ChessRoller Privacy Policy

Last updated: July 21, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how BitRanch LLC, a California limited liability company ("BitRanch," "we," "us," or "our"), handles personal information in connection with the ChessRoller software application (the "Software"). BitRanch is the controller of the personal information described in this Policy.

1. Privacy at a Glance

• ChessRoller stores your chess games, databases, analysis, and settings on your device. We do not collect them and have no access to them.
• We do not show advertising, and we do not sell or share your personal information for advertising.
• The limited personal information we handle is mainly what is needed to sell you a license and provide support.

2. Information We Collect

Information you provide:

• Purchase and license information. When you buy the Software, you provide payment and contact details directly to our payment provider and merchant of record, Polar (Polar Software Inc.; see Polar's privacy policy). We receive limited order and license information from them (such as your name, email address, country, and order/license details) so we can deliver and validate your license and provide support. If you purchase through an app store (such as the Apple App Store), that store processes your purchase under its own privacy policy and provides us only limited or aggregated information.
• Support communications. If you contact us (for example, by email), we receive your email address and the contents of your message.

Information stored on your device (not collected by us):

• Your content and settings. Your chess games, databases, analysis, and app settings are stored locally on your device and are not transmitted to BitRanch. We cannot access them.

3. Information We Do Not Collect

The Software does not include advertising, third-party advertising trackers, or cross-application tracking technologies, and we do not collect your chess content (games, databases, or analysis), browsing history, or precise location. The limited, anonymized diagnostic and feature-usage data we collect is described in Section 4.

4. Crash Reports and Feature Analytics

To fix problems and understand which features are used, the Software collects limited diagnostic and usage data using two tools that we host ourselves on our own servers located in the European Union. This data is collected in anonymized form and is not shared with any third-party analytics or advertising company.

• Crash and error reports (self-hosted GlitchTip). When the Software encounters an error or a process failure (for example, an unhandled error in its main or renderer process), it sends a diagnostic report to our self-hosted GlitchTip error-monitoring service. These reports contain technical information such as the error type and message, a stack trace, the Software version, and basic operating-system and environment details. The Software does not collect or upload native crash dumps (memory snapshots). These reports are not used to identify you, and the service is configured to avoid collecting IP addresses and other personal identifiers.
• Feature-usage analytics (self-hosted Aptabase). To understand which features are used and how the Software performs, it sends anonymized usage events to our self-hosted Aptabase analytics service — for example, that a particular feature was opened — together with non-identifying technical details such as the Software version and operating system. Aptabase is privacy-first by design: it does not use cookies, does not track you across applications or websites, does not collect personal data, and does not store IP addresses.
• Retention. Crash and error reports are retained for 90 days, and usage analytics for up to 24 months, after which they are automatically deleted.
• Your choices. Because this data is anonymized, it generally does not identify you. You can turn off diagnostics and analytics at any time with the "Share anonymous usage & crash data" setting in the Software, which stops all such data from being sent immediately. To the extent any such data is treated as personal data, we rely on our legitimate interest in maintaining, securing, and improving the Software, and we honor applicable opt-out and consent requirements.

5. Our Website

Our website is a static site that does not use cookies and does not load resources from third parties. To understand overall site traffic, we use a self-hosted instance of Umami, a privacy-focused, cookie-free analytics tool running on our own servers in the European Union. It collects only aggregate statistics — such as pages visited, referring site, country, and browser — stores nothing on your device, does not store your IP address, and does not track you across other websites. This data is not shared with any third-party analytics or advertising company. Website analytics data is retained for up to 24 months. Our hosting provider (Cloudflare) processes standard server logs, which may include your IP address, for security and operational purposes on our behalf. Purchases made through links on the website are processed by Polar as described in Section 2.

6. How We Use Information

• To deliver, validate, and support your license and the Software;
• To respond to your inquiries and provide customer support;
• To detect, prevent, and address fraud, security, or technical issues; and
• To comply with our legal and tax obligations.

7. Legal Bases (EEA and UK Users)

Where the EU or UK General Data Protection Regulation applies, we rely on the following legal bases: (a) performance of a contract, to deliver and support the Software and license you purchased; (b) our legitimate interests in providing support, securing and improving the Software, and preventing fraud, balanced against your rights; (c) compliance with legal obligations, such as tax and record-keeping; and (d) your consent, where required (for example, optional diagnostics), which you may withdraw at any time.

8. How We Share Information

• Payment and merchant of record. Our merchant of record (Polar) processes your purchase and acts as the seller of record; if you buy through an app store, that store processes the purchase. These parties handle payment data under their own privacy policies.
• Service providers. We may share limited personal information with providers that help us operate (for example, email, hosting, or support tools), who are bound to protect it and use it only on our behalf.
• Legal and safety. We may disclose information where required by law or to protect the rights, property, or safety of BitRanch, our users, or others.
• Business transfers. Information may be transferred as part of a merger, acquisition, financing, or sale of assets.

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use it for third-party advertising.

9. International Transfers

BitRanch is based in the United States, and your personal information may be processed in the United States and other countries. Where we transfer personal information from the EEA, UK, or Switzerland, we rely on appropriate safeguards (such as the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses) where required.

10. Data Retention

We retain personal information only for as long as necessary for the purposes described in this Policy — for example, to support your license, provide assistance, and meet legal and tax obligations — after which we delete or anonymize it.

11. Your Rights

• EEA / UK. You have the right to access, correct, delete, restrict, or object to processing of your personal information, to data portability, and to withdraw consent. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority.
• California (CCPA/CPRA). You have the right to know, delete, and correct personal information, and to opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information. We do not sell or share personal information as those terms are defined, and we will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at contact@bitranch.co. We will respond as required by applicable law.

12. Children's Privacy

ChessRoller is not directed to children under the age of 16 (or the age of digital consent in your jurisdiction), and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has provided us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

13. Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures designed to protect personal information. However, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

14. Third-Party Services

The Software may interoperate with third-party engines, files, and services that you choose to use (such as third-party chess engines you install yourself). Those are governed by their own terms and privacy policies, and we are not responsible for their practices.

15. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Policy from time to time. The "Last updated" date above indicates the latest revision, and we will provide additional notice of material changes where required by law.

16. Language

This Policy may be provided in multiple languages for your convenience. The English-language version is authoritative and controlling, and in the event of any conflict the English version governs, except where mandatory local law (such as in France or the Province of Québec, Canada) requires the local-language version to govern for consumers in those jurisdictions.

17. Contact Us

BitRanch LLC
2108 N ST #7885
Sacramento, CA, 95816, USA

Email: contact@bitranch.co