Privacy policy
Effective 22 August 2026. Covers the Jarble website (playjarble.com) and the Jarble app.
The short version. Jarble has no accounts and never asks for your name, email, phone number or location. The game makes a random id on your device so that one device counts once. We keep play results by that id so that today’s puzzle can show how everyone did, and we keep website visit counts by a one-way hash of it, for thirteen months, to see how many people play. Ads in the app come from Google and follow Google’s rules, with a consent prompt where the law requires one. You can delete everything we hold about your device from the settings screen.
What we collect, and why
A random install id
When Jarble first runs, it creates a random id and stores it on your device. It is not linked to you, your device’s hardware, or any advertising id. It is sent with daily results and multiplayer moves so that one device is counted once, and it is the key we use to find and delete your data.
Daily puzzle results
When you lock in a word, the word and the date are sent to our server, which scores it. The server keeps the day’s totals (how many people played each word, how many swaps on average, which answers were found) with no id attached, forever, because they are what “today’s average” is made of. A marker that you have played today is kept against your install id and expires after four days.
Website analytics (playjarble.com only)
When you open the daily puzzle in a browser, the page sends one short message per visit. We store, keyed by a one-way hash of your install id (the id itself cannot be recovered from it):
- the date, the country Cloudflare resolves for the request, and whether you are on a phone or a desktop,
- the site that sent you here (for example
reddit.com), never the page, - how many times you loaded the page that day, and which of the day’s words you completed.
We do not store your IP address, your browser’s user-agent string, or anything you type. We use this to see how many real people play, whether they come back, and where they heard about Jarble. These rows are deleted after thirteen months. The app does not send this message.
A username and friends (optional, app only)
If you choose a username, it is stored with your install id and shown to the people you play with. Your friends list is a list of usernames you added. When you host a friends game, the room code is listed for your friends for a few minutes so they can join.
Multiplayer games
During a live game the server receives your moves and shows your username (or “PLAYER”) to the other players. A finished room is deleted within minutes; an abandoned one within the hour.
Solo mode and quick match
Solo progress stays on your device. The app sends anonymous, aggregated counts (for example “level 12 was completed 40 times today”) with no id of any kind, so we can balance the levels.
Purchases
“Remove Ads” is sold through Apple’s App Store or Google Play. They handle payment; we receive only confirmation that your device owns it. We never see payment details.
Ads
The app shows ads from Google AdMob. Google may use your device’s advertising identifier and similar technologies to show and measure ads, as described in How Google uses information from sites or apps that use its services. Where the law requires it (for example in the EU and UK), the app asks for your consent before any ad loads, and you can change your answer later from the same prompt. You can also limit ad tracking in your device’s settings. The website may show ads from Google AdSense on the same terms; if it does, a consent prompt appears there too.
Hosting
Jarble runs on Cloudflare. To deliver the site and the game, Cloudflare processes your IP address and keeps short-lived operational logs (days). We do not copy IP addresses into anything we keep.
What we don’t do
- We don’t sell or share your data with anyone for their own use. The only third parties are the ad and hosting providers named above.
- We don’t track you across other websites or apps, and we set no tracking cookies of our own. Our site uses your browser’s local storage to keep your progress and the install id on your device.
- We don’t collect your name, email, phone number, contacts, photos or precise location.
How long we keep things
- Website analytics rows: 13 months, then deleted automatically.
- Daily per-day totals and solo balancing counts: kept, but they contain no id.
- Username and friends: until you delete them.
- The played-today marker: 4 days. Game rooms: minutes after the game ends.
- Everything on your device (progress, streaks, settings, the install id): until you clear the site data or uninstall the app.
Your choices
DELETE MY DATA in the settings screen (the gear) removes from our servers everything held under your device’s id: analytics rows, your username, your friendships and any open room. It takes effect immediately. Playing again afterwards starts fresh records. To remove what is on the device itself, clear the site data in your browser or uninstall the app.
If you are in the EU, UK or another place with a data-protection law, you also have the right to ask what we hold about your device, to have it corrected or deleted, to object to or restrict our use of it, and to complain to your supervisory authority. We process this data because running the game needs it (the install id, results, multiplayer) and because we have a legitimate interest in knowing how the game is used (analytics), which we keep as light as we can. Because we cannot tell which device is yours without the install id, requests by email need the id, which the app can show you on request.
Children
Jarble is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from them. If you believe a child has sent us personal data, contact us and we will delete it.
Changes
If we change what we collect, this page changes with it and the effective date above moves. Material changes are announced in the app or on the site.
Contact
Use the contact details on Jarble’s App Store or Google Play listing. We answer requests within 30 days.