Privacy Policy

ClueBowl Privacy Policy

Effective Date: September 6, 2026   •   Last Updated: September 6, 2026

• ClueBowl is a history practice and academic competition platform intended primarily for History Bowl participants, high school students, AP history students, and other history learners age 13 and older. ClueBowl is designed to collect and retain as little information about users as reasonably necessary to operate the service.

• This Privacy Policy explains what information may be processed when you use ClueBowl, how that information is used, how long it is retained, and the third-party services ClueBowl relies on.

1. AGE REQUIREMENT

• ClueBowl is intended for users age 13 and older.

• ClueBowl is not intended for children under the age of 13. Children under 13 should not use ClueBowl or provide personal information through the service.

• If ClueBowl becomes aware that personal information from a child under 13 has been collected, reasonable steps will be taken to delete that information from systems under ClueBowl's control.

2. NO PERMANENT PLAYER ACCOUNTS

• ClueBowl does not require users to create permanent player accounts or profiles for ordinary gameplay.

• ClueBowl does not require a user to provide a:

  • legal name

  • email address

  • telephone number

  • home address

  • payment information

  • permanent player profile

• Users may choose a temporary display name when participating in multiplayer matches.

• Users should avoid including personal or sensitive information in display names, team names, chat messages, or submitted answers.

3. MULTIPLAYER DATA

• When you participate in a ClueBowl multiplayer match, ClueBowl temporarily processes information needed to operate the match.

• Depending on the features being used, this may include:

  • the display name selected by the player

  • room membership

  • player and host status

  • team membership

  • team names

  • scores

  • buzz activity

  • game state

  • current round and question state

  • Lightning Round votes

  • chat messages

  • team-chat messages

  • submitted gameplay information

  • other temporary information necessary to synchronize and operate the match

• This information is stored within the Firebase record associated with the active multiplayer room.

• ClueBowl does not use this information to create permanent player profiles.

4. DELETION OF MULTIPLAYER DATA

• Multiplayer information is stored under the Firebase record for the applicable match room.

• When the match ends and that room is deleted, the information contained within that room is deleted from ClueBowl's Firebase Realtime Database.

• This includes, where applicable:

  • player information

  • teams

  • scores

  • buzz information

  • chat messages

  • team-chat messages

  • voting information

  • host/player state

  • other game-state information stored within that room

• ClueBowl does not intentionally maintain a permanent history of completed multiplayer rooms after the applicable Firebase room has been deleted.

• This section refers to information stored by ClueBowl within its Firebase database. Third-party infrastructure providers may separately retain limited technical or security-related records according to their own policies.

5. SINGLEPLAYER / PRACTICE MODE

• When using ClueBowl Singleplayer or Practice, ClueBowl may process information required to run the current practice match, such as:

  • selected question sets

  • match configuration

  • question progress

  • scores

  • answers submitted by the user

  • answer-adjudication information

• ClueBowl does not use Singleplayer activity to create a permanent player profile.

6. READER MODE

• ClueBowl Reader processes the question-bank and match information necessary to display and navigate a complete match.

• Reader does not require a permanent user account or player profile.

7. QUESTION BANK

• ClueBowl uses Google services, including Google Apps Script and Google Sheets, to maintain and operate its question bank.

• The question bank may contain:

  • questions

  • answers

  • accepted-answer variants

  • prompts

  • categories

  • difficulty information

  • question-set information

  • other related metadata

• Question-bank content is application content and is not intended to constitute personal information about ClueBowl users.

• Ordinary ClueBowl users are not intended to have direct editing access to the underlying question-bank spreadsheet.

8. FIREBASE

• ClueBowl uses Google Firebase Realtime Database to provide realtime multiplayer functionality.

• Firebase may be used to synchronize information including:

  • rooms

  • players

  • teams

  • scores

  • buzzes

  • chat

  • team chat

  • Lightning Round voting

  • game state

  • other information necessary to operate a live multiplayer match

• ClueBowl deletes its multiplayer room data as described in Section 4.

• Google may separately process certain technical information required to provide Firebase services. For example, Firebase Realtime Database may process information such as IP addresses and browser user-agent information for service and diagnostic purposes.

• Those technical records are handled by Google according to Google's applicable policies and are separate from the multiplayer room records controlled by ClueBowl.

