Privacy and cookies

Last updated 15 October 2026

Link Ladder is a free daily word puzzle run in the United Kingdom by David Poole T/A Link Ladder (“we”). Contact: [email protected]. This page explains what information the game uses, why, and the choices you have. It applies to everyone who plays, including visitors from the European Union, and is written to meet UK and EU data protection law (UK GDPR, EU GDPR and the UK Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations).

Your choices

The first time you visit, we ask whether you are happy for us to count visits. Nothing optional runs until you choose, and saying no does not affect the game. You can change your mind at any time from How to play → Privacy settings. We ask again every 12 months.

What is stored on your device

What	Why	Type	Kept
Random player number	Lets the game recognise your games and leaderboard entries. Not linked to your name, email or phone.	Essential	Until you clear it
Puzzle progress, statistics and streak	So the game remembers where you got to.	Essential	Until you clear it
Last leaderboard name	So you don’t have to type it again.	Essential	Until you clear it
Your privacy choice	So we don’t ask you every visit.	Essential	12 months
Sign-in cookie (`ll_sess`)	Keeps you signed in, only if you choose to sign in.	Essential	180 days or until you sign out
Sign-in check cookie (`ll_oauth`)	Protects the sign-in process while you are sent to Google, Facebook or Microsoft and back.	Essential	10 minutes

Apart from the two sign-in cookies, these are kept in your browser’s local storage. All of them are strictly necessary for the game or the account you have asked for, so the law does not require consent for them. You can delete them at any time by clearing your browser’s data for link-ladder.com; your progress and streak will then reset.

Visitor statistics (only if you agree)

If you choose Accept all, or switch on Visitor statistics, we load Cloudflare Web Analytics. It tells us how many people visit, which pages they view, and roughly which country and type of device they use. We use this only to understand how the game is used and to improve it. It does not tell us who you are, and we do not use it for advertising. If you say no, it is not loaded at all.

What is stored on our server

Leaderboard entries. If you choose to add your name to a leaderboard, we store that name, your random player number, the puzzle number, your wrong guesses, lifelines used and time taken. Leaderboards stay on the site so past results can still be viewed, so these entries are kept until you ask us to remove them. Names are shown publicly, so please don’t use your full name if you’d rather not.
Fair play checks. To stop people flooding the leaderboard or replaying games, the server keeps a short-lived record of each game in progress and a scrambled code made from your internet connection’s address. The address itself is never stored in a readable form. Game records are deleted automatically after 3 days. The scrambled code is removed from leaderboard entries after 2 days; your name and score stay.

Accounts (only if you sign in)

Signing in is optional. If you do, we store:

Which sign-in method you used and the account number it gives us. We never see or store your password.
If you sign in with an email link or Google: your email address, so the same person signing in both ways gets one account. We only use it to sign you in; we do not send marketing.
Your leaderboard name, which you choose and can change at any time.
Your results for each puzzle (solved or not, wrong guesses, lifelines, time and stars), used to show your statistics on any device and the all-time leaderboard.

We do not receive your Facebook friends, posts or profile picture, or your Microsoft or Google contacts. You can delete your account at any time from Account → Delete my account; this permanently removes your account, results and leaderboard entries straight away.

Why we use your information (lawful basis)

Running the game and its fair play checks: our legitimate interest in providing a working, fair puzzle.
Leaderboard entries: you choose to submit them.
Accounts and synced statistics: to provide the account you asked for.
Visitor statistics: your consent.

Who provides the service

The site is hosted by Cloudflare, Inc., which processes requests to deliver the website and provides the visitor statistics. If you sign in, the provider you choose (Google, Meta for Facebook, or Microsoft) confirms who you are, under its own privacy policy. Sign-in emails are sent by Resend. These companies may process data outside the UK, under their standard data protection safeguards. We don’t sell your information or share it with anyone else, and there is currently no advertising on the site. If we add advertising in future, we will update this page and ask for your permission before any advertising cookies are used.

Your rights and deleting your data

To delete your account: sign in, open Account (the person icon), choose Delete my account and confirm. Everything linked to your account is removed immediately. If you can no longer sign in, email [email protected] and we will delete it for you. Clearing your browser data removes what is stored on your device.

You can ask to see, correct or delete information we hold about you, such as a leaderboard entry, and you can object to how we use it. Email [email protected] with the name you used and the puzzle number, and we will reply within one month. If you are unhappy with how we handle your information, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ico.org.uk) or, if you live in the EU, your local data protection authority.