Privacy Policy

Who we are

Winters Puzzles is the controller of information described in this policy. Questions or privacy requests can be sent to hello@winterspuzzles.com.

Information stored on your device

The app stores the information needed to remember your play and preferences, including:

• your optional player name;
• settings, appearance choices and daily-puzzle progress;
• game progress, completed boards, results, streaks and achievements;
• puzzles you create or receive from another person; and
• your reminder preference and selected reminder time.

This information is kept locally in the app’s storage. If you enable iCloud sync, the items described below are also stored in your private iCloud account. Removing the app normally removes its local data, subject to how Apple handles device backups and restoration.

Optional iCloud sync

You can choose to sync your game history, achievements, player name, custom puzzles, app preferences and daily-puzzle progress across your Apple devices. Winters Puzzles stores this as an encrypted record in the app’s private CloudKit database. Apple associates that private database with your Apple Account and operates the iCloud infrastructure. Daily notification permission and reminder time remain local to each device.

iCloud sync is off until you enable it in Settings. You can turn it off at any time, sync manually, or use “Delete data from iCloud” to remove the cloud copy while keeping data on the current device. Apple’s own device backups and account-retention processes may operate separately.

Optional Winters Puzzles account and leagues

You can create a free account to join leagues and to sync your game data between devices. You never need one to play. Accounts are introduced with version 3.0 of the app and the web player, and this section applies once they are available to you.

On the web, an account saves new published daily results and league memberships. Existing browser history and unfinished puzzles stay in that browser. In the iOS app, syncing your full puzzle cabinet is a separate choice; signing in does not switch it on.

You create an account only by signing in with Apple or Google. There is no separate Winters Puzzles password, and we never store one. When you create an account, we store:

• the email address and name that Apple or Google shares with us, and the account identifier it supplies. If you use Apple’s Hide My Email, the address is a private relay address that Apple forwards to you;
• the display name you choose to show to other players;
• while you are signed in, the result of each published daily puzzle you solve: the puzzle, the date, your time, hints used and mistakes;
• the leagues you create or join; and
• if you choose Winters Puzzles sync instead of iCloud sync, a copy of your game history, achievements, custom puzzles, preferences and banked rewards.

What other players see. Members of a league you join can see your display name and your daily puzzle results earned while you were a member, from the last seven days. They cannot see your email address, and puzzles you play outside the published dailies are not shared. League tables are friendly competitions based on times reported by your device, and are not independently verified. If your account has an official or verified badge, league members can see it. Anyone with an invite link can see the creator’s display name and badge, if any, and the league’s name and member count. Messaging services may cache those link previews.

Reports. If you report a league or another player, we keep the report, including the reason and any details you add, so we can review it. A copy may reach us through an email delivery service. If you block a player, we keep the list of players you have blocked so they stay hidden from your league tables; they are not told.

Where it is kept. Account information is stored in a database that Cloudflare runs for us. We do not send account emails. Signing in uses a token kept in the app’s keychain, or a cookie in your browser. Results waiting to upload are kept on your device so they can be sent when your connection returns.

Deleting your account. “Delete account” in Account, in the app or on the web, removes your account, display name, sign-in sessions, league memberships and results, any leagues you created, and any synced copy of your game data. It cannot be undone. Data stored on your devices, and your iCloud copy, are not affected.

Analytics and crash reports

We use Google Analytics for Firebase to understand how the app is used and improve its puzzles. This includes events such as the type and difficulty of puzzle played, whether a round was completed, play duration, mistakes, hints, achievements, walkthrough views and use of sharing features. We do not intentionally include your chosen player name or the content of a custom puzzle in these events.

Firebase Crashlytics processes diagnostic information when the app crashes, such as crash traces, installation and session identifiers, the crash time, app version, operating system, device model and related technical details. We use this only to diagnose faults and improve reliability.

Advertising

The app uses Google Mobile Ads to provide app-open, interstitial and optional rewarded ads. Google says its mobile ads SDK may process information including IP address and approximate location, device or app identifiers, ad views and interactions, and performance or diagnostic data. The exact processing can depend on your region, device settings, consent choices and the type of ad served.

Winters Puzzles does not directly sell your personal information. Google processes advertising data under its own terms and privacy policy. You can also manage Apple privacy and advertising choices in your device settings.

Reminders, wallpapers and sharing

Daily reminders are local iOS notifications. They are scheduled only if you enable them and grant notification permission; you can turn them off in the app or in iOS Settings.

If you choose to save a Pip wallpaper, the app asks for add-only access to Photos and adds only the image or images you selected. Winters Puzzles does not use that permission to read your photo library.

When you choose to share a puzzle, the puzzle or a link containing the information needed to open it is passed to the service you select in Apple’s share sheet. That service and the person you share with handle the information under their own privacy practices. Nothing is shared until you choose to do so.

