Privacy Policy

Last updated: August 19, 2026

1. Introduction

This Privacy Policy explains how Q - Finals (“We,” “Us,” or “Our”) collects, uses, stores, and shares information when You use the Q - Finals Service. It should be read together with Our Terms of Service. By using the Service, You acknowledge this Policy.

2. Information We Collect

We collect information needed to operate the Service:

  • Account data: username, email address, password hash (if You use a password), Google account identifier (if You sign in with Google), authentication provider, verification status, and permission level.
  • Profile and public data: About Me text, equipped cosmetics, total XP, level, units completed, and verified status. These appear on public profiles and, for top users, on the leaderboard.
  • Progress and gameplay: unit progress, solved questions, energy, coins, cosmetics inventory, stats (such as streaks and hints used), daily quest progress, and achievements.
  • Communications and social: chat messages (username, text, timestamp), friend requests and relationships, and block lists.
  • Submitted answers: answers You submit to questions, including open-ended text that may be sent to an AI grading service.
  • Technical data: session information (including a session cookie), IP address (for rate limiting and bot protection), and standard browser/device information sent with requests.

We do not intentionally collect payment card details, precise location, or other sensitive categories beyond what is required to run the Service.

3. How We Use Information

We use the information to:

  • Provide and operate the Service (accounts, questions, grading, chat, platformer, shop, friends, leaderboard, profiles)
  • Send transactional email (such as verification codes)
  • Protect security and integrity (CSRF protection, rate limits, bot checks, moderation, and anti-abuse tools)
  • Enforce Our Terms and moderate UGC
  • Improve and maintain the Service

4. How We Share Information

Publicly visible: username, About Me, equipped cosmetics, XP, level, and units completed may appear on public profiles. Top leaderboard entries (username, level, XP, equipped items) are shown to logged-in users. Chat messages are visible to other authenticated users in chat.

Service providers: We use third parties to help run the Service, including:

  • Database hosting (MongoDB)
  • AI grading (Groq) for open-ended answers
  • Google for Sign-In verification
  • Email delivery (Brevo) for verification and similar transactional messages
  • Bot protection (Cloudflare Turnstile) on authentication flows

We do not sell Your personal information. We may disclose information if required by law or to protect rights, safety, or the integrity of the Service.

5. Retention

  • Account data: retained until You delete Your account or We delete it.
  • Chat messages: retained for a limited period (approximately 7 days) and subject to a maximum message count; older messages are removed automatically.
  • Short-lived tokens: question tokens and Google signup tokens expire within minutes.
  • Sessions: approximately 3 days.
  • Friend requests: expire after a few days if not accepted.

After account deletion, Your user record and related tokens are removed. Residual records (for example, some chat messages or relationship data) may remain until they expire or are cleaned according to Our practices.

6. Your Choices

You can update Your About Me, change Your password, manage cosmetics, and manage friends and blocks through the Service. You can delete Your account in Settings (re-authentication required). For other access, correction, or deletion requests, contact Us if a contact method is provided within the Service.

Note that content already visible to others (such as chat messages) and residual data after deletion may not be fully removable in every case.

7. Security

We use measures such as password hashing, CSRF tokens, rate limiting, content limits, security headers, and session controls. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure; We cannot guarantee absolute security.

8. Children (13+)

The Service is designed for users 13 years of age and older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 13. If We learn that We have collected information from a child under 13, We will delete it. Parents or guardians who believe a child under 13 has provided information may contact Us to request deletion.

9. International Processing

Information may be processed by Our service providers (including those listed above), which may be located in countries other than Your own. By using the Service, You understand that Your information may be transferred and processed in those locations.

10. Changes

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes acceptance. Material changes may be noted on this page or within the Service.

11. Contact

For privacy-related questions, use any contact method We make available through the Service or Our public channels.

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