Privacy Policy

Information We Collect

We collect information to provide a better service to all our users. The information we collect depends on how you use our service.

Information You Provide to Us

When you create a Hearthbun account, you provide us with personal information that includes your email address and a password. You can also choose to add a public username to your profile.

We also collect the content you create, upload, or receive from others when using our services. This includes things like the crossword puzzles you build, the clues you write, and the answers you fill in.

Third-Party Account Information (Google)

If you choose to sign in using Google OAuth, we receive certain information from Google, including your email address, name, and profile picture URL. We use this information to:

• Create and authenticate your Hearthbun account.
• Personalize your experience on the platform.
• Display your name and profile picture on your user profile and next to puzzles you create.

We only request access to basic profile information and do not request access to your Google Drive, contacts, or other sensitive Google data. Our use and transfer of information received from Google APIs to any other app will adhere to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.

Information We Collect Automatically

We collect information about your activity in our services, which we use to do things like save your progress in a puzzle. This activity information may include:

• Puzzles you have started, completed, or created.
• Your interactions with puzzle grids and clues.
• We use cookies and similar technologies to maintain your session, remember your preferences, and provide a secure experience.

Why We Collect Data

We use the data we collect for the following purposes:

• Provide our services: We use your information to deliver our services, like saving your puzzle progress or displaying your created puzzles.
• Maintain & improve our services: We use data for analytics to understand how our services are used, which helps us improve the platform and design new features.
• Communicate with you: We use your email address to interact with you directly, such as sending you important service updates or responding to your support requests. We will not send you marketing emails without your explicit consent.
• Protect Hearthbun and our users: We use information to help improve the safety and reliability of our services, including detecting and responding to security risks, fraud, or technical issues.

Sharing Your Information

We do not share your personal information with companies, organizations, or individuals outside of Hearthbun except in the following cases:

• When you share content: If you create a public crossword puzzle, its content, along with your username, will be accessible to other users.
• For external processing: We provide personal information to our trusted partners or service providers, such as website hosts, to process it for us, based on our instructions and in compliance with our Privacy Policy. For example, we use service providers to help operate our data -centers.
• For legal reasons: We will share personal information outside of Hearthbun if we have a good-faith belief that it is reasonably necessary to meet any applicable law, regulation, legal process, or enforceable governmental request.

We do not sell your personal information to anyone.

Your Privacy Controls

You have choices regarding the information we collect and how it's used:

• You can review and update your account information at any time by visiting your account settings page.
• You can delete your created content or your entire account. When you delete your account, we follow a deletion process to make sure that your data is safely and completely removed from our servers.

Data Security

We work hard to protect you and Hearthbun from unauthorized access, alteration, or destruction of the information we hold. We use encryption to keep your data private while in transit and at rest, and we regularly review our security practices.

Children’s Privacy

Our services are not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under 13, we will take steps to delete such information from our files as soon as possible.

Changes to This Policy

We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make significant changes, we’ll provide a more prominent notice, such as by adding a notification on the website or sending you an email.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, you can contact us at hearthbun@gmail.com.