Privacy

Doodle Checkers (the website doodlecheckers.com and the Doodle app). Last updated 29 October 2026 (operator named as taproute.io; earlier: Sign in with Apple, purchases and the Doodle Club in the iPhone and iPad app). See also our Terms of Use.

Doodle is a game for children and families. We keep as little as we can, we never show ads, we never sell or share anything about you, and we do not track you across other apps or websites.

Who we are

Doodle is made and run by taproute.io, which decides how the information described here is used (the “controller”). Contact: support@taproute.io.

Playing without signing in

You can play every game without an account. Then nothing about you is stored on our server. Your settings (sound, the last doodle set you picked, the name you type for a friend game) and, before you sign in, your Doodle egg’s progress stay on your own device.

If you sign in

Signing in keeps your games, stars, diamonds and your Doodle pet safe. Your account gets a made-up Doodle name (like “Zippy Fox”) that you can change.

• In the iPhone and iPad app you sign in with Apple (Sign in with Apple). We do not ask Apple for your name or email address, so Apple does not share them. We receive only an anonymous user id that Apple makes for Doodle (it is different in every app), and we keep a token Apple gives us only so that deleting your account can also remove the Sign in with Apple link.
• On the website, sign-in is handled by our sign-in partner, Popin (popin.page), with Apple, Google or a code sent by email. From that sign-in we receive only an account number and a display name, and we do not keep the name.

We never receive or keep an email address.

With an account we store:

• your Doodle name (made up for you, or one you picked) and, only if you choose one, a public handle;
• your games: results, moves of games against the computer (to check the result is fair), stars, trophies, medals and play time. For Crazy Checkers, Wolf & Sheep, Giveaway Checkers, Breakthrough, Lines of Action and Arimaa we only keep the result, the computer’s level and how long the game took;
• the display names of friends you played with in rated games;
• your Doodle pet: its name, its care and the items it has;
• Doodle Town: the town you build, saved to your account. If you play in a town together with another signed-in player, we remember that you two played together and which picture each of you played as; you become Town friends only when both of you say yes, and either of you can say no at any time. No names, no chat and nothing typed is kept or shown;
• your diamonds: how many you have, the daily missions you finished, what you earned and spent them on, and the teams, boards and looks you own. Diamonds have no money value and cannot be sold, traded or given to anyone;
• if you buy something in the app: your purchase history (which diamond pack or Doodle Club plan, when, Apple’s transaction number, and whether the club is active and until when), so we can give you what you bought, restore it and handle refunds. We never see or keep card or bank details: Apple takes the payment;
• a random purchase id (a long random code, not your name, email or Apple id) that links purchases to your account;
• a sign-in cookie, so you stay signed in for up to 14 days (see “Cookies and storage” below).

Your Doodle page (your handle, level and results) is only public if you switch it on yourself. You can switch it off at any time.

Playing with friends

Live games go through our server. Other players in the same game, and friends the host lets watch or wait in the room, see your display name, your moves and the stickers and cheers you send. There is no chat and no free text between players. Names are filtered for rude words. Live games are kept only in the server’s memory and disappear when the room closes; only rated games of signed-in players are saved, as described above. If a player taps “Report a name”, we keep the room code and the display names in that room so a grown-up at Doodle can look at it; we do not keep who sent the report.

Buying in the app

Diamond packs and the Doodle Club can only be bought in the iPhone and iPad app, through Apple’s In-App Purchase, and only after a grown-up question. The website sells nothing.

• Apple takes the payment, as the seller of record, under Apple’s own privacy policy. Apple tells us only that a purchase or renewal happened (the product, the date, a transaction number, and the country and price), never who you are.
• RevenueCat (RevenueCat, Inc., USA) checks the purchase with Apple for us and keeps the purchase records, as our processor. It receives only the random purchase id described above, the purchase details from Apple, the app version, your device’s language and store country, and, like any server, your internet address when the app talks to it. It never receives your name, email or Doodle name, and does not use them for advertising or tracking.

Purchase records are linked to your account so the app works (to give you what you bought and to restore it on a new device). They are not used for advertising or to track you.

Keeping the game safe

Like every website, our server sees your internet address (IP address) when you connect. We use it only to stop abuse (for example, too many requests at once) and in ordinary server logs that help us keep the game running. Those logs are kept only for a short time and are then deleted automatically. We do not build a profile from it.

Weather in the sky (website only, off unless you switch it on)

On the website, a grown-up can tick “Use today’s real weather” in the settings so the game’s sky matches the weather outside. Only then does the browser ask for your location. The location is rounded to about 10 km and sent directly from your device to Open-Meteo (open-meteo.com), a free weather service, to get today’s weather and sunrise time. It is never sent to our server, and the weather answer is kept on your device for 30 minutes. Untick the box to stop it. The apps never ask for your location.

Cookies and storage

• dc_sess: keeps you signed in, for up to 14 days. Only set if you sign in.
• dc_oauth: used for a few minutes while you sign in, then removed.
• Storage on your device (your browser’s local storage): your settings, the team and level you picked, the name you type for friend games, the code of the friend game you are in (so you can come back if the connection drops), the egg progress of a guest, and the weather answer if you switched weather on.