9. GOOGLE GEMINI ANSWER ADJUDICATION

• ClueBowl may use the Google Gemini Developer API to assist with answer adjudication.

• ClueBowl is designed to resolve straightforward answers through its normal answer-recognition system first.

• Gemini is intended to be used only when ClueBowl cannot confidently determine whether a submitted answer should be considered acceptable.

• When Gemini is used, ClueBowl sends only the limited question and answer-adjudication context necessary to judge whether the submitted response is probably acceptable.

• ClueBowl does not intentionally include unrelated multiplayer information in Gemini requests. In particular, ClueBowl does not intentionally send the following to Gemini for answer adjudication:

  • the player's display name

  • the player's team

  • the room code

  • chat messages

  • team-chat messages

  • unrelated multiplayer information

• Users should not include personal, confidential, or sensitive information in answers submitted to ClueBowl.

10. GEMINI FREE TIER

• ClueBowl currently uses the free tier of the Google Gemini Developer API.

• Google currently states that content submitted through the Gemini API Free Tier may be used to improve Google's products.

• Because ClueBowl currently uses the Free Tier, users should not include personal, confidential, or sensitive information in submitted answers.

• ClueBowl attempts to minimize the information provided to Gemini by using Gemini only for the limited purpose of answer adjudication when ClueBowl's normal answer-recognition system is insufficient.

• If ClueBowl changes Gemini service tiers or materially changes how Gemini is used, this Privacy Policy may be updated.

11. CHAT

• ClueBowl Multiplayer may provide regular match chat and team chat.

• Chat is intended for communication related to the current ClueBowl match.

• Users should not use ClueBowl chat to share personal or sensitive information such as:

  • passwords

  • account credentials

  • home addresses

  • telephone numbers

  • financial information

  • medical information

  • other information that should remain private

• ClueBowl may use moderation and technical controls to restrict spam, mute users, clear chat, or otherwise protect the service and other participants.

• Chat information stored within a multiplayer room is deleted from ClueBowl's Firebase database when that room is deleted.

12. HOW CLUEBOWL USES INFORMATION

• ClueBowl may process information in order to:

  • operate Singleplayer matches

  • operate multiplayer matches

  • create and maintain multiplayer rooms

  • synchronize players

  • assign players to teams

  • determine buzz order

  • calculate and display scores

  • provide question progression

  • adjudicate submitted answers

  • provide correct, incorrect, or prompt feedback

  • operate Lightning Round voting

  • provide chat and team chat

  • load and display questions

  • prevent abuse

  • maintain application security

  • diagnose technical problems

  • improve the performance and reliability of ClueBowl

• ClueBowl does not use temporary gameplay information to build advertising profiles.

13. NO SALE OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

• ClueBowl does not sell users' personal information.

• ClueBowl does not provide temporary gameplay information to advertisers for their own marketing purposes.

• ClueBowl does not use player information for behavioral or targeted advertising.

14. THIRD-PARTY SERVICES

• ClueBowl relies on third-party services to operate.

• These currently include Google services such as:

  • Google Firebase

  • Google Apps Script

  • Google Sheets

  • Google Sites

  • Google Gemini

• These providers may process information necessary to provide their respective services according to their own terms, privacy policies, and data-processing practices.

• ClueBowl attempts to provide third-party services only the information reasonably necessary for the applicable feature.

15. TECHNICAL INFORMATION

• Internet and cloud-service providers used by ClueBowl may automatically process technical information necessary to deliver, secure, monitor, or maintain their services.

• Depending on the service, this may include:

  • IP addresses

  • browser or user-agent information

  • device or connection information

  • request information

  • technical service logs

• ClueBowl does not use this technical information to create advertising profiles about individual players.

16. DATA RETENTION

• ClueBowl follows a data-minimization approach.

• Multiplayer information stored within a Firebase room exists only while the corresponding room remains stored in ClueBowl's Firebase database.

• When the room is deleted at the end of the match, the information stored within that room is deleted from ClueBowl's Firebase database.

• ClueBowl does not intentionally maintain permanent multiplayer player profiles or permanent histories of completed rooms.

• Question-bank content may be retained for as long as necessary to operate ClueBowl.

• Third-party service providers may independently retain limited technical or service-related information according to their own policies.

17. SECURITY

• ClueBowl uses technical safeguards intended to protect the integrity and security of the service.

