Privacy Policy

Last updated: 7 July 2026

This policy explains what Frontier collects, why, and the choices you have. Frontier is operated by Daniel Bywater (“we”, “us”). It is a multiplayer island-building strategy game. We keep data collection to the minimum needed to run the game.

No third-party analytics or ad tracking. Frontier has no advertising SDKs, and does not sell or share your data with advertisers. The only external services involved are our hosting/database provider and — only if you opt into the photo-to-avatar feature — our AI provider. Both are described below.

How you can play

You can play Frontier without an account — solo against bots and pass-and-play work entirely on this device, with your settings and progress saved in your browser’s local storage. You only need an account for cross-device sync, online multiplayer, friends, and the shared leaderboard.

What we collect

• Username & password account (optional): if you create an account, we store your chosen username and a password that is hashed (scrypt) — we never store your password in readable form. We do not require or collect your email address.
• Gameplay data (with an account): your match results and statistics — games played, wins, Elo rating — and your avatar cosmetics, coins and XP, so they follow you across devices and appear on the leaderboard and to friends.
• Friends: the friend connections you create, and your shareable friend code, so friends can find you.
• Push subscriptions (optional): if you turn on notifications, your browser’s push subscription (an endpoint and keys, generated by your browser) so we can send a “your turn” notification. You can turn this off at any time in Settings.

Photo-to-avatar (optional)

If you choose the “photo to avatar” option when customising your avatar, the photo you provide is sent to our AI provider, Anthropic (the Claude API), which analyses it to derive cartoon-avatar attributes (such as skin tone, hairstyle and whether you wear glasses) and returns only those attributes. The photo is processed in memory for that single request and is not stored by us. This feature is opt-in, requires an account, and is rate-limited.

How we use your data

• To run the game and save your progress, stats and cosmetics.
• To power online multiplayer, the leaderboard, and friends.
• To send notifications you have explicitly enabled.
• To keep the service secure (e.g. rate-limiting sign-in attempts).

Cookies & local storage

Frontier uses only functional / essential cookies — no advertising or cross-site tracking cookies. These are signed cookies (e.g. fw_sid, fw_profile) that hold your session and sign-in state. We also use your browser’s local storage on your device for settings (sound, graphics), your birth year for the age gate, and local solo progress.

Who else processes your data

• Vercel — hosts the app and runs its serverless functions.
• Neon — the managed Postgres database that stores your account, stats, friends and push subscriptions.
• Anthropic — only if you use the “photo to avatar” feature, the photo is sent to Anthropic’s Claude API to derive cartoon-avatar attributes (subject to Anthropic’s own privacy terms). The photo is not retained.
• Your browser’s push service (e.g. Google/Apple/ Mozilla) — if you enable notifications, delivering the push messages you asked for.

Sharing with other players

If you play online or add friends, other players can see your display name and avatar, and your Elo and win/loss record. The leaderboard shows other players’ names masked to a first name only. Your password is never shown to anyone.

Data retention

We keep your account data while your account exists. You can delete your account at any time from Settings, which permanently removes your account and its linked data (stats, cosmetics, friends, push subscriptions). Local-only (guest) data lives only in your browser and is cleared when you clear site data.

Children’s privacy

Frontier is family-friendly but is not directed at children under 13. A neutral first-run age check keeps under-13 players in a private, local-only mode with no account, no online play, and no personal data collected. Only the birth year is stored, on the device. If you believe a child has created an account, contact us and we will delete it.

Your rights & choices

• Play without an account (local-only) — no personal data collected.
• Delete your account and its data from Settings at any time.
• Turn notifications on or off in Settings.
• Request access to or deletion of your data by contacting us below.

Contact

Questions or requests: Daniel Bywater — daniel.bywater@gmail.com.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy; we’ll revise the “last updated” date above. Continuing to use Frontier after a change means you accept the updated policy.