BakuChess Privacy Policy

Visits and campaign counts

We use cookieless Cloudflare Web Analytics to count page views and visitors. We also count visits from campaign links, lesson starts and sign-ups ourselves, without storing IP addresses, user agents or device fingerprints with these events. Signed-in events may be linked to your account. The bc_attr cookie contains only campaign tags, the landing path and referrer host, lasts 30 days, and helps us connect later lesson starts and sign-ups to a campaign.

Who is responsible and how to contact us

BakuChess is responsible for the personal information handled through bakuchess.com and the BakuChess service. Questions, privacy requests, and account-deletion requests can be sent to infochessbaku@gmail.com.

Information we collect

• Account information you provide, including your name, username, email address, and, when you use password sign-in, a securely hashed version of your password. We never store your password as readable text.
• Optional profile information such as your biography, uploaded avatar, chess-service usernames, and ratings.
• Tournament registrations, pairings, and recorded competition results.
• Chess activity such as online game moves, puzzle and training progress, ratings, and fair-play or moderation records.
• Content and social activity you choose to submit, including friend connections, invitations, messages, feedback, and uploaded images.
• Technical and security information such as session identifiers, browser or device information, request times, and IP-derived security signals needed to operate, protect, and troubleshoot the service.

Google Sign-In data

Google Sign-In is optional. When you choose it, Google may provide a basic OpenID profile. BakuChess uses your Google account's unique identifier, verified email address, and name to create or recognize your BakuChess account. Google may include a profile image in the sign-in response, but BakuChess does not currently import or store that Google profile image.

BakuChess requests only the openid, email, and profile scopes. We do not request or receive your Google password, contacts, Gmail, Drive files, calendar, payment information, or other Google service content.

We store the Google account identifier and verified email with your BakuChess account so we can recognize future sign-ins and prevent one Google identity from being connected to multiple BakuChess accounts. This Google user data is used only for account authentication, account security, and the sign-in features you request.

We do not sell Google user data, use it for advertising, provide it to data brokers, or use it to train generalized artificial-intelligence or machine-learning models.

We do not share Google user data with third parties except infrastructure providers acting on our behalf and only as needed to operate BakuChess, or when disclosure is required by law.

BakuChess's use and transfer of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.

How we collect and use information

• We collect information directly from you when you register, edit a profile, enter an event, play, train, send a message, upload content, or contact us.
• We receive the limited account information described above from Google only after you choose Google Sign-In and approve the consent screen.
• We collect limited technical information automatically to maintain sessions, prevent abuse, investigate errors, enforce fair play, and keep the service reliable.
• We use personal information to provide accounts and profiles; operate tournament registration, pairings, results, ratings, online play, puzzles, training, social features, and support; secure the service; meet legal obligations; and improve user-facing BakuChess functionality.

When information is public

BakuChess is a chess competition platform, so a username or player name, rating, tournament participation, pairings, standings, and results may be publicly visible. Private email addresses, passwords, sign-in identifiers, private messages, and security records are not displayed as public profile information. Before submitting content, remember that tournament and profile information intended for public display can be seen by other visitors.

Sharing and service providers

We do not sell personal information. We disclose information only when needed to run BakuChess: to infrastructure providers that host, store, cache, secure, and deliver the service; to authorized tournament administrators who need participant information to operate an event; when you deliberately make information public; or when disclosure is required by law or necessary to protect users, BakuChess, or the public.

Our infrastructure providers include Cloudflare and contracted database, storage, and security-service providers. They process information on our behalf and receive only the access needed to provide their service. Google receives the normal OAuth request needed to authenticate you, but BakuChess does not send your tournament, game, message, or profile history to Google through Google Sign-In.

Storage and security

BakuChess uses HTTPS in transit, secure and HTTP-only session cookies where applicable, password hashing, access controls, rate limits, and monitoring intended to protect accounts and personal information. Access to administrative tools is restricted. No internet service can guarantee absolute security, so please use a strong password, protect your sign-in methods, and contact us if you suspect unauthorized access.

The mobile app stores session credentials using the operating system's secure storage. Signing out removes the saved session from that device; it does not delete your server account or competition history.

Retention, disconnection, and deletion

We keep account and activity information for as long as your account is active and as needed to provide the service, resolve disputes, prevent abuse, preserve tournament integrity, and meet legal obligations. Temporary authentication and security records are retained only for as long as reasonably necessary for those purposes.

You can connect or disconnect Google from your BakuChess profile. Disconnecting removes the stored Google sign-in link when another sign-in method is available; it does not delete your BakuChess profile, tournament registrations, or results. BakuChess will not let you remove your last available sign-in method.

You may request account deletion by emailing infochessbaku@gmail.com from an address you control. After we verify that you control the account, we process the deletion request within 30 days and confirm completion or explain which limited records must be retained. When an account is deleted, the linked Google identifier and other account data that is no longer needed are deleted or de-identified. Published tournament results, ratings, fair-play records, and security records may be retained where necessary to preserve an accurate competition record, prevent fraud, or comply with law.

Your choices and rights

You may ask to access, correct, or delete personal information associated with your account, object to or restrict certain processing, or disconnect Google Sign-In. Available rights depend on applicable law and may require us to verify that you control the account. You can also choose password sign-in instead of Google Sign-In where that option is available.

Do not send your password, access token, or recovery code by email. Support may ask for safer proof that you control the account before discussing account-specific information.

Cookies, children, and international processing

BakuChess uses essential cookies and similar local storage for sign-in, security, language, and product preferences. We do not use Google Sign-In data for targeted advertising.

A parent or guardian should supervise account creation and event participation where the player is below the age at which they can independently consent under applicable law. A parent or guardian may contact us about a child's information.

Service providers may process information in countries other than your own. We use providers and safeguards appropriate to the service and limit processing to the purposes described in this policy.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy when BakuChess features, providers, or legal obligations change. The date at the top will be updated, and material changes to the use of Google user data will be reflected here before the changed use takes effect.