Privacy

Privacy policy

Last updated 11 November 2026

This policy explains what Magic Sudoku collects when you visit magicsudoku.app, play on the web at play.magicsudoku.app or play in our iPhone and Android apps, why we collect it, who processes it for us, and the choices you have, including how to delete your account.

Who we are

Magic Sudoku is provided by The Software Station (Pty) Ltd, a company registered in South Africa (registration number 2019/073147/07) at Somerset Links Office Park, Ground Floor, Gleneagles Building, Somerset West, 7130, Cape Town, South Africa.

In this policy, "Magic Sudoku", "we" and "us" mean The Software Station (Pty) Ltd. Write to support@magicsudoku.app about Magic Sudoku or anything in this policy.

The Software Station (Pty) Ltd is the responsible party (the controller) for the information described in this policy. You can reach our Information Officer at support@magicsudoku.app.

Playing without an account

You can play without an account. Your puzzle progress, notes, colours, best times and settings are saved on your device: in your browser's storage on the web, and in the app's storage on your phone. They are not sent to us, and we cannot see them. Clearing your browser's data for this site, or deleting the app, removes them.

What we collect

• Your account, if you create one. Your email address, the display name you choose, the identifier our sign-in service gives your account (which may be your email address), and when the account was created. The date decides whether your account qualifies for the early sign-up rewards. Signing in happens on our sign-in service; your password, if you set one, never reaches the game. If you choose to sign in with Google, Google tells us your email address and name. If you choose to sign in with Apple, Apple tells us your email address, or a private relay address if you choose to hide it, and your name if you choose to share it.
• Bundles in your account. Which puzzle bundles your account holds, such as early sign-up rewards, and a record of any simulated purchases from our earlier membership preview. No payment was taken in that preview, and we have never collected card or payment details.
• Results and ratings you choose to share. After you solve a puzzle while signed in, you can choose to share your result: the puzzle and its edition, your solving time, which attempt it was, how many hints you used, the play mode and which checks were on, and an optional enjoyment rating. We keep them with your account and publish only combined figures, such as a puzzle's average rating, the number of ratings and its time targets. Unless you join the leaderboards, we never publish your name or individual results.
• Leaderboards, if you join them. Leaderboards are optional and need an account. When you join, you choose a nickname, which we check against reserved names and a list of offensive words. While you are on the leaderboards, your first solve of each puzzle is shared automatically. Each puzzle's leaderboard then shows your nickname, solving time and rank to other players who have joined. Players who have not joined cannot see the leaderboards. We never show your email address, display name or account. If you hide a player, we keep that so they stay off your boards. If you report a nickname, we keep your report: the player, the nickname and your account. The player is never told who reported them. We may remove a nickname after reports, and that player cannot use it again. You can leave the leaderboards at any time in Account; your nickname is deleted and your times leave the boards.
• Puzzles you set. If you set puzzles for the community, we keep your setter name, the date you accepted the setter terms, your drafts, and the puzzles you submit: their title, grid, clues and when you submitted them. Drafts are private. Submitted puzzles are published to members with your setter name, along with how many players solved them, their average rating and their median solving time. We never show your email address or account name. We also keep a record of the collection credits you earn and spend.
• Community puzzles you finish. When you finish a puzzle set by another player while signed in, we record that your account solved it, so it counts towards the setter's solves and rewards. This happens whether or not you share your result. We publish only the number of solves, never who solved a puzzle. Your time and rating stay private unless you choose to share them.
• Reports and blocks. If you report a community puzzle, we keep the puzzle, the reason you chose and your account, so we can review it; the setter is never told who reported it. If you block a setter, we keep that so their puzzles stay hidden from you.
• Sign-in emails. To create an account or sign in, our sign-in service sends codes or links to the email address you give.
• Messages you send us. If you email us, including a report from the game's Share feedback option, we keep your message and email address so we can reply. A feedback report contains the app version, your platform and the puzzle you were playing, and your board only if you choose to include it. You see the report and choose where to send it; the game never sends it on its own.
• Page analytics on the web. On magicsudoku.app and play.magicsudoku.app we count page views and how long a page stays open, with your browser and device type, screen size, the page address without its query string, and the page that referred you. If the link you followed carries campaign tags (utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign and utm_content), we keep those four so we can see which post or advert sent you; we drop the rest of the query string. On magicsudoku.app we also count when you open the App Store or Google Play from our links, including when magicsudoku.app/get/ sends your phone straight to its store. We do this without cookies and without any identifier kept between visits, so we cannot recognise you when you come back. PostHog, which runs these counts for us in the EU, also receives your IP address. If your browser sends Do Not Track, nothing is collected. Our iPhone and Android apps have no analytics, and neither website sets cookies.
• Error reports. When something goes wrong on magicsudoku.app, in the web game, in our iPhone and Android apps or on our servers, an error report goes to Sentry, in the EU. It describes what failed and where, with your browser or device type and the version of the app and system, but not your name or email address.
• Technical logs. Our servers keep operational logs so that we can keep Magic Sudoku secure and find and fix faults.

