Privacy Policy

Last updated: September 29, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how Tripster LLC ("we", "us") collects, uses, and protects information when you use TacticsChess (the "Service") at tacticschess.com.

1. Information we collect

• Account information — the email address and password you provide when you sign up. Passwords are stored only as a salted bcrypt hash; we never store your password in plain text.
• Linked chess account and games — if you connect a Chess.com or Lichess account, we store the username you link and download your completed games from that platform's public interface. We analyse those games to build puzzles from your own mistakes, and the downloaded games are deleted once they have been analysed — we do not keep an archive of your games. What we do keep is what the puzzles are made of: the individual positions, our chess-engine analysis of them, and the details of the game each position came from — the usernames and ratings of both players as published by the platform, the date, result, opening and a link to the game on that platform. We show those details back to you alongside the puzzle so you can see which of your games it came from.
• Usage data — your puzzle progress (which puzzles you have solved and how many times) so we can personalize and track your training.
• Authentication data — a session token stored in a secure, HttpOnly cookie to keep you signed in, plus account timestamps (sign-up date, email-verification date).
• How you found us — if you first arrive through a link from a creator we partner with, or from one of our own campaigns, your browser remembers that link's referral code and campaign label for up to 60 days, and we record them on your account when you sign up, together with when you first arrived. Partners never receive your email address or anything else about your account — only totals.
• Payment information (if you subscribe) — paid subscriptions are processed by our payment provider, Square. Card details are entered directly into Square and are never received or stored by us; we retain only a subscription/customer reference and the dates of your premium access.

2. How we use information

• To create and secure your account and keep you signed in.
• To send transactional emails (email verification and password reset) via Amazon SES.
• To provide, personalize, and track your puzzle-solving progress.
• To build puzzles from the games in your linked account, and to show you which game each puzzle came from.
• To process and manage paid subscriptions, if you choose to purchase one.
• To know which partners and campaigns bring people to the Service, and to pay partners their share of subscriptions they referred.

We send only transactional email related to your account and the Service. We do not sell your personal information.

3. Service providers

We share limited information with providers that operate the Service on our behalf:

• Amazon Web Services (Amazon SES) — to deliver account emails.
• Square — to process subscription payments. See Square's privacy policy for how they handle payment data.
• Google (Google Ads) — to measure the effectiveness of our advertising. See section 4.

Chess.com and Lichess are sources, not recipients. When you link an account we request your published games from that platform, sending only the username you linked. We do not send them your email address, your puzzle progress, or anything else about your account, and we do not send any of your information to them for advertising.

Puzzles built from your games are yours. We do not publish them to other users or include them in the shared puzzle pool that all players draw from.

4. Cookies

We use a single essential, HttpOnly authentication cookie to maintain your signed-in session.

If you arrive through a partner or campaign link, the link's referral code and campaign label are kept in your browser's local storage (not a cookie) for up to 60 days, so the sign-up can be credited to the right partner. Nothing is kept if you arrive any other way.

We also run the Google Ads tag on this site to measure how well our advertising works — for example, whether someone who clicked an ad went on to create an account. It sets Google advertising cookies in your browser and shares limited information with Google for conversion measurement and remarketing. See how Google uses information from sites that use its services. You can opt out of personalized advertising through Google Ads Settings, or block the tag with any standard ad or tracker blocker; the Service works normally either way.

5. Data retention & security

We retain account data for as long as your account exists. Games downloaded from a linked account are deleted once analysed; the puzzles and analysis derived from them are kept for as long as your account exists, and are removed if you ask us to delete your account. You can unlink a chess account at any time, which stops any further games being downloaded. Passwords are hashed with bcrypt and transmitted over encrypted connections. No method of storage or transmission is 100% secure, but we take reasonable measures to protect your information.

6. Your rights

You may request access to, correction of, or deletion of your account data by contacting us at support@tacticschess.com. If you are in the EU/EEA or California, you may have additional rights under the GDPR or CCPA — including the right to access, correct, delete, or port your data and to object to or restrict certain processing. To exercise any of these rights, email us at support@tacticschess.com and we will respond within the timeframes required by law. We will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights, and we do not sell your personal information. EU/EEA users also have the right to lodge a complaint with their local data protection authority.

7. Children

The Service is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect information from them.

8. Changes

We may update this policy from time to time; the "Last updated" date above reflects the latest version.

9. Contact

Tripster LLC
13300 Bothell Everett Hwy
Ste 303 #329
Mill Creek, WA 98012
support@tacticschess.com