Privacy Policy

Last updated: September 11, 2026

Who we are

ChessChat (chesschat.live) is a real-time chess platform where players meet over live video. For anything in this policy, contact [email protected].

Who can use ChessChat

ChessChat is intended for adults aged 18 and over. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 18; if we learn we have, we delete the account.

What we collect

• Account data: your username, email address, your confirmation that you are 18 or older, your gender, and a securely hashed password. Your gender is never shown to other players. We do not collect your date of birth. If you sign in with Google, we store your Google account ID and profile picture instead of a password.
• Gameplay data: games, moves, results, ratings and who you were paired with. Finished games are kept so you (and your opponents) can review them.
• Safety data: reports you file or that are filed about you, players you block, and any account suspensions.
• Technical data: your IP address and basic browser information, used for abuse prevention (e.g. our human-verification check) and to run the service.

Video and audio

Video is what the service is: your camera is expected to be on while you play. You can switch it off for a brief private moment, and you are expected to switch it back on. Playing with the camera off is a conduct matter rather than a privacy setting, and is covered by the Terms.

Your camera and microphone streams are transmitted live to your opponent and are not recorded or stored, with one exception: when a player reports someone, a single still frame of the reported player's video is captured and stored privately as moderation evidence. Evidence frames are never public, are accessible only to our moderation process, and are deleted when the report is resolved or after 30 days at the latest.

The record of your game

When a game ends, the record of it is public. The moves, the opening and final positions, the result and the reason it ended, the clock and think time at every move, the date, and both players' usernames and ratings can be opened by anyone holding the link. That record is listed on your public profile, it is served without requiring anyone to sign in, and search engines are permitted to index it. It is the ordinary record a chess game leaves, and we would rather you knew before your first game than after it.

Your video and audio are not part of that record and do not become part of it. No call is recorded, so there is nothing of your camera or microphone to publish, replay, or hand to anyone later. What outlives a game is the moves.

A game record names you, so it is personal data and your rights apply to it. If you want yours removed or your username detached from it, ask us and we will do it. How to ask, and what we keep afterwards, is set out under Retention and deletion below.

Who can watch you play

Watching a game while it is being played is a separate question, and the answer is much narrower than the one above. A game in progress is visible to the two players and to nobody else, unless one of the following applies. Both are consequences of a choice you make, and neither can be turned on by a stranger.

• Events you join: when you play inside a lobby or a tournament, the person hosting it can watch any game in it while it is being played, including your live video and audio. They cannot speak, appear, or send anything back, and the players are not shown when a host is watching. Hosts are a small approved group rather than any player who asks. This access exists only inside their event: leave it, and nobody has it.
• People you invite: when you set up a casual game you can invite up to eight people to watch. An invited viewer is visible to both players and can turn their own camera on, so everyone at the table knows they are there. Only the person who set up the game can invite them, and blocking someone keeps them out.

Watching is live only. Nothing is recorded or stored in either case, and the single exception stays the one above: a still frame captured when somebody files a report.

Cookies and local storage

Essential — we use your browser's local storage for sign-in sessions and preferences (theme, camera and sound settings). These are required for the site to work, so they are always on.

Analytics — with your consent, we use Google Analytics to understand which parts of ChessChat get used, so we know what to fix and what to build. Nothing is set until you agree: analytics storage starts denied and is only enabled if you accept. You can change or withdraw your choice at any time — change your cookie settings, or the cookie button in the corner of the page. We never sell your data.

Services we rely on

• Google: optional “Sign in with Google”.
• Google Analytics: usage analytics — only with your consent.
• Cloudflare Turnstile: human verification on sign-in and registration.
• LiveKit: real-time video and audio transport.
• Render: application and database hosting.

Each processes only what it needs to provide its function.

Why we're allowed to hold this (legal bases)

• Contract — account, gameplay and video transport: without them there is no game to play.
• Legitimate interests — safety data and abuse prevention: keeping players safe from harassment and cheating.
• Legitimate interests (the public game record): publishing a finished game with both players named is what makes a rating mean anything and lets any result be checked by the people it affects. You can object to this at any time and we will detach your name, as set out under Retention and deletion.
• Consent — analytics, and nothing else. You can withdraw it at any time, as easily as you gave it.

Retention and deletion

Account and gameplay data are kept while your account exists. Report evidence is deleted within 30 days. To delete your account and associated personal data, email [email protected] from your account email address. We action deletion requests by hand, and we will confirm to you what was removed.

Public game records are the one thing that needs saying separately, because they name two people rather than one. If you ask us to delete your account we will detach your username from your games, so the record stops identifying you. We may keep the game itself, without your name on it, for two reasons: it is also the other player's record of a game they played, and their rating was calculated from it. If you would rather the whole record went, tell us and we will consider it against those interests and give you a reasoned answer.

Your rights

You can request a copy of your data, correction of inaccurate data, or deletion of your account at any time via [email protected]. You also have the right to object to processing, to ask us to restrict it, and to complain to your local data protection authority.

Changes

If we change this policy, we'll update this page and the date above. Significant changes will be announced in the app.