This website, the web player and contact emails

Cloudflare hosts and secures the site and may process routine request information, such as IP address, browser details and security logs, to deliver the pages and prevent abuse. The information pages have no analytics, advertising cookies or contact form.

The web player at winterspuzzles.com uses Google Analytics to record which puzzles are played and finished. We do not intentionally include your account email address or chosen display name in these analytics events. Where it shows adverts, they are supplied by Google AdSense.

If you are in the UK, the EEA or Switzerland you will be asked before any of this happens, through Google’s consent message. You can accept, refuse, or choose purpose by purpose, and you can change your answer at any time from the privacy options on the site. Refusing means no analytics or advertising cookies are set; you may still see adverts, but they are chosen from the page rather than from anything about you, and the puzzles work exactly the same either way.

If you email us, we receive your email address and anything you include in your message or attachments. We use it to respond, provide support and maintain an appropriate record of the conversation.

The ChatGPT plugin

When you ask ChatGPT to use Winters Puzzles, it sends the inputs needed for the selected puzzle action to our service. These can include the game and difficulty, a theme, words or names you choose, authored clues and quiz questions, answers, board identifiers and your moves, notes or hint requests. The plugin does not request your complete conversation history, ChatGPT password or payment details. Custom puzzle content can contain personal information if you choose to include it; use fictional names or ordinary theme words when possible.

We use those inputs to generate or retrieve a puzzle, validate answers and moves, provide hints and keep the interactive board consistent with the conversation. Cloudflare hosts the plugin and stores temporary board content, progress and undo history. Library puzzle requests also use our Winters puzzle API. Unsolved answers and private validation tokens are kept on the server and omitted from the play state returned to the board and conversation.

Custom Trivia uses source URLs and supporting passages supplied with the quiz to check evidence against approved public publishers. Our server requests the selected source pages; it does not send the full conversation or your puzzle moves to those publishers. A source publisher may process routine network information associated with the request. Source checking establishes that a passage appears on a page, rather than independently proving every authored explanation.

Board records expire within 24 hours of creation and can be removed sooner by capacity limits. This is temporary play, rather than an account or permanent backup, and progress does not sync with the iPhone or iPad app. Cloudflare may separately process request information and security or diagnostic logs under its service settings and policies. There are no advertising or Google analytics integrations in the plugin widget.

OpenAI processes your use of ChatGPT under its own privacy policy and account controls. Disconnecting the plugin stops future requests from that connection; it does not immediately delete an existing temporary board. For a request about information held by Winters Puzzles, contact hello@winterspuzzles.com and, if available, include the board identifier. Do not send your ChatGPT password or other credentials.

Why we process information

Where data-protection law requires a legal basis, we rely on our legitimate interests in operating, securing and improving Winters Puzzles; on your consent where it is requested; and on taking steps you ask us to take, such as replying to a support request. You may withdraw consent through the relevant app, device or provider setting where that option is available.

Service providers and international processing

Information may be processed by these providers on our behalf or under their own terms:

• Firebase — analytics and crash reporting;
• Google — advertising, the Firebase services above and Sign in with Google;
• Apple — optional iCloud storage and syncing, and Sign in with Apple;
• Cloudflare — website delivery, security and temporary ChatGPT puzzle hosting/storage;
• OpenAI — ChatGPT and its connection to the plugin, under OpenAI’s own terms;
• public source publishers — page requests used to verify Trivia evidence; and
• your email provider and ours when you contact us.

These providers may process information outside your country. Where required, they use recognised safeguards for international transfers as described in their policies and terms.

Retention

On-device information remains until you remove it in the app or delete the app. Synced information remains in iCloud until you use the app’s deletion control or otherwise remove it through Apple. ChatGPT plugin board records expire within 24 hours of creation, or sooner after capacity eviction. Our analytics, crash-reporting, advertising, hosting and email providers retain information according to their own settings and policies. We keep support emails only for as long as reasonably needed to answer the request, maintain necessary records, resolve disputes and meet legal obligations.

Your choices and rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to ask for access to, correction or deletion of personal information, to restrict or object to certain processing, or to receive a portable copy. You may also have the right to complain to your local data-protection authority. Email us at hello@winterspuzzles.com to make a request. We may need to verify your identity before responding.

The most direct way to manage game data is through the app. The iCloud section in Settings lets you disable sync, sync manually or delete the cloud copy. Notification and advertising privacy choices are available in iOS Settings and, where provided, within the relevant Google consent controls.

Children

You can play Winters Puzzles without creating an account. Optional accounts collect the information described above. If you are a parent or guardian and believe a child has sent personal information to us, please contact us so we can review and delete it where appropriate.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy when the app, website or services change. The effective date at the top shows when it was last revised. Material changes will be highlighted where appropriate.