Privacy Policy
This policy explains what Trout Creek LLC, a New York limited liability company doing business as Zoom Out Game ("Zoom Out Game," "we," "us"), collects when you use zoomoutgame.com (the "Game"), why we collect it, who we share it with, how long we keep it, and the choices you have.
The short version: you can play the daily without an account. We keep only what the Game needs to work. We don't sell your information, and there are no ads or ad trackers in the Game.
1. Who we are
Trout Creek LLC (Zoom Out Game), 8650 County Highway 27 #172, Trout Creek, NY 13847, support@zoomoutgame.com. We're responsible for the information described in this policy.
2. What we collect and why
When you play (no account needed)
- A random player ID. On your first visit we create a random ID and save it in a cookie on your device. It isn't made from your name, email or device. We use it to keep your results, streak and Sightings together, and to check each round on our servers so the game stays fair.
- Your play. For each round: what you typed and when, any hints, your score and how the round ended. For each game: your total, your rank and your streak, and the animals and other things you've found (Sightings). We use these to score your game, show your rank (for example "#12 of 340 today") and work out crowd stats, such as how many players named a photo. Ranks and crowd stats are numbers only. We never show your name or details to other players.
- Your IP address. Like every website, our servers see your IP address with each request. We use it to slow down requests that arrive too fast, and to rank at most 50 players from one address per day, so one person can't flood the ranks. For that daily count we keep only a one-way code made from the address with a secret key, never the address itself, and we delete it after about a week. We don't store IP addresses in our databases.
- Error reports and counts. If the Game hits an error in your browser, it sends us the error message and the page it happened on, with no ID attached. We also count events, such as "a game was started," per day by name only, with no IDs.
- Visit counts. We use Cloudflare Web Analytics to count page visits. Cloudflare says it doesn't use cookies for this or track you across other websites.
When you sign in
- With Google: we receive your name, email address, profile picture link and Google account ID, plus the sign-in tokens Google issues. We use them to create your account and keep you signed in. We don't post to your Google account or ask for anything else in it.
- With an emailed link (where we offer it): your email address.
- Your account and your play. Your account is linked to your player ID, so your results, streak, Sightings and purchases follow you to your other devices.
- Your session. A cookie keeps you signed in. With the session we store your browser type (its "user agent"), but not your IP address.
- Free trial. Your first sign-in starts a 3-day free Pro trial, one per person. No card is needed. To keep it to one per person, we keep a record of the trial with your email address in a standard form (lower case, without any "+" tag and, for Gmail, without dots) and, if you used Google, your Google account ID.
When you buy Pro
- Payments are handled by Stripe. You enter your card on Stripe's own page, and we never see or store your full card number.
- We give Stripe your email address and your account ID, and, if you arrived through a creator's link, which creator sent you.
- Stripe tells us your Stripe customer ID, what you bought, the amount and the state of your subscription (for example, active, renewed or cancelled). We use this to turn Pro on and off.
When you send us something
- "How can we improve?" notes: the text you write, plus the day, the subject, your type of device (phone, tablet or computer), your screen size, the version of the Game and your player ID. No email, name or IP address.
- Party games: the nickname you type when you join a room, which the others in the room see. It's kept only in that room and deleted an hour after the room goes quiet. Your device also remembers it for next time. We keep a short record that a game was hosted (the host's account or player ID, and the number of players and rounds) so we know when a host has used their free game.
- Emails to us: your email address and what you write, used to answer you.
Creator links
If you arrive through a creator's link (zoomoutgame.com/r/…), we set a cookie for 60 days that names the creator, so we can credit them if you sign up or buy Pro. To count unique visits, we make a one-way code from your IP address and browser type with a key that changes every day. We delete each day's key after about three days and the codes after about two. Creators see only totals, such as visits, sign-ups and purchases, never who you are.
3. Cookies and storage on your device
We use only these cookies:
- Player ID (
zo_pid): your random player ID. Expires about 400 days after it's set. - Sign-in (set by our sign-in system): keeps you signed in. Lasts about a week after you last used the Game. A few short-lived cookies are also used during sign-in itself.
- Creator credit (
zo_ref): only if you used a creator's link. Lasts 60 days.
Cloudflare, which runs our servers, may also set a cookie to tell people from bots.
