This is a plain-language starter policy for a small hobby project, not a lawyer-drafted legal document. It's meant to set honest expectations while RampartChess is in early testing - it should get a real legal review before any wide public launch.
Terms of Service
What this is
RampartChess is an independently-developed chess variant, currently in active development and testing. Features, rules, and data may change or reset without notice while it's in this state.
Accounts
An account requires a real email address (used only for sign-in and, optionally, password recovery and email verification) and a username you choose. You're responsible for keeping your login credentials to yourself. There's currently no self-service account deletion - contact us (below) to request one.
Conduct
Game chat and any public profile text (bio, username) should stay respectful. Harassment, hate speech, spam, cheating (including engine assistance in a human-vs-human game), or attempting to disrupt the service for other players is not allowed and may result in your account being suspended or removed.
No warranty
This service is provided "as is," with no guarantee of uptime, data preservation, or fitness for any particular purpose. In-progress games and other data may occasionally be lost during development (for example, a server restart can interrupt a live game).
Privacy Policy
What we collect
- Account info: your email address and password are handled entirely by Firebase Authentication (a Google Cloud service) - RampartChess's own servers never see or store your password.
- Profile info: the username, bio, and avatar image you choose to add.
- Gameplay data: move history, chat messages sent in a game, ratings, and match results, for players in a human-vs-human game.
- Social data: your friend connections (who you're friends with) and any direct messages you send to a friend. Direct messages are only ever readable by the two people in that conversation.
How it's used
Solely to run the game itself: authenticating you, displaying your profile and match history to other players (your username, bio, avatar, rating, and public game history are visible to anyone), matching you with opponents, and keeping a record of games played. Nothing is sold or shared with advertisers.
Where it's stored
All data is stored using Google Firebase (Authentication, Realtime Database, and Storage) on Google Cloud infrastructure. No other third-party services currently have access to your data.
Children's privacy
RampartChess is not directed at children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect information from them.
Changes
This policy may change as the project develops. Continued use after a change means you accept the updated terms.
Contact
Questions, requests, or account-deletion requests: [contact email goes here].