Privacy Policy for ChessElementa

Effective date: 3 October 2026

1. Who we are and what this policy covers

ChessElementa (元灵象棋) is a Chinese chess (Xiangqi) puzzle game made by Lantao Studio (蓝桃游戏) ("we", "our" or "us"). This policy explains what information the game handles and why. It applies to every version of the game:

• the website at https://chess.rwen.me;
• the Android app on Google Play;
• the Android app on TapTap;
• the iPhone and iPad app on the Apple App Store.

2. Information stored only on your device

The game saves the following in your browser's or app's local storage (localStorage). It stays on your device and is not sent to us, except as described in section 3:

• your level progress and which levels are unlocked;
• your settings, such as theme, piece display, interface mode and vibration;
• custom levels you create in the level editor, and community levels you save;
• your community "favourites" and "recently played" lists (level IDs only);
• the list of community authors you have blocked (their public author key, display name and the IDs of their levels you have seen);
• the author name you last used when uploading a level;
• a randomly generated anonymous user ID (a UUID). The game creates it the first time it runs. It is random and is not derived from your device, its hardware identifiers or its advertising identifier.

To delete this data, clear the site data in your browser (website) or uninstall the app or clear its storage (Android and iOS). Once it is deleted, your anonymous user ID is gone and the app can no longer recognise you as the author of levels you uploaded. If you want those levels deleted too, delete them first or contact us (see section 6).

3. Community Levels (optional)

Community Levels lets players share puzzles they have made. Before you use it, the app asks you to accept the community terms. The community server runs on Cloudflare Workers with a Cloudflare D1 database, operated for us by Cloudflare, Inc.

3.1 What the server receives and stores

• When you upload a level: your anonymous user ID; the author display name you type (optional, up to 20 characters); the level's name (up to 20 characters), its description (up to 100 characters) and its board (pieces, elements, terrain and move limit); whether the game verified that it can be solved; and the upload time. The server also keeps a count of your uploads and the time of your last upload, to enforce upload limits.
• When you rate a level: your anonymous user ID, the level and your rating (1 to 5 stars), with the time.
• When you report a level: your anonymous user ID, the level, and the reason you choose (inappropriate content, spam or ads, or other), with the time.
• Moderation: if we ban a user, we store their anonymous user ID and the reason. When you report a level, or an upload is rejected by the content filter, the server writes a short operational log line that includes your anonymous user ID; we use it only for moderation.
• When you browse or play: the app downloads level lists and levels from the server. These requests carry your anonymous user ID, so that the app can show your own rating and your own uploads. They also carry the IDs of the levels in your favourites or recently played list when you open those lists, and the IDs of levels by authors you have blocked, so that the server can leave those authors out. Playing or saving a community level increases that level's play or download counter, which does not record who you are. We do not store these browsing requests with your ID.

3.2 What other players can see

An uploaded level is public. Anyone using the game can see its name, description, board, author display name, upload date, play and download counts and average rating. Your anonymous user ID is not shown to other players. With each level, the server returns only a short one-way "author key" derived from it, which lets players block an author but cannot be turned back into your ID. Which player gave a rating or sent a report is never shown to other players.

3.3 What we do not collect

The community feature needs no account. We do not collect your email address, real name, phone number, location, contacts, photos or advertising identifier. We do not store IP addresses in our database. As the network and hosting provider, Cloudflare processes technical request data such as IP addresses to deliver and protect the service. It does so under the Cloudflare Privacy Policy.

3.4 How we use it

• To run the community feature: to show, sort, search and rate levels, and to enforce upload limits.
• To keep the community safe: to review reports, remove objectionable content and block abusive users.
• To prevent abuse, fraud and security problems.

We do not use community data for advertising or profiling, and we do not sell or rent it. We process it because it is needed to provide a feature you chose to use, and because we have a legitimate interest in keeping the community safe.

4. Advertising (Google Play Android app and iOS app)

The Android app from Google Play and the iOS app offer one optional rewarded video ad, which you can choose to watch to reveal a puzzle's solution. These apps include the Google Mobile Ads SDK (Google AdMob). The SDK starts when the app starts. When ads are requested and shown, Google may collect and process information such as your device's advertising ID, IP address, device and app information and how you interact with ads. Google uses it to serve and measure ads and to prevent fraud. Depending on your device settings and Google's settings, ads may be personalised or non-personalised. See the Google Privacy Policy and how Google uses information from apps that use its services. You can reset or delete your advertising ID, or opt out of personalised ads, in your Android settings (usually under Settings › Privacy › Ads, or Settings › Google › Ads). We receive only aggregated reports from AdMob, never your personal information.

iOS: the app does not show an App Tracking Transparency prompt and does not access your advertising identifier (IDFA), so ads on iOS are not personalised using it. Apple's SKAdNetwork may be used to attribute ad installs; it reports only aggregated data to advertisers. You can limit ad personalisation under Settings › Privacy & Security › Apple Advertising.

The website and the TapTap Android app contain no ads and no advertising SDK. In these versions, revealing a solution is free.

5. Hosting, analytics and device permissions

• Cloudflare hosts the website and community server. The game uses no analytics or crash-reporting service and sets no cookies. On the website, a service worker stores the game's files on your device so the game works offline.
• The Android app requests only internet access (for community levels and, in the Google Play app, ads) and vibration (for haptic feedback). The iOS app asks for no special permissions.
• Links to other websites (for example the developer's personal site or a Steam page) open those sites, which have their own privacy policies.

6. Retention and deletion

• Data on your device is kept until you delete it (see section 2).
• Uploaded levels are kept for as long as the community feature runs, or until you delete them or we remove them. To delete one of your levels, open Community Levels, choose the My Uploads (我的上传) filter and tap Remove (移除) next to the level. This permanently deletes the level from our database, together with the ratings and reports attached to it.
• Ratings, reports and upload counters are kept as long as needed to run and moderate the community. Ratings and reports are deleted when the level they belong to is deleted.
• Anything else: to delete all data linked to your anonymous user ID, or if you no longer have access to your device, email lantao.studio@gmail.com. Include your User ID, shown at the bottom of the Help / About dialog in the game, so we can find your data.

Deleted data may remain in Cloudflare's automatic database backups for a limited time before it is overwritten.

7. Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, delete or export your personal information, to object to or restrict its processing, and to complain to a data protection authority. Because we do not know who you are, we identify your data by your anonymous user ID. To exercise any of these rights, contact us at the address below.

The community server runs on Cloudflare's global network, so your data may be processed in countries other than your own.

8. Security

The game talks to the community server over encrypted HTTPS connections, and only we can access the database. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security, but we take reasonable measures to protect your information.

9. Children

ChessElementa is a puzzle game suitable for players of all ages. It requires no account and does not ask for personal information. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 (or the age set by the law where you live). Community Levels rules forbid putting personal information in level names, descriptions or author names. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has submitted personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we will change the effective date at the top of this page. If we make material changes, we will also make reasonable efforts to tell you, for example in the game.

11. Contact

For questions about this policy or your data, contact:

Lantao Studio (蓝桃游戏)
Email: lantao.studio@gmail.com

We usually reply within 15 working days.