacy

Horsey Race is committed to protecting your privacy. This game was created as a free educational tool, and we respect your right to privacy.

Information We Collect

During Gameplay

When you play Horsey Race, we collect:

• Nickname: The name you choose when joining a race (not linked to any personal information)
• Game Statistics: Your score and answers during the race
• Session Data: An identifier that keeps you attached to your race across a refresh

When You Send Feedback

The feedback form is the one place we ask for contact details:

• Email address: optional — leave it blank and we still receive the message
• Your message, plus the page you sent it from and your browser's user-agent string

Feedback is stored in our database and forwarded to a private Slack channel so we can read and reply to it.

Information We DO NOT Collect

Beyond what is listed above, we never collect, store, or request:

• Email addresses from players (the feedback form above is the one exception, and it is optional)
• Real names
• Phone numbers
• Physical addresses
• Payment information
• Passwords or user accounts
• Advertising identifiers or device fingerprints
• Browsing history

Cookies

Horsey Race sets no cookies at all — not for the game, and not for analytics. To keep you in your race across a page refresh, and to remember whether you muted the sound, the game stores three small values in your browser's own local storage:

• horsey-race:player-session — which race and player you are
• horsey-race:host-session — the race you are hosting
• horsey-race:muted — your sound preference

These never leave your device, and closing the browser does not clear them — they stay until you clear your browsing data. We show no ads and use no ad networks.

Data Storage and Security

Game data is stored in Firebase Firestore with the following measures:

• Encrypted transmission using HTTPS
• No accounts, passwords, or payment details to be lost
• Database rules that stop one player editing another player's score
• Secure Firebase infrastructure

Retention: we keep race data indefinitely. There is no automatic clean-up yet, so a nickname typed into a race in 2023 is still stored today. We intend to add one; until we do, this page says so plainly rather than promising otherwise.

A race is not a private space. Anyone who knows a race's join code can view that race's nicknames and scores — that is how players join and how the scoreboard reaches every phone.

Third-Party Services

Horsey Race uses the following third-party services:

• Firebase (Google): For game data storage and real-time synchronization. Firebase Privacy Policy
• Firebase Hosting: For serving the website.
• Fathom Analytics: Counts page views so we know which pages get used. It sets no cookies and does not follow you across sites; your IP address and browser user-agent are used to count the visit and are anonymised rather than kept against you. Fathom Privacy Policy
• Ahrefs Web Analytics: Aggregate traffic statistics. Cookieless, and stores no personal or identifiable data. Ahrefs Privacy Policy
• Slack: Feedback messages, including an email address if you give one, are forwarded to a private channel we read.
• Google Fonts: Serves the game's typeface, so your browser requests it from Google.

Children's Privacy

Horsey Race is designed to be safe for children:

• Nothing is asked of a player except a nickname
• No social features or chat functionality
• No user accounts, profiles, sign-ups, or passwords
• No advertisements

A note for teachers and parents: the nickname is the one thing a child types, and we keep it. It is stored with the race, visible to anyone holding the join code, and not deleted automatically. Ask children to choose a nickname rather than their full name, and tell us if you want a race deleted.

Your Rights

There are no accounts here, so there is nothing to log into and no profile to edit. For the data we do hold — the nicknames, scores, and answers stored with a race, and any feedback you have sent us — you can ask us for a copy or ask us to delete it.

Use the feedback button and give us the race's join code, along with roughly when it was played if you remember. We will remove the race, its players, and its event log. This is done by hand rather than automatically, so allow us a few days.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated revision date.

Questions or Feedback

If you have questions about this privacy policy or our practices, please use the feedback button available throughout the site to reach us.