Privacy Policy
PulseBox is built to be played without an account and this policy explains exactly what that means for your data: what we collect, why we collect it, where it lives, how long we keep it and what you can ask us to do with it. This page is maintained by the PulseBox team and describes our own practices.
1. Who we are
PulseBox is the operator of the PulseBox website, web game and mobile applications and is the controller of the limited personal data described here. You can reach our privacy contact here.
2. Our privacy principles
- Play first, data never: the core game works with no account, no email and no profile.
- Minimum viable data: we collect only what is needed to run and improve the game.
- Local by default: your progress stays on your device unless a feature clearly says otherwise.
- No selling: we do not sell or rent personal data and we do not run behavioural advertising.
3. Information we collect
3.1 Information you give us
- Contact messages: if you use the contact form or email us, we receive your email address, subject, message and anything else you choose to include.
- Bug reports and feedback: device, browser and reproduction details you volunteer.
3.2 Information created by playing
- Game progress: scores, streaks, lives, rounds completed and unlocked modes, written to your device's local storage.
- Preferences: settings such as reduced-motion or sound choices, also stored locally.
3.3 Information collected automatically
- Aggregated usage analytics: page views, session counts, approximate country, device category, browser and operating system family and coarse in-game events such as "session started" or "mode unlocked".
- Technical logs: our hosting provider records standard request logs, including IP address, user agent, timestamp and requested URL, for security, abuse prevention and troubleshooting.
We do not attempt to build a profile of you and analytics data is used in aggregate.
4. Information we do not collect
We do not ask for your real name, postal address, date of birth, phone number, contacts, photos, microphone or camera access, precise GPS location, biometric identifiers or payment card details. PulseBox is free and has no compulsory purchases, so we hold no billing records.
5. Why we use it
- To run the game and remember your progress and settings between sessions.
- To understand which modes are played, where players drop off and how to tune difficulty.
- To diagnose crashes, performance problems and compatibility issues.
- To detect automated play, score manipulation, abuse and security threats.
- To answer your messages and provide support.
- To comply with legal obligations and enforce our Terms.
We do not use your data for automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects on you.
6. Legal bases for processing
Where the UK GDPR or EU GDPR applies, we rely on:
- Legitimate interests, running, securing and improving the game and preventing fraud and automated play, balanced against your rights.
- Contract, providing the Service you asked for under our Terms.
- Consent, for any non-essential analytics or cookies where consent is required. You may withdraw consent at any time.
- Legal obligation, where we must retain or disclose information by law.
7. Local storage and cookies
PulseBox uses browser local storage rather than tracking cookies for gameplay. Typical entries include your best score, current streak, unlocked modes and interface preferences. These are strictly functional and are readable only by PulseBox on your device.
If analytics are enabled, a first-party identifier may be set to distinguish sessions; it is not used for advertising or cross-site tracking. You can clear everything at any time through your browser's "clear site data" or your device's app-storage settings, this will also erase your progress.
8. Sharing and subprocessors
We do not sell or rent personal data. We share limited data only with providers that help us operate the Service, under contracts that restrict their use of it:
- Hosting and content delivery, serving the site and app and keeping security logs.
- Web font delivery, Google Fonts serves the typefaces used on this site; your browser's request exposes your IP address and user agent to that provider.
- Product analytics, aggregated usage measurement.
- Email and support tooling, delivering and storing correspondence you send us.
We may also disclose information where required by law, to enforce our Terms, to protect the rights and safety of players or the public or in connection with a merger, acquisition or asset sale, in which case we will notify you of any material change to how your data is handled.
9. International transfers
Our providers may process data in countries other than yours, including the United States. Where data leaves the UK or EEA, we rely on appropriate safeguards such as adequacy decisions or Standard Contractual Clauses, together with technical measures like encryption in transit.
10. Retention and deletion
- Local game progress: stays on your device until you clear it. We have no copy.
- Server request logs: typically retained for up to 30 days, then deleted or anonymised.
- Aggregated analytics: retained in non-identifying form for up to 26 months for trend analysis.
- Support correspondence: retained for up to 24 months after your issue is resolved, unless a longer period is legally required.
When a retention period ends, we delete the data or irreversibly anonymise it.
11. How we protect data
We use HTTPS/TLS for data in transit, restrict access to support mailboxes and administrative tooling to the people who need it, keep our dependencies patched and prefer architectures that avoid storing personal data at all. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security. If a breach affects your rights and we are required to notify you, we will do so without undue delay along with the relevant supervisory authority.
12. Your rights and choices
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:
- access the personal data we hold about you and receive a copy;
- correct inaccurate or incomplete data;
- request deletion of your data;
- restrict or object to certain processing, including processing based on legitimate interests;
- receive your data in a portable, machine-readable format;
- withdraw consent at any time, without affecting prior processing;
- complain to your data protection authority, in the UK, the Information Commissioner's Office.
To exercise any right, get in touch here. We respond within 30 days and will never charge you or degrade the Service for making a request. Because we usually hold no identifying data, we may ask for details that let us locate the relevant records, or explain that we hold nothing about you.
You can also opt out of most collection directly: clear site data, use your browser's tracking protection or enable "Do Not Track" or Global Privacy Control, which we honour where legally required.
13. Children's privacy
PulseBox is not directed at children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect their personal data. If you are a parent or guardian and believe a child has sent us personal information, contact us and we will delete it promptly.
14. App stores and devices
If you install PulseBox from the Apple App Store or Google Play, that store processes your download, device identifiers and any purchase under its own privacy policy, which we do not control. Device-level permissions such as notifications are always yours to grant or revoke in system settings.
15. Regional disclosures
15.1 UK and EEA
The rights in section 12 and the legal bases in section 6 apply to you and you may lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority.
15.2 California
We do not sell or share personal information as those terms are defined under the CCPA/CPRA and we have not done so in the preceding 12 months. California residents may request disclosure, deletion or correction of personal information and will not be discriminated against for exercising those rights.
15.3 Other regions
If your local law grants stronger rights than those described here, we honour those rights.
16. Changes to this policy
We update this policy when our practices, providers or legal obligations change. The version number and dates at the top always reflect the current text and material changes will be announced in the app or on the site before they take effect.
17. Contacting us
Privacy questions, rights requests and anything else: get in touch here.