Privacy Policy

Last updated 26 October 2026

Unplayable is an app from Shadow Hands, the publisher of the book Unplayable. We collect as little as we can, use it only to run the app, and never sell it.

Who is responsible

Shadow Hands (shadowhands.shop) is responsible for your data. Contact: puppet@shadowhands.shop.

Your account

You sign in with Google or with a code we email you. We keep: your email address; from Google, your name, profile photo link and Google account ID (we never see your Google password); your progress, so it works on every device; your saved reads; your People Files; and your plan. A People File holds only what you type about someone (a name or nickname, how you know them, an optional note, and the reads you file under them). Please use a first name or a nickname and don’t add contact details. Sign-in codes are sent by Amazon SES (or Cloudflare Email as a backup) and expire after 15 minutes. We email you about your account and billing (sign-in codes, welcome, trial and payment notices), and short reminders (a streak about to end, the Monday case, a nudge after a few quiet days), at most one reminder a day. Turn reminder emails off in You → Settings or with the link in any of them. Tips and offers only if you tick the box, also off any time. The same messages appear in the app’s notification list, kept for 60 days. Delete my account (You → Settings) deletes all of it from our servers straight away.

AI features: Decode and The Room

These features only work after you agree to them in the app. When you use them, the text you type (and the earlier messages in that conversation) is sent to our server and processed by our AI providers, Ollama (Ollama Cloud) and, as a backup, Cloudflare Workers AI, only to write your answer. If you add screenshots to Decode, Cloudflare Workers AI reads the text in them; we keep that text as part of the conversation, never the images, which are discarded as soon as the text is read. So you can still see them when you come back to that conversation, the app keeps a small preview of each screenshot, and any you haven’t sent yet, on your device only; they never leave it again, and signing out deletes them. Only add screenshots you’re comfortable sharing, and crop out phone numbers and anything private. If you’re signed out, we do not keep your Decode conversations after the answer is sent. If you’re signed in, your reads are saved to your account (and to the People File you choose) until you delete them, so you can come back to them and the advisor can spot patterns. A round in The Room keeps a short scene description on our server for up to 6 hours so the round can continue, then it is deleted. We don’t use what you type for advertising, and we don’t sell or share it with anyone else. You can turn AI features off at any time in You → Settings. Please don’t type full names, addresses, card numbers or passwords.

Reports

If you report an AI reply, we receive the reply, the conversation you choose to send and your note, so we can review it and improve the app. Reports are deleted after 180 days, or sooner if you ask or use Delete my data.

Usage limits

To stop abuse we count how many AI requests are made each day. For free use we count by a one-way scrambled version of your internet (IP) address, which we cannot turn back into the address; when you’re signed in or unlocked, we count by your account or access token. These counters delete themselves after about a day, or a week for weekly limits.

Unlocking

If you unlock with a book order, the app sends your order reference to our store to check it was paid. We store nothing new; the store already holds your order (see the privacy policy at shadowhands.shop/privacy). If you buy in the app, Apple or Google handle the payment; we receive only a transaction reference to confirm it. Your device then keeps an access token that doesn’t contain your name or email.

Reminders (notifications)

If you turn reminders on, your browser gives us a push address (from Google, Mozilla, Apple or Microsoft, depending on your browser) and your time zone, so we can send at most one reminder a day at a sensible local time (a streak about to end, the Weekly Case opening, your league ending, a trial ending). The reminder itself carries no personal data. Turn them off any time in You → Settings; deleting your account deletes the push address.

Invites and your public profile

Your invite link opens a public profile with your community name, generated avatar, rank, streak, strings cut, lessons, badges and league. It never shows your email, reads, People Files or field log. When a friend joins through your link, we record that they came from you so we can give you the free month.

Pro subscriptions

If you subscribe to Pro on the web, Stripe handles the payment. We never see your full card number; Stripe tells us your subscription status, plan and renewal date, and keeps the billing records the law requires. If you own the book, we check your email against your shadowhands.shop orders when you sign in, to unlock it for you.

What we don’t do

Who processes data for us

Cloudflare: hosting the app and API, storage, and the backup AI model. Ollama: the main AI model. Google: sign-in with Google. Amazon Web Services (SES): sign-in emails. Stripe: Pro payments. Apple and Google: in-app purchases, under their own privacy policies. Some providers are in the United States; where data leaves the UK or EU it is protected by the providers’ standard contractual clauses or equivalent safeguards.

Your rights

You can ask us to access, correct or delete your data, or object to how we use it. Use Delete my data in the app (You → Settings), or email puppet@shadowhands.shop. You can also complain to your local data protection authority.

Children

The app is for adults aged 18 and over. It is not directed at children and we don’t knowingly collect data from them.

Changes

If we change this policy we’ll update the date above, and tell you in the app if the change matters.

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