• Depending on the applicable system, these safeguards may include:

  • Firebase Security Rules

  • access controls

  • authorization checks

  • server-side validation

  • input validation

  • HTTPS encryption

  • restrictions on privileged host actions

  • protections against unauthorized game-state changes

  • rate limiting or abuse prevention

  • secure handling of user-generated text

  • temporary rather than permanent storage of multiplayer room information

• ClueBowl also seeks to limit the amount of information exposed to third-party services and to separate authoritative multiplayer functions from ordinary player controls.

• However, no internet-connected system can guarantee absolute security.

• Users should therefore avoid submitting highly sensitive or confidential information through ClueBowl.

18. USER-GENERATED CONTENT

• Users may provide temporary content through features such as:

  • display names

  • team names

  • chat

  • team chat

  • answers submitted during gameplay

• Users are responsible for avoiding the submission of personal, confidential, unlawful, abusive, or otherwise inappropriate information.

• ClueBowl may restrict or remove access to features when necessary to protect the service or other users.

19. NO USER FILE UPLOADS

• ClueBowl does not currently provide ordinary users with a feature for uploading and storing personal files through the application.

• If ClueBowl introduces user-upload functionality in the future, this Privacy Policy will be updated as appropriate.

20. YOUR PRIVACY CHOICES

• Users can minimize identifying information associated with their use of ClueBowl by:

  • choosing a non-identifying display name

  • avoiding personal information in chat

  • avoiding personal information in submitted answers

  • avoiding personal information in team names

  • leaving a multiplayer room when finished

• No permanent ClueBowl player account is required for ordinary gameplay.

21. USERS UNDER 13

• ClueBowl is intended for users age 13 and older.

• ClueBowl is not designed or directed toward children under 13.

• If ClueBowl becomes aware that a child under 13 has provided personal information through the service, reasonable steps will be taken to delete that information from systems under ClueBowl's control where appropriate.

• A parent or guardian who believes that a child under 13 has provided personal information through ClueBowl may contact ClueBowl using the contact information provided below.

22. SCHOOL AND EDUCATIONAL USE

• ClueBowl is designed primarily for history education and academic competition, including use by History Bowl participants, high school students, AP history students, teachers, coaches, and other history learners.

• ClueBowl's educational purpose does not change its age requirement.

• ClueBowl remains intended for users age 13 and older.

23. REQUESTS REGARDING INFORMATION

• If you have a privacy question or believe information concerning you is being retained by ClueBowl, you may contact ClueBowl using the contact information below.

• Because multiplayer room information is ordinarily deleted when the applicable room is deleted, ClueBowl may no longer possess temporary multiplayer information after the match and room have ended.

• Applicable law may provide additional privacy rights depending on the user's location.

24. INTERNATIONAL PROCESSING

• ClueBowl relies on cloud and internet service providers whose infrastructure may process information in different locations or jurisdictions.

• Third-party processing locations and practices are determined by the services being used and their applicable policies.

25. CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

• ClueBowl may update this Privacy Policy as:

  • ClueBowl's features change

  • third-party services change

  • data-processing practices change

  • security practices change

  • applicable requirements change

When this Privacy Policy is updated, the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page will be changed.

Material changes may also be communicated through ClueBowl where appropriate.

26. CONTACT

• For privacy questions, concerns, or requests, contact:l

  • Email: [YOUR PRIVACY OR CONTACT EMAIL]

27. SUMMARY OF CLUEBOWL'S PRIVACY APPROACH

ClueBowl is designed around the following principles:

• ClueBowl is intended for users age 13 and older.

• Permanent player accounts are not required.

• Legal names are not required.

• Email addresses are not required for ordinary gameplay.

• Telephone numbers are not required.

• ClueBowl does not sell user information.

• ClueBowl does not use player information for behavioral advertising.

• Multiplayer data is temporary.

• Multiplayer information is stored within the applicable Firebase room.

• When the Firebase room is deleted, the information stored within that room is deleted from ClueBowl's database.

• Gemini is used only when additional answer adjudication is needed.

• ClueBowl intentionally limits the multiplayer information sent to Gemini.

• ClueBowl currently uses the Gemini API Free Tier, under which Google states submitted content may be used to improve its products.

• Users should not submit personal or sensitive information through gameplay fields or chat.