Privacy Policy
The short version: Puzzle Cottage is a free game site that earns money through ads. We use cookies and basic analytics. We don't collect your name, email, or personal information. Your game scores and streaks are stored only on your own device.
Who we are
Puzzle Cottage ("we", "us", "our") operates the website at puzzlecottage.com, a collection of free daily brain games. We are not affiliated with any other gaming platform.
What information we collect
We collect very little. Here's exactly what happens when you visit Puzzle Cottage:
- Game data (stored locally on your device only): Your streak count, scores, and puzzle progress are saved in your browser's localStorage. This data never leaves your device and we cannot access it.
- Analytics data: We use Google Analytics to understand how many people visit the site and which games are popular. This data is anonymized and aggregated — we cannot identify you individually. Google Analytics may collect your approximate location (country/city level), browser type, and pages visited.
- Advertising data: We display ads through Google AdSense. Google may use cookies to show you relevant ads based on your browsing history across the web. See Google's privacy policy for full details.
- Server logs: Like all websites, our hosting provider (Netlify) automatically logs basic request data including IP addresses. These logs are used for security and are not shared.
Cookies
We use cookies in the following ways:
- Essential cookies: Your browser may set cookies necessary for the site to function correctly.
- Analytics cookies: Google Analytics sets cookies to track visits across sessions. You can opt out at tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
- Advertising cookies: Google AdSense sets cookies to personalize ads. You can manage your Google ad settings at adssettings.google.com.
If you are visiting from the EU or UK, you will see a cookie consent banner before any non-essential cookies are set.
How we use information
We use the information described above only to:
- Understand how people use Puzzle Cottage so we can improve it
- Display advertisements that help us keep the site free
- Maintain the security and operation of the website
We do not sell your data. We do not use your data for any purpose beyond the above.
Third-party services
Puzzle Cottage uses the following third-party services, each with their own privacy policies:
- Google Analytics — policies.google.com/privacy
- Google AdSense — policies.google.com/privacy
- Netlify (hosting) — netlify.com/privacy
- Google Fonts — fonts are loaded from Google's servers, which may log requests
Children's privacy
Puzzle Cottage is intended for general audiences. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided personal information through our site, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.
Your rights (EU/UK visitors)
If you are located in the European Union or United Kingdom, you have rights under GDPR including the right to access, correct, or delete data we hold about you. Since we store no personal data ourselves (only anonymized analytics), there is typically nothing to access or delete. For data held by Google, use Google's privacy tools directly.
Data retention
We do not store personal data on our servers. Analytics data retained by Google follows their standard retention periods (typically 26 months for Analytics data). Server logs are typically retained for 30 days.
Changes to this policy
If we make significant changes to this policy, we will update the "Last updated" date above. Continued use of Puzzle Cottage after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
Contact
Questions about this privacy policy? Email us at privacy@puzzlecottage.com.