Privacy

The short version

• No accounts, no sign-ups, no email, no phone numbers.
• No ads, no analytics, no tracking, no cookies set by the game.
• We don't collect or sell personal information, from anyone, including children.
• You only type a nickname. Please don't use your full name.

What stays on your device

Back Nine saves a few things in your browser (or the app) so the game works smoothly. They never leave your device except as described below:

• your nickname, and your sound, music and narrator settings;
• a random player ID and a random secret key, so a refresh puts you back in your seat and nobody else can take it;
• the last room code you joined, and (on the host's device) the game in progress, so it can be resumed;
• whether you said you're in the room with the TV or playing from somewhere else.

Clearing your browser's site data (or uninstalling the app) deletes all of it.

What goes through the game server

To play together, the phones in a room and the TV talk through Back Nine's game server, which runs on Cloudflare. During a game it passes along:

• the nicknames of the players in that room, their moves, and the game's state (cards, scores, quick emoji reactions);
• your random player ID, plus a one-way scrambled copy of your secret key, so only your phone can play as you.

Messages only go to the people in that room. Each phone only receives its own view of the game, so nobody can see your hidden cards. The server forgets a room a few hours after everyone has left.

"Are you in the room with the TV?" To make a first guess, the server mixes your network (IP) address with the room code into a short one-way scramble, and compares it with the TV's. Your address itself is never saved, shown or sent anywhere, and you can always change the answer yourself.

Like any website, Cloudflare (our hosting company) handles the basic connection details every web request needs, such as IP addresses, to deliver and protect the site. That's covered by Cloudflare's privacy policy. We don't switch on any extra logging or analytics.

Children and families

Back Nine is made to be fun for everyone, including kids playing with their family. We don't knowingly collect personal information from anyone, and the game has no chat: players can only send emoji reactions. Nicknames that contain rude words, links, emails or phone numbers are automatically replaced with a golf nickname. The host can turn on Family mode so Chip, the narrator, keeps it kind and doesn't tease anyone.

Sharing

The score card is made on your own device. It's only shared if you choose to share it, and only where you choose to send it. It shows the nicknames and scores from your game.

The TV and phone apps

The Back Nine apps show the same game as this website, and work the same way. The Google TV app also checks this website for a newer version of itself; that check sends nothing about you.

Changes and questions

If this policy changes, we'll update this page and the date at the top. Questions? Email Kiko's Studio at hello@kikostudios.ca.

The early test version at black-nine-eta.vercel.app used free public relay servers and will be retired before launch.