⚗ Privacy Policy

Effective: June 2025  •  Operator: 1978.io

AlchemyTD is a free browser-based tower defense game. This policy describes what data we collect, how we use it, and your rights as a player.

1. Analytics

We use Matomo — a self-hosted, open-source analytics platform — to understand how the game is used. Unlike Google Analytics, Matomo is operated directly by 1978.io on our own servers. Your data is never shared with, or sold to, third-party analytics companies.

Matomo may collect:

• Pages visited and time spent on each page
• Approximate location (country/region level, derived from anonymized IP address)
• Browser type, operating system, and screen resolution
• Referring page (where you came from)

We run Matomo in fully cookieless mode (disableCookies + setDoNotTrack). No analytics cookie is ever set. Your visit is counted but cannot be linked to future visits, and no persistent identifier is stored in your browser.

Analytics data is stored on our own infrastructure at analytics.1978dev.net.

2. Local Storage (Game Saves)

AlchemyTD saves a small amount of game state to your browser's localStorage when you complete a block. This data never leaves your device — it is not transmitted to our servers.

What is stored (example):

• Current block number, grid dimensions, gold balance, and remaining lives

You can clear this at any time by clicking Restart inside the game, or by clearing site data in your browser settings.

3. Advertising

AlchemyTD includes an advertisement slot in its layout. No ads are currently served — the slot shows a placeholder only. Once advertising is enabled (post-launch), third-party ad networks may set their own cookies and collect data subject to their own privacy policies. We will update this section and identify the specific provider(s) before enabling ads.

4. No Accounts — No Personal Data

AlchemyTD requires no registration, login, or email address. We do not collect names, emails, or any directly identifying personal information beyond what is described in the analytics section above.

A future leaderboard feature may request a display name. If added, that feature will have its own clearly labeled data notice.

5. Cookies Summary

At present, the only cookies that may be set are:

• Matomo analytics — no cookie is ever set. We run Matomo with disableCookies, so tracking is fully cookieless at all times.
• Third-party ads (future) — only once advertising is enabled and disclosed.

No cross-site tracking cookies are used.

6. Your Rights & Opt-Out

You may opt out of Matomo analytics at any time by enabling Do Not Track in your browser — Matomo respects this setting. You may also clear your localStorage game save at any time through your browser's developer tools or site settings.

7. Contact

Questions? Email hello@1978.io.

8. Changes to This Policy

This policy will be updated when new features (leaderboard, advertising) are activated. Material changes will be noted with an updated effective date at the top of this page.