The Game also saves a few things in your browser's own storage: your sound setting, your recent games and Sightings (so they show quickly), guesses waiting to be sent if your connection drops, and your party nickname. These stay on your device.
We don't use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies. If you clear your cookies, the Game gives you a new player ID. If you weren't signed in, your earlier results stay with the old ID and can't be moved to the new one.
4. Who we share it with
We share information only with the companies that run parts of the Game for us, and only for that:
- Cloudflare: hosting, databases, storage, security, server logs and Web Analytics. Everything described above is stored with Cloudflare.
- Google: only if you sign in with Google.
- Stripe: payments, only if you buy Pro.
- Resend: sends sign-in emails, only if you sign in with an emailed link.
We may also share information if the law requires it, to protect players or the Game from fraud, cheating or abuse, or as part of a sale or reorganization of the business.
Nobody else. We don't sell or rent your personal information, we don't share it for advertising, and there are no ads or ad trackers in the Game.
5. How long we keep it
- Round-by-round details (each guess and its timing): 60 days in our live database. After that, they move to private archive storage, and the live database keeps only daily totals with no IDs.
- Game results, streaks, Sightings and photo ranks: as long as the Game runs, or until you ask us to delete them.
- Daily rank lists and the per-address count: about a week.
- Server logs: our logs record errors and slow requests (the page, the result and the time it took), never IP addresses or emails. Cloudflare keeps them for up to 7 days.
- Your account and trial record: until you ask us to delete your account.
- Purchase records: as long as we need them for tax and accounting.
- "How can we improve?" notes: until we delete them.
- Party nicknames: deleted an hour after the room goes quiet.
- Creator visit codes: about two days.
- Backups: Cloudflare keeps 30 days of our database history so we can recover from a failure. We also keep occasional backup copies and the play archives described above in private storage that only we can reach. They don't have a fixed deletion date yet; when they get one, we'll update this policy.
6. Your choices and rights
- Play without an account. The daily needs no sign-in.
- Start fresh. Clear the Game's cookies and site data in your browser.
- Sign out at any time from your profile.
- See, correct or delete your information. Email support@zoomoutgame.com from the address on your account. We'll reply within 30 days. If you ask us to delete your account, we remove it and the results, Sightings, notes and Pro access tied to it from our live databases. We keep only what we must (such as purchase records for tax) and the trial record, so a new account can't start another free trial. Stripe keeps its own payment records under its own privacy policy. If you have Pro, cancel it first so you aren't charged again.
- If you played without an account, we can't tell which results are yours from an email alone. Clearing your cookies cuts the link between you and those results.
California and other US states. Depending on where you live, you may have the right to know what personal information we hold about you, to get a copy, to correct it and to have it deleted, and not to be treated differently for using these rights. We don't sell or share personal information for advertising, so there's nothing to opt out of. You can make a request yourself or through someone you authorize; we may need to confirm it's you.
Europe and the UK. We use your information to provide the Game and Pro you asked for, for our legitimate interests in keeping the Game fair, secure and working well (rate limits, ranks, crowd stats, error reports and crediting creators), and to meet legal duties such as tax records. You have the right to access, correct, delete or move your information, to restrict or object to how we use it, and to complain to your local data protection authority. We're based in the United States, and your information is processed in the United States and in other countries where our service providers operate.
Some of these laws may not apply to a business our size, but we honor these requests from everyone, wherever they live.
7. Children
You must be at least 13 to use the Game. It isn't meant for children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child under 13 has signed in or sent us information, email support@zoomoutgame.com and we'll delete it. Players under 18 need a parent or guardian's OK to buy Pro (see our Terms of Service).
8. Security
The Game runs only over encrypted connections (HTTPS). Our cookies can't be read by scripts on the page, and your player ID is signed so it can't be forged. Card details stay with Stripe. Our admin tools are locked behind a separate sign-in limited to us, and our keys and passwords are kept in Cloudflare's and GitHub's secret stores, never in our code. No system is perfectly secure, but if a breach affects your information, we'll tell you as the law requires.
9. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time and will change the "Last updated" date when we do. If a change is important, we'll show a notice in the Game or email signed-in players before it takes effect.
10. Contact
Trout Creek LLC (Zoom Out Game)
8650 County Highway 27 #172, Trout Creek, NY 13847
support@zoomoutgame.com