Refract privacy policy
Refract is a board game by LighthouseGaming. This policy explains what information the game and this website use and why. In short: there are no accounts, ads or analytics, and nothing about you is stored on our servers.
Playing on your own device
Games against the computer and pass-and-play games never leave your device. The game saves your settings (your online name, difficulty, sound volumes and whether you've seen the tutorial) and your record (wins, losses, streaks and daily puzzle results) in the app's own storage on your device. Uninstalling the game removes them.
Sending feedback
The game's "Send feedback" button opens your own email app with a message to us, with the game version and your device's model and system version filled in. Nothing is sent unless you send the email, and you can change or remove anything in it first. We use feedback emails only to reply to you and improve the game.
Playing online
When you play online, the game connects to our relay server, which passes moves between the two players in a room. To do that it handles:
- The name you type, if any, which is shown to the other player in your room. If you leave it blank, you appear as "You" or "Player". We suggest a nickname rather than your real name.
- The room code and your moves, which are passed to the other player.
- A random game ID, created fresh each time the app starts, so you get your seat back if your connection drops. It isn't linked to you or your device.
The server keeps this only in memory, only while your room is open (and for up to 5 minutes after both players leave, so a shared code keeps working). It is never written to disk, logged by the game or used for anything else. Connections are encrypted.
The server runs on Render. Like any internet service, Render receives your device's IP address when you connect and may keep it in its own logs for security and operations, under its privacy policy.
The computer version can also host a game itself through a free Cloudflare tunnel. Players in such a game connect through Cloudflare to the host's computer instead of our server.
This website
This website has no cookies, analytics or trackers, and loads nothing from other companies. It's hosted on Render, which receives your IP address when you visit, as any website host does.
What we don't do
Refract has no accounts, ads, analytics or tracking. It doesn't ask for your location, contacts, photos or any other personal information, and we don't sell or share information about you.
Children
Refract is suitable for all ages and doesn't knowingly collect personal information from children. The only thing a player can enter is the optional online name, which isn't stored.
Changes and contact
If this policy changes, we'll update the date above. Questions? Email lighthousegames1234@gmail.com.