Privacy policy

1. Scope

This policy applies to the website gathergames.de, to playing in the browser via gathergames.de and to the “Gather – Game Box” app on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV.

2. Controller

Dustin-Joel Eden
c/o IP-Management #8443
Ludwig-Erhard-Straße 18
20459 Hamburg
Germany

Phone: +49 176 41953167. More details in the Legal notice.

Gather is a private project. No data protection officer has been appointed, as there is no legal obligation to do so.

3. Hosting and server logs

The website and the relay server run on a server in Germany operated by 24fire GmbH, Kronenstraße 4, 68723 Schwetzingen, Germany. A data processing agreement under Art. 28 GDPR is in place with the provider.

A so-called reverse proxy (Traefik) sits in front of the server. For technical reasons it logs every request with IP address, time, requested address and browser identifier (user agent). We need these logs to detect and fend off faults and attacks. They are not analysed to recognise visitors or build profiles, are kept only as long as technically necessary for this purpose and are then deleted automatically.

The legal basis is Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR. Our legitimate interest is secure and reliable operation.

All connections are encrypted with TLS. The certificates are issued by the non-profit certificate authority Let’s Encrypt; no visitor data is sent to Let’s Encrypt in the process.

4. This website

gathergames.de consists of static pages. The website sets no cookies, stores nothing in your browser and embeds no content from other providers: no external fonts, no third-party scripts, no maps, videos or social media buttons, no analytics or advertising services.

Links to the App Store lead to Apple. What happens there is governed by Apple’s own privacy policy (apple.com/legal/privacy).

5. Playing in the browser

Anyone without the app can play in the browser after scanning the QR code or entering a room code. The games themselves always run on the device hosting the room (Apple TV, iPad, Mac or iPhone) – not on our server.

If you play over the internet, our relay server connects your browser to that host device and passes messages between the two. This involves:

• the room code,
• the name you choose and your avatar,
• your moves and inputs (such as chosen cards, answers or drawings),
• your IP address, which every internet connection technically requires.

The server keeps this data only in memory while the session lasts. It does not write it to disk, does not analyse it and builds no profiles. When the room or the connection ends, it is gone.

To stop anyone from guessing room codes, the server counts failed join attempts per IP address and blocks briefly after too many failures. These counters are also kept only in memory and expire on their own after a short time.

If you are on the same Wi-Fi, the devices connect directly to each other, without our server.

So you can keep playing after reloading the page, the game page stores your name, your avatar, a reconnection key per room code and, in the racing game, your steering settings in your browser’s local storage (localStorage). These entries never leave your browser; you delete them via your browser’s website data.

The legal basis is Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR, because you want to play, and Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR for protection against abuse.

6. The apps for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV

The app has no account or sign-in, no ads, no purchases, no analytics or advertising SDKs and does not use an advertising identifier. It stores the following data on your device:

You can delete the history in the app. If you delete the app, the system removes all its data from the device.

7. Playing on the local network

On Wi-Fi, Gather needs no server. The device hosting the room announces itself on the network via Bonjour. Its name (such as “Living Room”) is visible to other devices on the same network.

When you join a room, your name, your avatar and your moves go to the host and from there to the devices in the same room. Rooms exist only in the host’s memory; they disappear when the room ends or Gather is closed there.

The connection within the Wi-Fi is not encrypted. Anyone with access to your Wi-Fi could read names and moves. So only play on networks you trust.

For this, the system asks once for the “Local Network” permission. Without it, the devices cannot find each other. You can change it at any time in your device’s settings.

8. Camera

The app only uses the camera when you scan the QR code at the game table on iPhone or iPad. The image is processed on the device and neither stored nor transmitted. Without camera permission you join with the room code.

9. iCloud

If you are signed in to iCloud, Gather syncs profile, history and settings between your devices via the iCloud key-value store of your own Apple account. The data is stored by Apple in your account; we have no access to it.

You can switch off syncing in the app’s settings. Without iCloud, everything stays on the respective device.

10. Game Center (optional)

If you are signed in to Game Center on your device, Gather reports wins, best scores and achievements to Apple’s Game Center after a game. Leaderboards show your Game Center name to other players. We only see the leaderboards themselves, as Apple shows them to developers.

Game Center is optional: without signing in you play as usual, just without leaderboards and achievements. Game Center is governed by Apple’s privacy policy (apple.com/legal/privacy/data/en/game-center).

11. App Store and Apple

The apps are distributed through Apple’s App Store. Apple processes data under its own responsibility in doing so. If you agreed in your device’s settings to share analytics with app developers, Apple provides us with aggregated usage and crash data that is not meant to identify you.

12. No sharing, no selling

We do not sell data and do not pass any on to third parties. Apart from the hosting provider (section 3) and Apple (sections 9 to 11), no one is involved. We do not transfer data to countries outside the EU.

13. Your rights

You have the right of access (Art. 15 GDPR), rectification (Art. 16), erasure (Art. 17), restriction of processing (Art. 18), data portability (Art. 20) and to object to processing based on legitimate interests (Art. 21).

Since we do not store game data permanently, we usually hold no data that we could attribute to you. You manage and delete the data in the app yourself.

You can lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority (Art. 77 GDPR), for example the one where you live. The authority responsible for us is the Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, Ludwig-Erhard-Straße 22, 20459 Hamburg, Germany.

14. Children

Gather is meant for all ages and does not collect data from children that is used beyond playing. A nickname is enough as a name.

15. Changes

If the way the website, server or apps process data changes, we will update this policy beforehand. The version published here applies.

Last updated: 9 November 2026