Privacy policy
What Skala collects, why, who sees it, how long it is kept, and how to see, correct or delete it.
This is a translation of the Hebrew original. The Hebrew version is the binding one, unless the mandatory law of your country says otherwise.
In short
- You can play without an account. All we need is a nickname (or one we pick for you), a character, and a random ID your browser creates for the device.
- What happens in a room (nickname, character or photo, clues, guesses and scores) is seen by everyone in the room and by anyone who knows the room code, and it is deleted from the server when the room closes.
- Signing in with Google is optional, only to keep question packs in an account. Then we store your name and email.
- There is a Google ad at the top of the screen, and it is what keeps the game free. Google collects information itself to show it. In Israel you first choose whether it is tailored to you, and in Europe Google asks you itself (details).
- We don't sell information. We count how the game is used ourselves, without names and without any third party, and you can switch that off with the switch on the cookie policy page.
- Want to see, correct or delete your information? Write to us: privacy@skalagame.com.
Who we are
Skala is a free party game run by Haltoorist (החלטוריסט) from Israel, the controller of the information described here (in GDPR terms). This policy covers skalagame.com and every game screen. For any privacy question or request: privacy@skalagame.com.
What we collect and why
Here is everything we collect, by what you do.
When you play (no account). A nickname (if you don't pick one, we pick one for you), a character and colour, and your clues, guesses, bets, reactions and score in the room. Your browser also creates a random ID for the device, which lets the game recognise you if your connection drops. Why: to run the game. Required? You can't play without a nickname, a character and the ID, but the random nickname and character are fine. Who sees it: everyone in the room. Anyone who knows the room code can also see, without joining, the nicknames, characters, scores and the clues already revealed. Nobody sees the device ID.
Your own photo as your character (optional). Your browser shrinks it to a small picture before sending it. It is kept only in your browser and in the room's memory, not in our database, and it is seen by everyone in the room and anyone who knows the room code. Only upload a photo of yourself, or of someone who agreed (for a child, their parent).
Signing in with Google (optional). We keep your account ID, email, name and when you joined (not your profile picture), and a sign-in token so you stay signed in. Why: to keep your question packs in your account. Without signing in you play exactly the same, and your packs stay only in your browser. Who sees it: only you.
Question packs. A title, a description, the cards and the number of players you planned for. A guest pack is kept only in your browser; a pack in your account is kept by us. When you open a room from a pack, its cards and name are shown to the players. A pack you mark as public is visible to everyone, with nothing about you.
Device stats. At the end of every game we store, under the device's random ID, a summary of your games (such as wins, best score and streak), to show it to you. It isn't linked to a name or an email.
Reporting a question, and “I liked it”. We keep only the card, the reason (for a report) and the time, with nothing that identifies you. So that each device counts once, the server briefly remembers which devices already marked each card.
Sharing results (optional). When someone taps “Share results” at the end of a game, a link is made to the podium page. The link itself holds the top three (nickname, score and character, never a photo), the number of players, the room code and its name. It is signed so it can't be forged, but it isn't encrypted, and we don't store it. It is seen by anyone who gets the link and by the app you shared it in, which shows a preview. Note: it also includes the nicknames and scores of the other players on the podium.
Technical information. Your IP address is used for a few seconds in the server's memory to block flooding, and is not stored by us. Our hosting and network providers process the IP address, the time, the page you asked for and your browser type, to deliver the site to you and protect it. When something breaks, the server logs the error details, without the content of requests.
Usage statistics. To make the game better we count, ourselves and without any analytics company or other third party, how the site is used: which kinds of pages were opened, for how long and how far they were scrolled, which buttons and links were tapped (by a fixed name, never what you typed), how games go in numbers only, errors and loading speed, and once per visit general details such as the device and browser type, screen size, language, country (from the time zone or our network provider) and where you came from. To know whether you came back, your browser keeps a random visitor ID (alh_vid), separate from the game's ID, not linked to your nickname, account or email, and replaced after 13 months at most. Each game's record also keeps its players' visitor IDs (never names), so we can count games and leave our own test games out of the numbers. Never counted: IP addresses, nicknames, clues, room names, pack contents, photos, emails, room codes and the game's device ID. Who sees it: only the operator, as totals, on a password-protected page. It isn't used for advertising or passed to anyone. Required? No. You can switch counting off with the switch on the cookie policy page, and a browser that sends Global Privacy Control or Do Not Track isn't counted at all.
When you write to us. Your email address and what you wrote, so we can answer.
Ads. At the top of the site's and the game's screens there is room for one ad, which Google fills through its AdSense service. When the ad loads, your browser contacts Google directly and sends it your IP address, your browser and device type, the page address (on a room's page it includes the room code), and the Google cookies and identifiers already stored on your device. Google and its advertising partners use this to choose an ad, limit how often you see it and measure ads, and, if you agreed, also to tailor ads to you based on your visits to this site and other sites. We pass nothing we keep to Google (nickname, clues, account, device ID or visitor ID), and we get only totals from it, such as how many ads were shown and what they earned, with nothing about who saw or tapped them. Your choice: in Israel, a card with two equal options, personalized or general ads, appears first in the ad's place, and nothing from Google loads until you choose. In Europe, the UK and Switzerland, Google shows its own consent message. Elsewhere there is no question, and ads may be personalized according to your Google settings. Required? No: you play exactly the same with either option. The details, and how to change your choice, are in the cookie policy.
“Watch an ad to unlock”. These screens are still placeholders: they load no ad and send nothing to anyone.
What we don't collect. Real names (other than the name on your Google account, if you signed in), phone numbers, addresses, precise location, contacts or payment details. We don't collect advertising IDs ourselves (for Google's, see the ads paragraph). We don't send marketing messages.
