Privacy Policy
Effective date: 22 August 2026 · Applies to every page on dontguess.org, covering both games we publish: Don't Just Guess (the classic unlimited board at the root) and Don't Guess (the reverse "Don't Wordle" game at /dont-guess/). "We" and "us" mean the operator of this site.
The short version: your gameplay never leaves your device and we require no account. We use one cookieless analytics tool to count page views, which sets nothing on your device and cannot identify you. The only other third party is our advertising partner (Google AdSense), which may use cookies to show and measure ads - and you're asked for consent where the law requires it.
1. Who we are
Don't Just Guess and Don't Guess are two word games published by the same independent operator on a single website, dontguess.org. One policy therefore covers both: they share the same hosting, the same advertising setup, and the same approach of keeping your gameplay on your own device. For anything privacy-related, contact us at donotguesstheword@gmail.com. For visitors in regions with data-protection laws (such as the EU/UK GDPR or US state privacy laws), the operator of this website is the data controller for the processing described here.
2. Data stored on your device (not collected by us)
Each game saves the following in your browser's local storage so it can work: your current round, statistics, streaks, achievements, and settings (theme, hard mode, sound). The two games keep separate records, so your classic stats and your reverse-game stats never mix. This data:
- stays entirely on your device - it is never transmitted to us or anyone else;
- contains no personal details - no names, emails or identifiers;
- is deleted whenever you clear the site's browsing data, or via Settings → Reset statistics in the game.
3. Server logs
Like nearly every website, the servers that deliver these pages (our hosting provider and, if used, a content delivery network) may record standard technical logs - IP address, browser type, pages requested, timestamps - for security, abuse prevention and reliability. These logs are kept briefly and are not used to identify or profile you. Our legal basis is legitimate interest in operating a secure service.
4. Audience measurement (Cloudflare Web Analytics)
We use Cloudflare Web Analytics to see how many people visit and which pages they read. We chose it specifically because it is cookieless: it sets no cookies, writes nothing to your device, does not fingerprint your browser, and does not track you across other websites. It reports aggregate counts (page views, referrers, country, broad device type) and gives us no way to identify an individual visitor or link visits together into a profile.
Our legal basis is legitimate interest in understanding whether the site works and which pages are worth maintaining. Because it stores nothing on your device and collects no personal identifiers, it does not require consent under the ePrivacy rules that govern cookies. If you would still rather not be counted, any content blocker or the browser setting that blocks cloudflareinsights.com will stop it, and the games work exactly the same either way.
5. Advertising (Google AdSense)
We show ads from Google AdSense to keep the game free. Google and its certified vendors may use cookies, local storage and device identifiers to serve ads, cap how often you see them, measure performance, and - with your consent where required - personalise them based on your interests and prior visits to this and other sites.
- Google's advertising cookies (for example, the
__gads,__gpiandIDEcookies) may be set when ads load. - Learn how Google uses data from partner sites: policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.
- Google's advertising technology providers are listed at Google's ad tech provider list.
Consent. If you're in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or Switzerland, a consent message (Google's certified consent management platform) asks for your permission before personalised ads are shown. You can decline, choose limited/non-personalised ads, and change your mind at any time via the Privacy choices link in the footer. Our legal basis for personalised advertising is your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR); for basic, non-personalised ad delivery and fraud prevention it is legitimate interest.
Dictionary definitions (word journal)
When a round ends, or when you look up a word in the word journal, your browser requests that word's definition from the free Free Dictionary API. The request contains only the word being looked up plus the standard technical metadata that accompanies any web request (such as your IP address). No identifiers are sent, and definitions are cached on your device so repeat lookups stay local.
6. Cookies summary
| Type | Who sets it | Purpose | Control |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strictly necessary local storage | This site | Saving your game, stats and settings on your device | Clear site data in your browser |
| Advertising cookies | Google & certified ad partners | Serving, capping, measuring and (with consent) personalising ads | Consent banner, Privacy choices, browser settings |
We set no analytics or social-media cookies of our own. Our audience measurement (section 4) is deliberately cookieless, so it does not appear in this table - there is nothing for it to set, and nothing for you to clear.
7. Your choices ("Do Not Sell or Share")
- Change your consent: use the Privacy choices link in the page footer to reopen the consent manager at any time (where the consent message applies in your region).
- Opt out of personalised ads by Google: adssettings.google.com.
- Industry opt-outs: aboutads.info (US), youronlinechoices.eu (EU).
- US state residents (California and others): interest-based advertising may qualify as "selling" or "sharing" personal information under state law. You can opt out via the consent message shown to US visitors, the links above, or by enabling Global Privacy Control in your browser, which we and our partners honour where required.
- Block cookies entirely: every modern browser lets you block or delete cookies. The game itself works fine without any cookies.
8. Your rights
Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, or receive a copy of personal data concerning you, to object to or restrict processing, to withdraw consent at any time, and to complain to your local data-protection authority. Because we deliberately hold no account data about you, most requests will concern data held by Google as an independent controller - but email us at donotguesstheword@gmail.com and we'll help however we can.
9. Children
Both games on this site are general-audience word games and are not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. Where consent applies, ad personalisation is disabled for users flagged as under the age of consent in their region.
10. International transfers
Our hosting and advertising partners may process the technical data described above on servers outside your country, including in the United States, relying on lawful transfer mechanisms such as adequacy decisions and standard contractual clauses.
11. Changes to this policy
If we change this policy, the new version will be posted here with an updated effective date. Material changes (for example, adding an analytics tool) will be flagged on the site.
12. Contact
Questions, requests, complaints: donotguesstheword@gmail.com.