Privacy
Last updated 19 October 2026
Staircase is a daily word puzzle made by Vescount, a one-person studio in the UK. This page explains what the game stores, why, and how to have it removed. Questions go to james@vescount.com.
The short version
- You don’t need an email address, a phone number or your real name to play.
- Your times, words and streaks are linked to a random ID, not to you.
- We count visits and shares to see how people find the game. There are no advertising trackers, and we don’t sell anything about you.
- You can delete everything yourself in the game, under Settings, Delete my data. Or email us and we’ll do it.
What stays on your phone
Your progress, streak, badges and settings are saved on your own device: by your browser on the website, or inside the app if you use the iPhone or Android app. Clearing your browser’s data for staircasegame.com, or deleting the app, removes them. Staircase doesn’t use cookies.
What we store on our server
The first time the game goes online, it creates an anonymous account: a random ID with no email address or password. Against that ID we store:
- Your solves. The puzzle number, your time, how many hints you used, the five words you played and whether you played it from the archive. These make the typical times, rankings and leaderboards.
- Your profile, if you set one up. The display name you choose, your friend code, your friends, your badges and your streak. Other players can see your display name on leaderboards. Your friends can also see your times, streak and badges.
- How you found Staircase. A short label for where your first visit came from, for example “tiktok”, “share” for a shared result, “invite” for an invite link, or the name of the website or app that linked here, plus the date you first played.
- When you play and share. One record for each day you open the game (and whether you opened it from your home screen), and one each time you share a result, send an invite or join through one.
- Reports. If you report a player’s name, we store that you reported it.
- Daily reminders, if you turn them on on the website or the Android app: the address your browser gives us for sending notifications (with the keys that let only your browser read them), the hour you picked, your time zone and the date of the last reminder. Turning reminders off deletes this. In the iPhone app, reminders are scheduled on your phone and nothing about them is sent to us.
Feedback you send from the game goes through your phone’s own sharing or email app, so we only see what you choose to send.
Why we use it
To run the game: saving your times, working out rankings and leaderboards, connecting friends and keeping names clean. And to see what’s working: how many people play, where they found the game and whether they come back. Under UK data protection law, our basis for this is legitimate interests. We keep what we collect to what the game needs, and none of it includes your contact details.
Who else handles it
- Supabase runs the database that holds the game data.
- Netlify hosts the website. Like any web host, it handles the technical details your browser sends when it loads a page, such as your IP address.
- Your browser’s notification service (run by Google, Apple or Mozilla, depending on your browser) delivers reminders if you turn them on. The message is encrypted so only your browser can read it.
They work on our behalf and may process data outside the UK, with the safeguards UK law requires. The game’s fonts are served with the game, so no other company is contacted while you play.
How long we keep it
For as long as Staircase runs, so your history, streaks and leaderboards stay intact. We may delete accounts that haven’t been used for two years.
Deleting your data
In the game, open Settings and tap Delete my data. That deletes your account and everything linked to it from our server straight away (your times, streak, badges, friends, name, visits and reminders) and clears the game from your device.
If you no longer have the game, email james@vescount.com with your friend code and ask for your data to be deleted. We’ll delete it within 30 days and tell you when it’s done.
Your rights
You can ask for a copy of your data, ask us to correct or delete it, or object to how we use it. Email james@vescount.com with your friend code. You’ll find it in the game’s leaderboard, under “Your friend code”. If you can’t find it, tell us roughly when you played and on what device, and we’ll do our best.
If you’re unhappy with how we’ve handled your data, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk.
Children
Staircase is for everyone and doesn’t ask anyone’s age or personal details. Display names are visible to other players, so please don’t use your full name. Names are filtered, and any player can report one.
Changes
If we change what we collect, we’ll update this page and the date at the top.
Terms
- Staircase is free to play.
- Play fair and keep names friendly. We may remove names, times or accounts that break this or look like cheating.
- The puzzles, design and code are © 2026 Vescount. The word lists are ENABLE (public domain) and SCOWL © Kevin Atkinson. Sharing your results is always welcome.
- Staircase is provided as it is. We’ll do our best to keep it running, but we can’t promise it will always be available or free of mistakes, and we may change it or stop it.