These are all needed for the game to work as you asked. We use no advertising, analytics or tracking cookies, so we do not show a cookie banner.

Counting how Doodle is used

To learn which games are played and whether the shop is easy to use, our own server keeps daily totals, for example “games of checkers finished today” or “times the shop was opened today”. The pages send only the name of the moment (such as “shop opened”), never who you are: no account, no device ID, no cookie, and the internet address is not stored. The totals are kept for about two years and cannot be linked to any player. No other company is involved.

What we do not do

• No advertising, no ad networks, no analytics companies (the daily totals above are counted by our own server).
• No tracking across other apps or websites.
• No selling, renting or sharing of your data.
• No contacts, photos, camera or microphone, and no location unless a grown-up switches on the weather (see above).

Your choices, and deleting your account

• See your data: sign in, tap your name at the top of the home screen and tap “Download my data”.
• Delete everything: sign in, tap your name at the top of the home screen and tap “Delete everything”. Your account, games, pet, diamonds, purchase history and Doodle page are deleted straight away, and, for an account made with Sign in with Apple, the Sign in with Apple link is removed too. Backup copies are removed within 14 days. Deleting does not cancel a Doodle Club subscription: cancel it first in your Apple ID settings (Settings → your name → Subscriptions).
• Sign out: at any time, from the same page.

No phone at hand? Sign in on doodlecheckers.com in any browser and use “Delete everything” there, or write to us from the contact below and we will delete the account for you.

Children

We built Doodle for children, so we collect no email address, no real name, no photos and no location (except the optional weather above). Children can play without an account. An account for a child under 13, or under the age set by the law of the child’s country (up to 16 in parts of Europe), must be created by or together with a parent or guardian, who agrees to it on the child’s behalf. Please help children choose a display name that is not their real full name. A parent can review, download or delete a child’s data at any time, as described above, or by writing to us. If we learn that we hold an account of a young child created without a parent, we will delete it.

Families

The app has no ads and no advertising, analytics or tracking code from other companies. The only other company’s code in it is RevenueCat’s, which handles purchases as described above. It does not ask for location, contacts, photos, the camera or the microphone, and it never asks a child for an email address or a real name. Every purchase, restore and subscription change sits behind a grown-up question.

Why we use it

• To run your account, save your games and your Doodle, run live games, and give you, restore and refund what you bought: because you (or your parent) asked us to, under these terms.
• To keep a record the law requires us to keep, if it ever does: a legal obligation.
• To keep Doodle safe and working (abuse limits, server logs): our legitimate interest in a safe, working game.
• Weather: only with the consent given by switching it on, which can be withdrawn at any time.

How long we keep it

• Account data, including purchase history: until you delete the account. Backup copies are removed within 14 days after that. If the law ever requires us to keep a purchase record longer, we keep only that record, without anything else about you, and only as long as the law says. Apple keeps its own record of the payment.
• RevenueCat’s purchase records: under the random purchase id, until we ask RevenueCat to delete them. After your account is deleted, that id no longer leads to anyone; write to us if you want RevenueCat’s copy removed sooner.
• Server logs and abuse counters: a short time, then deleted automatically.
• Daily usage totals (see “Counting how Doodle is used”): about two years; they are not about anyone.
• Name reports (“Report a name”): the room code and the display names in that room, kept 90 days to review the report.
• Guests: nothing on our server, apart from a name report.

Who else is involved

• Hetzner (Germany) hosts our server.
• Popin (popin.page) runs the sign-in. You sign in there with Apple, Google or a code sent by email, under Popin’s own privacy policy; Popin sends us only an account number and a display name, and we keep only the account number.
• Apple: Sign in with Apple in the app (an anonymous user id only), the App Store, and the payment for every purchase (purchase records), under Apple’s own privacy policy.
• RevenueCat (USA): purchase records under a random purchase id, as our processor (see “Buying in the app”).
• Google, if you sign in with Google on the website, under its own policy.
• Open-Meteo, only if the weather is switched on (see above).

We do not sell or share your data with anyone else. We would only disclose it if the law requires it.

Your rights

You (or a parent for a child) can ask us to see, correct, download or delete your data, to stop or limit using it, or object to how we use it, and you can withdraw a consent at any time. Most of this you can do yourself in your Doodle; for anything else write to us and we will answer within 30 days. If you are not happy with our answer you can complain to a data protection authority: in Israel the Privacy Protection Authority, in the European Union the authority of your country, in the United Kingdom the ICO.

Where it is kept

Our server is in the European Union (Hetzner, Germany). Data is sent over an encrypted connection. Doodle is run from Israel, which the European Union recognises as giving data an adequate level of protection. RevenueCat keeps purchase records in the United States, under the EU Standard Contractual Clauses in our agreement with RevenueCat.

Chess engine

The two strongest chess opponents (Grandmaster and Champion, website only) are played by Stockfish, a free chess engine, running in your browser. Nothing about your game is sent anywhere for this. Stockfish is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3 (gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html); source: github.com/nmrugg/stockfish.js (version 18.0.8) and github.com/official-stockfish/Stockfish.

Contact

Questions, or a request about your data: support@taproute.io.

If we change this policy we will update the date at the top of this page, and for important changes we will tell signed-in players in the game first.