How we use it

• To run your account, keep the bundles it holds and honour the early sign-up rewards.
• To publish combined ratings and time targets from the results you chose to share.
• To run community puzzles: publishing the puzzles setters submit with their setter names, counting solves and ratings, awarding setters their credits, and reviewing reports.
• To show leaderboards to the players who joined them, and to review reported nicknames.
• To answer your messages and feedback.
• To keep Magic Sudoku secure and to find and fix faults.
• To understand which pages are used, so we can improve the game.
• To meet our legal obligations.

We rely on what you ask us to do (creating and running your account, and publishing the puzzles you set), your choice to share a result or rating, and our legitimate interest in running and improving a secure game, including fair rewards for setters and moderating community puzzles. We do not sell personal information, we do not use it for advertising, and we do not send marketing email.

Who processes it for us

We use the following service providers. Each processes information only to provide its service to us.

• Amazon Web Services: hosting the game and our servers, our sign-in service, and sending email, in Ireland.
• MongoDB Atlas: our database, hosted on Amazon Web Services in Ireland.
• Twilio SendGrid: sending some sign-in and account emails.
• Cloudflare: our domain's DNS and forwarding email sent to magicsudoku.app addresses.
• Google: the mailbox where our team reads your emails, and sign-in with Google if you choose it.
• Apple: sign-in with Apple if you choose it.
• PostHog: the page counts described above, in the EU.
• Sentry: error reports, in the EU.

If you download our app, Apple's App Store or Google Play handles the download under its own privacy policy. We may also disclose information where the law requires it, or to protect the rights and safety of people using Magic Sudoku.

Where we keep it

We keep your information in the European Union: the game's servers, database and sign-in service are hosted in Ireland. Our team works from South Africa and can access information when running and supporting Magic Sudoku. Some providers above may also process information in other countries, including the United States, while they handle it for us. Where information leaves the country it was collected in, it is protected by the providers' data-protection terms.

How long we keep it

We keep your account, its bundles, the results you shared, and your community records (setter name, drafts, published puzzles, credits, solves, reports and blocks) until you delete your account. Your leaderboard nickname and the players you hid stay until you leave the leaderboards or delete your account. Your nickname reports, and any nickname we removed, stay until you delete your account. We may remove a published puzzle sooner if it breaks the setter terms. We keep emails for as long as we need them to help you, and for a reasonable period afterwards as a record. Combined ratings and time targets we have already published stay, because they no longer identify anyone. Our database backups expire on a rolling schedule.

Deleting your account

You can delete your account at any time in the game: open Account, choose Delete account, confirm it's you, and type DELETE. If you sign in with Apple, you confirm with Apple; otherwise you sign in again. This works the same on the web at play.magicsudoku.app and in our apps.

• We delete your profile and display name, the results and ratings you shared, the bundles in your account, including early sign-up rewards, and any simulated purchase history.
• We also delete your community records: your setter name, drafts and credits, the puzzles you published (including any in a Community bundle), the solves counted for you, and your reports and blocks.
• We delete your leaderboard records: your nickname, the players you hid, the nickname reports you made, and reports others made about you.
• Where your sign-in belongs only to Magic Sudoku, we delete it too. Where it is shared with another service we run, it stays for that service; email us if you would like it removed as well.
• If you sign in with Apple, we also ask Apple to remove Magic Sudoku from your Apple sign-ins. If that fails, the game tells you, and you can remove it yourself in your Apple Account settings.
• So that a deleted account cannot come back by mistake, we keep a minimal record: the sign-in identifier, which may be your email address, and when the account was deleted. Signing up again later starts a new account.
• Puzzle progress saved on your device is not part of your account and stays there until you clear it.
• Backups expire on their rolling schedule and are not edited.

If you cannot sign in, email support@magicsudoku.app with the subject "Delete my account" from the email address on your account. If you signed in with Apple and chose to hide your email, write from any address and include the relay address Apple made for Magic Sudoku, which your Apple Account settings show under Sign in with Apple. We may ask you to confirm the request comes from you.

Children

Anyone can play without an account. Accounts are for people aged 18 or over, or younger players with the consent of a parent or guardian. If you believe a child has created an account without that consent, email us and we will delete it.

Security

Information is encrypted when it travels over the internet and when it is stored. Access is limited to the people and systems that need it. No system is perfectly secure; if you believe you have found a vulnerability, email support@magicsudoku.app.

Your rights

You can ask us what we hold about you, ask us to correct or delete it, object to how we use it, or withdraw a choice you made, such as sharing your results. Write to support@magicsudoku.app and we will respond. You can also complain to South Africa's Information Regulator. If you live in the United Kingdom you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office, and in the European Union to your local data-protection authority.

Changes to this policy

If we change this policy, we will update it here and change the date at the top. If a change significantly affects how we use your information, we will tell you in the game before it takes effect. See also our terms of use.