Privacy
Last updated: 12 November 2026
Three Steps Behind is made by Radosław Tomczak (Lamplighter) (Poland), who decides how the data below is used. Questions and requests: hello@threestepsbehind.com.
The short version
During the invite-only beta you play with an account. After it, you won't need one. Without one, the game keeps your progress on your own device. If you sign in (Google, Apple or e-mail), we keep your e-mail and your progress so you can play on every device. The game sends short records of the boards you play and how long you play each day, without your name, so we can see which boards are too hard or too easy and where players stop. Boards you share in Other lights are public, with the name you choose.
What we keep and why
| What | Why | How long |
|---|---|---|
| A random device code made by the game (not linked to your name, phone number or advertising id) | To keep one rating per board, to apply daily limits, and to know what this device has bought | As long as you use the game |
| Short game records: which board, the moves of each try, stars, time, version | To make the boards better (legitimate interest) | 90 days, then only daily totals per board with no device code |
| Boards you share: the board, its name and the name you choose to show | To show them to other players (you ask us to) | Until you ask us to remove them |
| Ratings and reports of shared boards | To sort boards and to hide abusive ones | As long as the board is shared |
| Your account (if you sign in): your e-mail address, the sign-in provider (Google, Apple or e-mail) and its account id, your saved progress | To bring your progress and purchases to every device (contract) | Until you delete your account in the game (My profile) or ask us to |
| Daily activity of a device: sessions, minutes played, screens visited, hints and ads used; its first times (e.g. the first chapter finished); platform, app version, language and country (from the connection, no address stored) | To see whether players come back and where they stop (legitimate interest) | 90 days, then only totals |
| Beta survey answers (invited testers only) | To improve the game with the testers' help (consent: you choose to answer) | Until the end of the beta, or until you delete your account |
| Purchases (when the shop is open): what you bought and until when | To give you what you paid for (contract) | As long as the law on accounting requires |
Progress, stars, settings and your own unshared boards stay in your browser or app storage. Clearing the site's data removes them; sign in to keep them on every device.
Who else handles data
- Cloudflare hosts the site and the game's server (EU and worldwide data centres, standard contractual clauses).
- Google and Apple confirm who you are when you sign in with them; we receive only your account id and e-mail.
- Resend sends the six-digit code when you sign in with your e-mail.
- Paddle sells Premium and the Builder on the web as the merchant of record. Payment details go to Paddle, never to us.
- Google shows optional rewarded ads in the web version (and Apple or Google in the apps). In the EU we ask for your consent before personalised ads.
In early access there are no ads and no purchases.
Your rights
Under the GDPR you can ask for a copy of your data, its correction or deletion, limit its use, object to it, and take it with you. Delete your account any time in the game (My profile), or write to hello@threestepsbehind.com with your e-mail or the device code. You can also complain to the Polish data protection authority (Prezes UODO, uodo.gov.pl).
Children
The game has no chat and collects no names except the one you choose to show with a shared board. Players under 16 should share boards only with a parent's agreement.
Changes
When this page changes, the date at the top changes too. Important changes are announced in the game.