What we rely on (for users in Europe and the UK)
| Purpose | Legal basis |
|---|---|
| Running the game, the Google account, packs and sharing results | Performing the service you asked for (Art. 6(1)(b)). For the other players on a results link's podium: legitimate interest in letting players share the result of a game they played together (Art. 6(1)(f)). |
| Device stats, question report and like counts | Legitimate interest: showing you your progress and improving the question bank (Art. 6(1)(f)). |
| Usage statistics | Legitimate interest: fixing problems and improving the game, from totals only (Art. 6(1)(f)). You can object with the switch on the cookie policy page, and a Global Privacy Control or Do Not Track signal counts as an objection. |
| Ads | The consent you give in Google's message to cookies and personalization (Art. 6(1)(a)). Without it, Google shows only limited ads. Google is a controller in its own right of what it collects through the ads. |
| Security, rate limiting and error logs | Legitimate interest: keeping the service available and safe (Art. 6(1)(f)). |
| Answering messages and legal requests | Legal obligation (Art. 6(1)(c)). |
Under Israeli law: there is no legal duty to give us any information. You give it voluntarily, and what happens if you don't is written in the previous section.
Where it is kept
We operate from Israel, which has an EU adequacy decision. The server is in the Netherlands, the database in Frankfurt, Germany, and the backup in the US. Transfers to the US providers rely on their data processing terms, which include the EU standard contractual clauses or the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. Google processes what it collects through the ads on its own servers, in the US and other countries, under its own commitments.
How long we keep it
| Information | How long |
|---|---|
| Game room | Only in the server's memory: deleted 30 minutes after the last player disconnects, 4 hours after the room opened at most, and on every server restart. |
| Account and packs in it | Until you delete the packs or ask us to delete the account. The sign-in token: 60 days, or until you log out. |
| What your browser keeps (guest packs, nickname, character, preferences) | Until you clear the site's data. |
| Device stats, question report and like counts | With no time limit, until you ask us to delete them (the counts identify no one). |
| Usage statistics | The events themselves: 7 days. Visit and game summaries, with the random visitor IDs: 25 months. |
| Ads | We keep only your choice, in your browser, until you change it. Google keeps what it collects under its own policy; its cookies' lifetimes are listed in the cookie policy. |
| Results link | Not kept by us. It stays in the chats where it was shared. |
| Encrypted database backup | 30 days per copy. |
| IP address and logs | IP for rate limiting: about 10 seconds, in memory only. The hosting and network providers' logs: for a limited time, under their policies. |
| Emails you send us | As long as needed to handle your message. |
Security
The site works over HTTPS only, the sign-in cookie is protected, the device ID is never shown to anyone, every request is rate limited, and keys and passwords are kept outside the code. An encrypted backup is saved every night, and only the operator accesses the systems. If a security incident harms your information, we will report it and tell you as the law requires.
And a tip: the room code is the room's key. Only share it with people you want to see the room.
Your rights
Under Israeli law you can see the information about you, and ask us to correct or delete information that is wrong, incomplete or out of date (sections 13 and 14 of the Privacy Protection Law). We will give you access within 30 days.
To every user, everywhere, we also give the GDPR rights:
- to get a copy of the information, including in a format you can take to another service;
- to correct or delete it;
- to restrict its use;
- to object to a use that relies on legitimate interest (such as the device stats or the usage statistics);
- to withdraw a consent you gave (such as to personalized ads) at any time, without affecting what was done before;
- to complain to a data protection authority (see “Contact and complaints”).
How: write to privacy@skalagame.com, in Hebrew or English. We will answer within one month at most, free of charge, and may ask for a detail that helps us check the information is yours.
By yourself, without writing to us: you can change your nickname and character, delete packs on the packs screen, log out, switch the usage statistics off with the switch on the cookie policy page, change your ad choice with the “Ad settings” link next to the ad, turn off Google's personalized ads on every site in Google's ad settings, and delete everything kept in your browser in your browser settings.
Good to know: there is no delete-account button yet, so write to us, and we will delete its packs too. Device stats and usage statistics are linked only to random IDs, not to a name or an email, so to delete them we will need the ID (in the site's data in your browser, under alharetzef.deviceId or alharetzef.analytics.vid). Usage statistics are deleted anyway after 25 months at most. Requests about what Google collected through the ads go to Google, as it is the controller of that information.
Children
Skala suits all ages and doesn't ask how old you are. Children under 13 are welcome to play with a parent or a responsible adult. Signing in with Google is meant for people who meet Google's minimum age in their country (usually 13), or with a parent's consent.
Ads are shown to everyone who plays, and Google doesn't know who is a child. Children and teens: let a parent choose on the ad card, and if no parent is around, choose “Only general”.
Parents: if your child gave us information, or someone uploaded a photo of your child, write to privacy@skalagame.com and we will delete it.
Information we get from Google
When you sign in with Google, we ask only for the basic permissions (openid, email, profile), and use the ID, email and name only to recognise you and keep your packs. We don't share them, sell them or use them for advertising. You can remove our access in the security settings of your Google account.
Skala's use of information received from Google APIs will adhere to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.
Changes to this policy
When we change something, we update the date and the version at the top of this page, and a material change (such as a new kind of information or a new provider) will be described here. Where a use relies on consent, we will ask for it again. Version 2.1, in effect from 20 October 2026.
What changed in version 2.1: we added the Google ad at the top of the screen, what Google collects through it and your choice about it, and Google as a recipient of information.
What changed in version 2.0: we shortened and simplified this document. What we collect and why didn't change.
Contact and complaints
For any message or complaint: Haltoorist (החלטוריסט), privacy@skalagame.com.
If we couldn't help, you can contact the Privacy Protection Authority in Israel. In the European Union: the data protection authority of your country. In the UK: the ICO.