CIVDECODED CIVDECODED Legal
Last updated: September 24, 2026
CivDecoded is a static website. There are no user accounts and we don't sell anything — so we collect almost nothing about you. The one piece of personal data we ever ask for is an email address, if you choose to join the newsletter.
Aggregate analytics. We use privacy-friendly, aggregate
traffic counts (page views, visitor counts, country-level origin, and how
often our Ko-fi "Support" link is clicked, recorded as
support_click) to understand what content people enjoy.
The counter is self-hosted and first-party — no third-party trackers, no cookies, no IP addresses or
browser fingerprints stored, and URLs are recorded without query strings.
This data is not tied to your identity and we don't build individual
profiles.
Campaign attribution. If you arrive from one of our own
posts, the link may carry campaign tags (utm_source and
utm_campaign) telling us which post you came from. We record
only those two tags — never the rest of the link's query string — and they
describe the campaign, not you. They're kept for the browsing
session only, and remain part of the same aggregate counts described above.
If you move from this site to the game at play.civdecoded.com, the same two
tags travel with you on the link, so both halves of one visit are counted as
a single arrival instead of two strangers. Nothing else is carried over.
A result that another player shared carries one tag of its own
(utm_source=share), added by the game when its short link opens,
so we can tell a visit came from a shared result. The optional calendar
reminder links back with utm_source=calendar; the reminder file is
made on your device and nothing about it is sent to us. Neither tag says
anything about who shared the result or set the reminder.
Game progress. The browser games at play.civdecoded.com
store your progress — XP, level, achievements, quests and daily streak —
locally in your own browser (localStorage), not on our servers. When you
reach a milestone, only the milestone itself is counted, tied to the same
random ID described below: an achievement unlocked
(achievement_unlocked: which one), a new level
(level_up: the level number), a quest reward claimed
(quest_claimed: which quest) and, after a daily challenge,
the length of your current streak (daily_streak: the number
of days). That tells us whether anyone uses these features, never who
you are.
Anonymous match summaries and leaderboard scores. When
you finish a match or a daily challenge, we record a summary (result,
duration, turns, and similar in-game stats) tied to a random ID
generated in your browser — never your name, email, or any other
personal identifier. This lets us balance the game and run
leaderboards. If you enter a display name for a leaderboard, that name
is public alongside your score. In Empires, each order you give is
recorded the same way (empires_action: the verb, the turn,
your gold after it, the phase and a random ID for that match), and so is each time you actually
share a result (share: the mode and whether it was text or
a card) — tied to the same random ID, never to you.
Reactions on videos, carousels and notes. The one-tap
"Like this" button on content pages sends the content's id and the same
anonymous device id described above (kept in your browser under
cd:site:cid) to play.civdecoded.com/api/reactions.
It records only that one device reacted to that content — no name,
email, IP address or browser fingerprint — and tells us which content
people enjoy. Tapping again removes your reaction.
Feedback votes and notes (optional). After some quiz or gameplay screens, we offer an optional thumbs-up/thumbs-down vote plus a short note (≤140 characters). Participation is completely voluntary. We tie these votes to your session's client ID (the same random ID described above), but never to your name, email, or any other personal identifier. Feedback notes are used to improve the experience and inform the product backlog.
If you join the weekly digest, we collect the email address you enter (and an optional WhatsApp number, if you add one). Submissions are processed and stored by Formspree, the form service we use, and are used only to send you the digest — never sold, shared or used for anything else. To be removed, use the unsubscribe option in any message or just contact us.
We don't run ad trackers and we don't sell or share personal data. Beyond the optional newsletter form above, we don't ask for personal information anywhere on the site.
Our content is also published on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook, and the site may embed players from those platforms. When you interact with them, their own privacy policies apply. The site is served via Cloudflare, which may process technical request data (like IP addresses) to deliver and protect the site.
We use official platform APIs (for example, TikTok's Display API) solely to read aggregate statistics about our own accounts and posts — views, likes, comments and shares. These tools never access data about you or any other user.
Beyond the newsletter list, we hold no personal data about visitors, so there's usually nothing to delete — but if you want your email removed, or have any privacy question or request, contact us and we'll help.