Privacy policy

spades.live is a free website for playing card games with friends over live video. We collect as little as we can. This policy explains what we do collect and why.

What we collect

  • The name you type in. It’s shown to the other people at your table. We don’t ask for your real name, email or phone number, and there are no accounts.
  • A random device identifier stored in your browser so you can rejoin your seat after a refresh.
  • Game and chat activity. The current state of each table (cards, scores, chat) is kept on our server only while the table is active, and is deleted about 30 minutes after everyone leaves.
  • Your IP address, which every web server sees. We use it to keep the service running, to stop abuse, and to enforce bans.
  • Cookies and similar technologies used by Google for analytics and advertising, if you allow them (see below).
  • Reports. If a player reports someone, we keep the report, the reported person’s recent chat at that table and their IP address so we can review it.

Video and audio

Camera and microphone access is optional and controlled by your browser. Video and audio are sent directly between players (peer-to-peer, encrypted by WebRTC). If a direct connection isn’t possible, the encrypted stream passes through our relay server. We never record, store or watch video or audio.

Cookies, analytics and advertising

We use your browser’s local storage for preferences such as your name, table colors and sound settings. If you accept cookies, we also use Google Analytics and Google Ads to understand how people find and use the site and to measure our advertising. You can decline, and the site works the same.

Advertising. Some pages, such as our guides and game rules, may show ads served by Google AdSense. Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this and other websites. Google’s advertising cookies let it and its partners serve ads to you based on those visits. You can opt out of personalized advertising in Google Ad Settings, and opt out of some third-party vendors’ cookies at aboutads.info. Visitors in the European Economic Area, the UK and Switzerland are asked for consent through Google’s certified consent tool before personalized ads are shown. There are never ads on the game table itself.

Google’s use of data is described in How Google uses information from sites or apps that use its services.

Sharing

We don’t sell your information. We share it only with service providers that help us run the site (hosting, and Google for analytics and advertising where allowed), or when the law requires it.

Children

spades.live is not directed at children under 13, and we don’t knowingly collect information from them. Public tables include live video with people you may not know, so they are intended for adults.

Your choices

  • Turn your camera or microphone off at any time.
  • Hide or report any player at your table.
  • Clear your browser’s site data to remove the identifier and preferences stored on your device.
  • Email us to ask about any information we hold.

Contact

Questions or requests: support@spades.live.

Last updated 2026-09-26.