PRIVACY POLICY

Who We Are

This site, carrot-in-a-box.com, is operated by the operator of carrot-in-a-box.com. We're based in England & Wales (UK), and our servers are located in Germany (EU). UK law governs this policy.

If you have questions or want to exercise your privacy rights, contact us at: contact@carrot-in-a-box.com

What Data We Collect

We collect very little data, and most of it disappears when you close your browser or when the server restarts. Here's what we handle:

On the Server (In-Memory Only)

• Your display name: The name you enter when creating or joining a game room
• Room codes: The 4-letter codes used to join games
• Player IDs: Temporary identifiers assigned when you connect
• Game state: Your current score, which round you're on, who has the carrot, etc.
• Timestamps: When rooms are created and when certain game actions happen

Important: All of this data is stored in memory only. When the server restarts (which happens regularly for updates), all this data is permanently deleted. There is no database.

In Server Logs

Our server logs (used for debugging) may temporarily contain:

• Player names
• Room codes
• Timestamps of actions (like joining a room or making a move)

These logs exist for debugging purposes only.

IP Addresses

Your IP address may appear in standard web server access logs (this is normal for all websites). We don't actively collect or use IP addresses for any purpose.

On Your Device (localStorage)

We store three tiny pieces of data in your browser's localStorage:

• cookie_consent: Whether you've accepted or declined cookies
• ad_free: Whether you've opted for an ad-free experience (future feature)
• playerName: Your last-used display name, so you don't have to re-enter it every time

You can clear this at any time by clearing your browser's storage for this site.

What We Don't Collect

• No analytics or tracking scripts (no Google Analytics, etc.)
• No tracking pixels
• No account system or user database
• No email addresses (unless you email us directly)
• No payment information (the game is free)

Cookies and Third-Party Services

We use a small amount of essential local storage (cookies and similar technologies) to remember your consent choice and your last entered player name.

Advertising: We display advertisements through Adsterra, a third-party ad network. When you accept cookies, Adsterra may collect technical information about your visit, including your IP address, browser type, operating system, device type, country, and the URL you came from. This information is used to display relevant ads, prevent fraud, and measure ad performance.

We (the site operator) only see aggregated statistics through the Adsterra dashboard — for example, total ad impressions per country or per browser. We don't have access to individual user records or personal identifiers.

Adsterra's full privacy policy is available at: https://adsterra.com/privacy-policy-managed/

If you decline cookies, no ads will load and Adsterra will not collect data through this site.

Where Your Data Goes

• Server location: Germany (EU)
• Data protection laws: UK GDPR and EU GDPR apply
• Data sharing: We don't sell, rent, or share your data with anyone. When you accept cookies, Adsterra (our ad network) receives technical data such as your IP address, browser, operating system, device type, country, and referring URL in order to display ads. This only happens if you consent.

Your Rights

Under UK GDPR and EU GDPR, you have the right to:

• Access: Request a copy of any data we hold about you
• Correction: Ask us to correct inaccurate data
• Deletion: Request that we delete your data
• Objection: Object to certain types of processing
• Portability: Get your data in a portable format

In practice: Since all game data is stored in memory and disappears when the server restarts (or when you disconnect), there's very little to access or delete. If you want your player name removed from server logs, email us at contact@carrot-in-a-box.com and we'll help.

Children's Privacy

You must be at least 13 years old to use this site. We don't knowingly collect data from children under 13. If we discover we've accidentally collected data from a child under 13, we'll delete it immediately.

Security

We use standard security measures (HTTPS, secure hosting) to protect data while it's on our servers. However, no internet transmission is 100% secure. Since we store almost nothing persistently, there's very little data at risk.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time (for example, when we add ads). We'll update the "Last updated" date at the top. Keep checking back if you're concerned about changes.

Contact

Questions, concerns, or privacy requests? Email us at: contact@carrot-in-a-box.com