Privacy Policy

Information We Collect

To provide our chess-scanning service, we collect the following information:

• Account information: When you sign in with Apple or Google, we receive your email address and a basic account identifier to create and manage your account.
• Content you upload: Photos of scoresheets, chessboards, and related images you capture or upload. These images are sent to a third-party AI model provider to be processed and converted into standard chess notation (PGN).
• Credits and transactions: Your credit balance, purchase records, and consumption history, used for billing and abuse prevention.
• Usage and device information: For security and product improvement, we may log basic data such as device type, app version, and crash reports.
• Website analytics: Google Analytics 4 and Microsoft Clarity may collect page views, referral sources, approximate city-level location and page interactions under the cookie rules and choices described below.

Browser Extension Sign-in and Scanning

The extension signs in directly to the ScanChess API with the email address and password you enter. It stores the returned session token and basic account profile in protected extension storage so content scripts cannot read them. The token is removed when you sign out or the session expires.

The extension captures a visible page only after you choose a board or scoresheet action. Region selection and cropping happen locally. When you release the selection, only that image region is sent to api.scanchess.com and the AI providers described here for recognition; the result appears in a card on that page, without a website handoff.

Current scan progress and results use browser session storage and clear when the browser session ends or you sign out. A newly recognized scoresheet is also saved to your ScanChess account when possible so it can appear in website history. The extension does not collect browsing history in the background or include analytics scripts.

Opening a result on the website is optional and requires a separate action. That handoff uses an exact destination, tab-bound identifier and a temporary browser-session transfer that expires after 30 minutes. We use account, image and notation content only for the disclosed sign-in, capture, recognition, review and saving features, not for sale, unrelated advertising, creditworthiness or lending decisions.

How We Use Information

• To provide core functionality: recognizing your uploaded images and generating scan results.
• To manage your account, credit balance, and transactions.
• To keep the Service secure and prevent fraud and abuse.
• To respond to your support requests and improve the product.

Third-Party Services

We share the minimum necessary data with the following third parties to operate the Service:

• AI model provider: To perform scan recognition, the scoresheet/board images you upload are transmitted to the AI model provider we use for processing.
• Apple and Google Sign-In: Used for authentication (Sign in with Apple / Google).
• Waffo (Waffo Pancake): The merchant of record for web subscriptions. Your payment details are collected and processed by Waffo — we never see or store your card details. We receive only the order id, billing email, and subscription status, which we use to grant Pro.
• Google Analytics 4 and Microsoft Clarity: Website analytics subject to the cookie rules and choices described below.
• Cloudflare: Hosting, CDN, and email routing for the site and API, which processes the connection logs this requires.
• We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use it for advertising unrelated to the Service.

Cookies and Analytics

Your web sign-in session is kept in a secure, server-only cookie. Browser storage holds interface preferences and, after you confirm an import, may hold game data and images to restore your work. These drafts use session storage first and local storage when session storage is unavailable. The necessary session cookie cannot be turned off: without it you cannot stay signed in on the web.

Beyond that we use two analytics services, and both set cookies. Where prior consent is required by law — the EEA, the UK, and Switzerland — neither loads until you press "Accept" in the prompt. Elsewhere they are on by default and you can turn them off at any time (see below):

• Google Analytics 4: Visit counts, referral sources, and page performance. Processed by Google and may be transferred outside your country, including to the United States.
• Microsoft Clarity: Records clicks, scrolling, and mouse movement within a page (session replay) plus heatmaps, so we can find interface problems. We do not use it to identify you personally.

You can change your mind at any time from "Cookie settings" in the footer of every page, or from your account settings. When analytics are off, none of these scripts load at all. Turning them off does not stop a script that is already running in the tab you are on — reload the page and it will not come back.

Data Retention

We retain your account information, game history, and images only for as long as necessary to provide the Service. When the data is no longer needed, or when you request deletion, we delete it.

Data Deletion and Account Deletion

You can delete your account at any time — in the mobile app under Settings, or on the web at https://scanchess.com/delete-account. This deletes your account information along with the uploaded images and scan data associated with your account. Once deleted, this data cannot be recovered.

If you need help deleting your data, you can also email us at support@scanchess.com.

Data Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your data in transit and at rest. However, no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is completely secure.

Your Rights

Wherever you live, you can exercise the following rights over the personal data we hold. To use any of them, email support@scanchess.com and we will respond within 30 days.

• Access: find out what data we hold about you and get a copy.
• Correction: ask us to fix data that is inaccurate.
• Deletion: delete your account yourself at any time, or ask us to do it.
• Restriction and objection: object to processing we base on legitimate interests, such as analytics.
• Portability: receive your game data in a common format — you can also export PGN yourself at any time.
• Withdraw consent: turn off analytics cookies at any time, without affecting processing carried out before you withdrew.

EU/UK visitors: we process data to perform our contract with you (account, scanning, billing), for our legitimate interests (security and abuse prevention), and on your consent (analytics cookies). You have the right to complain to your local data protection authority.

California residents: we do not "sell" or "share" personal information as those terms are defined by the CCPA/CPRA, and we will not treat you differently for exercising your rights.

International transfers: our providers (the AI model provider, Cloudflare, Google, Microsoft, and Waffo) may process data outside your country, including in the United States and the EU.

Children's Privacy

The Service is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has given us personal information, contact support@scanchess.com and we will delete it.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be posted on this page with an updated effective date at the top.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, contact us by email at support@scanchess.com.