1. What this policy covers
This policy explains how Butterbug Games ("Butterbug," "we," "us," or "our") handles information when you visit butterbuggames.com, play a game hosted there, create an optional Butterbug account, join a waitlist, receive an invitation, or use the player guestbook.
Some pages link to builds or services hosted elsewhere. When you leave butterbuggames.com, the other site’s privacy terms apply.
2. Information we handle
When you play without an account
Our games may save progress, settings, or a game bookmark in your browser’s local storage. When you play without signing in, that information stays on that device. You can remove it by using a game’s reset control or clearing site data in your browser.
Like most websites, our hosting and security provider may process basic request information such as your IP address, browser and device type, requested page, date and time, and security signals needed to deliver and protect the site.
When you use My nook
If you create an account, we handle your email address, an account identifier, account creation time, sign-in and session information, account bookmarks, and any optional public nickname you choose. Supported games may also sync the game name, the latest JSON save state, its revision, and update time to your account. For example, Bloom can return to the same garden on another device, and Mythic Menagerie can restore your ongoing zoo, including its name, creatures, habitats, currencies, and daily claims. TileStorm can restore your unlocked classes, selected class, Bao balance, active run, high score, and basic gameplay stats. Plum Palace can restore your latest NPC round, including your table name, avatar choices, cards, opponents, and turn. Live room and PvP matches are not stored as resumable account rounds. Guest progress stays separate from account saves. We use passwordless email codes, so Butterbug does not ask you to create or store a password.
Before email entry, we ask you to choose an age group. We use that answer to show the appropriate account options. We do not ask for a birth date, and we do not save the age-group answer in your account database. A browser-session flag may remember an under-13 choice for the rest of that tab session.
Waitlists and invitations
If you separately choose to join a game waitlist, we keep the game selected, the date you joined, and the version of the consent language you accepted. If we prepare or send an invitation, we also keep the message, delivery status, provider identifier, and unsubscribe record needed to deliver the message and honor your choice. A bounce, complaint, or provider suppression may be recorded so we do not keep sending to an address that cannot or should not receive mail.
Player guestbook
If you submit a comment, we keep the game, public nickname, comment text, moderation status, and submission time. Approved comments display your nickname, comment, and posting date publicly. Your email address and account identifier are never included in the public comment response. Please do not put personal information in a nickname or comment.
Security and support
We process IP addresses and account identifiers to limit abusive sign-in and posting attempts. Rate-limit identifiers are cryptographically hashed and short-lived. If you email us, we receive your email address and whatever information you include so we can answer and keep an appropriate support record.
3. How we use information
We use information to:
- operate the site, games, accounts, bookmarks, and community tools;
- send sign-in codes and account-related messages;
- send playtest or release messages only for game waitlists you join;
- review, publish, hide, and manage guestbook comments;
- protect the service, prevent abuse, troubleshoot problems, and maintain reliability;
- respond to questions and privacy requests; and
- comply with law and enforce our policies.
We do not sell personal information. We do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising, and the current Butterbug site does not use third-party advertising or audience-tracking pixels.
Legal bases where required
Where privacy law requires a legal basis, we process account and feature data to provide the service you request; waitlist information with your consent, which you may withdraw at any time by leaving the list; security and support information for our legitimate interests in operating a safe, reliable service; and information as needed to meet legal obligations. Where we rely on consent, withdrawing it does not affect processing that already occurred.
6. How long information stays
Account information, including the latest synced save for each supported game, remains while your account is active. A waitlist membership remains until you leave that game’s list or delete your account. Comments remain until you delete them, delete your account, or we remove them. Invitation records and delivery status remain as needed to document consent, delivery, and unsubscribe choices.
When you delete your account, we remove your Butterbug profile, email, account bookmarks, synced game saves, waitlists, recipient-linked invitations, and comments, then request deletion of your authentication identity. We retain a minimal record of the account identifier, deletion request time, and completion status so an old session cannot recreate the account. Campaign wording without recipient associations and operational records held by providers may remain for legitimate legal, security, or delivery purposes.
Information stored only on your device is not included in an account deletion and remains until you reset the game or clear the browser’s site data.
7. Your choices and privacy rights
From My nook, you can update your public nickname, manage bookmarks, leave individual waitlists, delete your comments, download a JSON copy of your Butterbug account data including synced game saves, and request permanent account deletion. Every invitation also includes a link that leaves that game’s waitlist without requiring sign-in.
Depending on where you live, you may also have rights to ask for access, correction, deletion, restriction, portability, or an objection to certain uses of your information. Email [email protected] with the subject “Privacy request.” We may need to verify that the request concerns your account. You may also have the right to contact your local privacy regulator.
8. Children’s privacy
Butterbug includes games that young children can play, including Bloom. Those play experiences are designed to work without an account. Accounts, waitlists, and commenting are available only to people who say they are 13 or older. A visitor who selects “Under 13” is directed back to account-free play before we ask for an email address or load the sign-in security check.
We do not knowingly collect personal information from a child under 13 through our account or community features. A parent or guardian may use their own account to manage game updates. If you believe a child under 13 provided personal information to Butterbug, please email [email protected] so we can investigate and delete it.
9. Security
We use measures designed to protect information, including encrypted connections, HTTP-only session cookies, origin checks, bot protection, request limits, restricted owner access, and server-side secrets. No online service can promise perfect security. Please contact us promptly if you believe your account or information has been misused.
10. Changes and contact
We may update this policy as the games or community features change. We will post the revised policy here, update the effective date, and give additional notice when a change materially affects how we use personal information.
Questions or requests can be sent to [email protected].