Privacy notice

Updated September 6, 2026. This notice describes the current Starting5.org service.

Essential storage

We use an HTTP-only session cookie to associate guesses with this browser, a timezone cookie to choose the daily date, and a security token to protect submissions. Cookies may last up to 30 days for the session identifier and one year for the timezone; server-side sessions may expire sooner. Clearing cookies can remove access to saved progress.

With database storage enabled, we store a random game token, puzzle ID, selected players, attempts, score and submission times. If you create an account, we also store your email address, password hash, display name, account timestamps and completed score history. Only a display name and score are shown on the public leaderboard when you enable leaderboard sharing; your email address is never shown there. The service has no advertising scripts, analytics integrations or payment processing. Native sharing or source links connect to third parties only when you choose them.

Hosting and messages

Hosting/security logs may contain IP addresses, request paths and timestamps. Admin sign-in protection stores a hash-based IP/time bucket and failed-attempt count. If you email us, your message and email address are handled through our Gmail mailbox. Hosting and mailbox retention depend on the operator’s configuration; there is no automatic game-history deletion process in this preview.

Your choices

You can clear site cookies or stop using the service. For access or deletion requests, contact [email protected]. We may need additional information to locate an anonymous record; do not send passwords or session cookies by email.