Privacy Policy
1) What this policy covers
This policy describes the data we collect when you use Timeline, how we use it, the legal basis for processing, and the choices and rights you have.
2) Data stored in your browser
- timeline_clientSessionId: a pseudonymous random ID used to associate gameplay on the same browser.
- timeline_gameState: your in-progress game state for the current day.
- PostHog may also set browser storage identifiers for analytics purposes depending on your region (see Section 5).
3) Data sent to our servers
When you play, we store pseudonymous gameplay records such as:
- client session ID
- game number and game date
- timestamps for when a session started or finished
- your guesses, actual answers, scores, error values, and guess timing
- your final score and completion status
- your browser user-agent string
4) Optional question submissions
If you submit a question suggestion, we store:
- your suggested question, answer, and article link
- your optional email address, if you provide it
- the related game number and client session ID, if provided
- the submission timestamp
5) Analytics
We use PostHog for product analytics to measure things like pageviews, game starts, guesses, completions, and score-sharing actions. We have disabled session replay.
Timeline uses PostHog in cookieless mode for UK, EU, and EEA traffic based on server-detected country. Outside those regions, PostHog may use cookies or localStorage identifiers. We enable PostHog's "respect Do Not Track" setting globally.
6) Legal basis for processing (GDPR / UK GDPR)
If you are located in the European Union or United Kingdom, we process your data under the following legal bases:
- Legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f)): operating the game, preserving daily progress, scoring guesses, generating aggregate statistics, preventing abuse, and improving the service. Our legitimate interests are balanced against your rights — the data processed is pseudonymous, limited to gameplay activity, and not used for marketing.
- Consent: if you voluntarily provide your email address with a question submission, we process that email on the basis of your consent. You may withdraw consent at any time by contacting us.
7) How we use data
- operate the game and preserve daily progress
- score guesses and generate aggregate statistics
- understand usage and improve the service
- review optional question suggestions
- prevent abuse and keep the service reliable
8) Sharing and international data transfers
We share data with service providers that help us run Timeline, including:
- Railway (hosting and infrastructure) — servers located in the United States.
- PostHog (analytics) — servers located in the United States.
Both providers are based in the United States. If you are located in the EU or UK, this means your data is transferred to a country outside the European Economic Area. These transfers are covered by standard contractual clauses (SCCs) or equivalent safeguards provided by each vendor. You can review PostHog's data transfer safeguards at posthog.com/privacy and Railway's at railway.app/legal/privacy.
9) IP addresses
We do not store IP addresses in the Timeline application database. IP addresses may still be processed transiently by our hosting stack, CDN, or abuse-prevention tooling.
10) Retention
We retain data for as long as is reasonably necessary to operate, improve, and secure the service. The factors we consider include whether the data is still needed to provide or analyze the service, any legal obligation to retain it, and whether retention is necessary to resolve disputes or enforce our agreements. We periodically review and delete or aggregate data that is no longer needed. PostHog analytics data is subject to PostHog's own retention settings.
11) Your rights
Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your data. To exercise any of them, contact us at the address in Section 14.
- Access: request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
- Rectification: ask us to correct inaccurate data.
- Erasure: ask us to delete your data ("right to be forgotten").
- Restriction: ask us to limit how we use your data while a dispute is resolved.
- Portability: receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format where technically feasible.
- Objection: object to processing based on legitimate interests.
- Withdraw consent: where processing is based on consent (e.g., your optional email), you may withdraw at any time without affecting the lawfulness of prior processing.
- Browser storage: you can delete localStorage and cookie data directly in your browser settings at any time.
If you are in the EU or UK and believe we have not handled your data correctly, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your national data protection authority — for example, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) in the UK at ico.org.uk, or your relevant EU supervisory authority.
12) Children
Timeline is not directed at children under 13 (or under 16 in the EU/UK). We do not knowingly collect personal data from children below these ages. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.
13) California residents (CCPA)
If you are a California resident, you have the following rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act:
- Right to know: request disclosure of the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you.
- Right to delete: request deletion of personal information we have collected from you, subject to certain exceptions.
- Right to opt out of sale: we do not sell your personal information to third parties.
- Right to non-discrimination: we will not discriminate against you for exercising any of these rights.
To submit a CCPA request, email us at the address below with the subject line "CCPA Request".
14) Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The "Effective date" at the top reflects the most recent version. We will update this page when we make material changes.
15) Contact
Questions or requests: info@fromthethink.com