Last updated: [September 9, 2026]
At Chess Thrill your privacy is handled seriously and openly. This policy explains what data we collect, what it is used for, where it is kept and what rights you have, under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Controller: [ChessThrill]
Address: [Porto, Portugal]
Privacy contact: [[email address]]
Why: to create your account, keep you signed in and give you an identity in the game.
Why: to pair you with opponents near your level, to track how your rating changes, to let you review your own games and to keep your training in step.
While an online game is running, the realtime server holds your name, country, rating and connection state in memory. It writes nothing to disk and has no database. When the game ends it sends the result to be archived, and forgets the rest.
Games you play against our bots are not archived. Your trophies and your rating change are saved; the moves are not.
Essential cookies. We set the cookies needed to keep you signed in, and one more of our own, ct_consent, which records your answer to the privacy banner and lasts 180 days. It contains only that answer — yes or no — and no identifier of any kind. Without it we would have to ask you the same question on every page.
Analytics and advertising cookies. These are only set if you accept them in the banner, and they belong to the services described in section 6. If you reject, or simply do not answer, nothing is loaded and no such cookie is set. You can change your mind at any time through the Privacy button.
Local storage. Your browser keeps your visual and sound preferences, board size, the last puzzle level you chose, your record of wins against bots, lessons completed while signed out, and which footer messages you have dismissed. You can clear all of it in your browser settings.
The game itself — its code, its fonts, the country flags and the chess engine — is served entirely from our own servers. While you play, nothing is fetched from anyone else’s. These are the only third parties involved, and what each one receives:
| Service | Purpose | What it receives | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hostinger | hosting for the site and the database ([country]) | IP address and ordinary server logs | always — it is the server the site runs on |
| Google Identity | signing in with a Google account | authentication credentials, IP address | only after you tap “Continue with Google” |
| Google Analytics | counting visits and understanding which parts of the site are used | IP address (shortened), pages visited, device and browser | only if you accept in the banner |
| Google advertising (AdSense) | the advertising that pays for the site | IP address, pages visited, advertising cookies | only if you accept in the banner |
External links in the footer only send data if you choose to click them.
Some emails are part of running the account and you cannot turn them off: confirming your registration and, if you ask for one, resetting your password.
Separately, you may choose to receive occasional puzzles, lessons and news. That box is never ticked for you, and you can stop the emails at any time through the link at the bottom of every one of them, which needs no sign-in. If you are signed in, you can also change it on the email preferences page linked from your account.
Your data is kept for as long as your account exists. If you ask us to delete it, everything that identifies you is removed within 30 days.
A chess game has two players, and deleting yours would destroy your opponent’s record as well. So when an account is deleted the moves are kept, with the name replaced by “Deleted player”.
Chess Thrill is intended for people aged 16 and over. If you are under 16 you need your parent or guardian’s permission to open an account. If we learn that we hold a child’s data without that permission, we delete the account.
You have the right to see what data we hold about you and ask for a copy, to correct it, to have it deleted, to receive it in a structured format so you can take it elsewhere, to restrict what we do with it, and to object to processing we carry out on the basis of legitimate interest.
To exercise any of these, email [email] with “GDPR” in the subject line. We reply within 30 days at the latest.
You may also complain to the data protection authority in your country. In Portugal that is the CNPD (www.cnpd.pt).
If we update this policy we change the date at the top. Substantial changes are flagged on the site or emailed to account holders.
Chess Thrill runs without third parties: the game, its fonts and its engine are all served from this site. We would also like to use Google Analytics and Google advertising, which do send data to Google. Only with your consent, and only if you are 16 or older. See our Privacy Policy and Terms. You can change this at any time.