Privacy Policy
Last updated: [DATE OF PUBLICATION]
The Counter is built to collect as little about you as possible. We never ask for or store your email address, real name, photo, phone number, birth date or IP address. This page explains exactly what we do store, why, and how you control it.
Who we are
The Counter (playthecounter.com) is run by [YOUR NAME OR COMPANY], Türkiye. For any privacy question or request, write to [email protected].
What we store
| Data | What it is | How long |
|---|---|---|
| Account | A random account ID, the username and country you choose, your language, when you joined and when you were last active. | Until you delete your account |
| Sign-in | Which service you sign in with (for example Google) and the anonymous account number that service gives us. When you sign in with Google we only request the basic "openid" permission, so Google does not share your email, name or photo with us. | Until you delete your account |
| Game progress | Your clicks, streaks, level, experience, coins and similar game data, and a record of each click (time, type of click, platform). | Until you delete your account. After deletion, past clicks stay in the world total without any link to you. |
| Abuse protection | A one-way, salted fingerprint (hash) of the IP address a click came from. It cannot be turned back into your IP address. We use it only to detect bots and cheating. | Deleted after 30 days |
| Sign-in sessions | A scrambled (hashed) version of your sign-in key, the platform and when it was used. | 60 days, or until you sign out |
| Guests | If you click without signing in: a random guest ID and the record of your daily click. | Click records as above; guest ID cookie for one year |
Cookies and browser storage
We use only what the game needs to work. There are no advertising or tracking cookies and no third-party analytics.
- tc_session: keeps you signed in (60 days).
- tc_guest: remembers a guest's daily click (one year).
- tc_oauth: protects the Google sign-in step (10 minutes).
- Browser storage for your theme (day or night) and language, and to remember that you closed the welcome window.
Why we use it
- To run the game you signed up for: your account, progress, streaks and leaderboards.
- To keep the game fair and secure: stopping bots, cheating and abuse.
We do not sell your data, show ads, or build advertising profiles.
What other players see
Your username, country flag, click count and streaks appear on public leaderboards. Nothing else about you is shown to other players.
Service providers
We use a small number of companies to run the game. They process data only on our behalf:
- Hetzner Online GmbH (Germany): hosts our servers and database in the European Union.
- Cloudflare, Inc.: delivers the website and protects it from attacks. Like any network, it handles your IP address to deliver pages to you.
- Google: only if you choose "Continue with Google" to sign in.
Your rights
- See your data: Profile → "Download my data" gives you everything we store about your account.
- Correct it: change your username or country in your profile.
- Delete it: Profile → "Delete my account" removes your account permanently, right away.
- Ask us anything or object: write to [email protected].
- Complain: you can contact your data protection authority (in Türkiye, the Personal Data Protection Authority, KVKK; in the EU, your national authority).
Children
You must be at least 13 years old to create an account, or older if the law in your country requires it.
Changes
If we change this policy, we will update the date above and tell players in the game.