What Geographys knows about you

Your scores, streak, daily results, game progress and settings live in your browser's local storage, so they stay on your device and never reach us unless a section below says so. That includes a random guest ID and a made-up guest name (like “user4821”) used to put you on leaderboards without an account, a note of which games' instructions you've already seen, and the day you last used each game's free practice round. Clearing your browser's site data erases all of it.

When you finish a scored game, the score is sent to the leaderboard together with your guest ID and guest name, or with your username if you're signed in.

The Grid also records which country you put in each square, so we can show how rare an answer is. These are linked to your account if you're signed in, and otherwise aren't linked to anyone.

If you create an account we store your email address, username and display name, your scores and streak, the day you last used each game's free practice round (so it can't be claimed twice), your friends and challenges, and the groups you create or join. Sign-in and storage are handled by Supabase. Friends can find you by username; nobody else sees your email.

Some features let signed-in players add something of their own. Each is stored with your account:

• Puzzle comments. What you write under a daily puzzle, the comments you upvote, and the ones you report. Comments are public and show your username; votes and reports aren't shown to anyone.
• Groups. A group's name, its invite code, who made it and who's in it. Members see each other's usernames and scores within the group.
• Puzzle suggestions. The title and details you send through Suggest a puzzle, and whether we've used it. Suggestions that make it into a puzzle are credited publicly under your username.
• Learn. Sources you suggest for an article (the claim, the link and any note), the “been here” check-ins you make, and your votes for which articles to write next. Only totals are shown publicly.

You can delete your own comments, and the rest is removed when you ask or your account is deleted.

If you become a supporter, payment is handled by Stripe. Your card details go to Stripe and never reach us. We keep your Stripe customer ID, linked to your account, and whether your plan is active.

We use Vercel Web Analytics to count visits and see which pages are used. It sets no cookies and doesn't track you across other sites. We also log a few simple events: a game was finished (which game and the score), a share button was clicked, someone arrived from a shared result, a link to the supporter page was clicked (and from where), and a checkout was started.

When you search on the Learn page, we keep what you typed and how many results it found, so we can see which articles people want. It isn't linked to you, your account or your device.

For a few disputed borders, the Globe Atlas and some games show the map the way your country's maps do. To do that we read the country your connection comes from, as every website can. Your browser remembers it until you close the tab; we don't store it or link it to you.

Signing in can send you a one-time link. If you have an account, we may also occasionally email you about the site, sent through Resend or Sender. Every such email has an unsubscribe link; if you use it, we keep your address on a do-not-email list so you aren't sent another.

Geographys may show ads from Google AdSense to visitors who aren't supporters. Supporters never see ads: the ad code isn't loaded at all once we've confirmed you're signed in on the supporter plan.

Google and its partners use cookies and similar identifiers to show ads, to limit how often you see the same one, and to measure how they perform. That can include ads based on your earlier visits to this and other websites. Google's explanation of how it uses information from sites that use its services has the detail. We don't pass Google your email, account or scores.

You can turn off personalised ads in Google's My Ad Center, or opt out of other companies' personalised ads at aboutads.info. Where the law requires it (for example in the UK and the European Economic Area), you'll be asked for consent before personalised ads are shown, and you can change your choice later.

If you send something through the feedback form, we keep your message, the optional email or handle you gave us, and your account if you're signed in. We only use it to decide what to build and, if you asked, to reply.

If you join the list on the Teachers page, we keep your email, the grades and note you gave us, and your account if you're signed in. We use it only to email you when the lesson plans launch, and never share it.

Country flags are loaded from flagcdn.com, and the satellite tiles in North Up come from Esri's ArcGIS World Imagery. Your browser requests those directly, so those services can see your IP address like any website you visit. The site is hosted on Vercel.

Geographys isn't directed at children under 13, and accounts require you to be 13 or older. We don't knowingly collect personal information from anyone younger. If we learn we have, we'll delete it.

Clear your browser's site data to remove everything stored on your device, including ad cookies; the Ads section above covers turning off personalised ads. You can ask us to access, correct or delete the data tied to your account, or to have the account and its scores deleted entirely, at any time and for any reason. To do so, or to ask anything about this page, email hello@geographys.com, message @austinkrance on X, or use the feedback form and say so — we'll act on it promptly. We keep account and leaderboard data for as long as the account exists, and delete it once you ask or the account is removed. The rules for using the site are on the terms page.