Cookie Policy

This Cookie Policy describes the cookies and similar technologies (LocalStorage, SessionStorage, IndexedDB) used on chessnotes.app and in the ChessNotes web application. It follows the Italian Data Protection Authority (Garante) guidelines on cookies and other tracking tools of 10 June 2021, Article 122 of the Italian Privacy Code, Article 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive 2002/58/EC and the EDPB Guidelines 2/2023 on its technical scope.

Last updated: 2026-10-01

1. What are cookies and similar technologies?

  • A cookie is a small text file a website stores on your device. LocalStorage, SessionStorage (cleared when you close the tab) and IndexedDB are storage areas of your browser that a website can use in a similar way. The same rules apply to all of them, and to reading information from your device: storage that is strictly necessary to provide a service you asked for does not require consent; anything used for analytics by third parties, profiling or advertising does.
  • How we classify each item: an item is technical if the feature you are using would not work without it (signing in, saving and syncing your work, protecting unsaved progress), if it only remembers a choice you made (language, board settings, closed notices), or if it is a cache of data you asked for. Nothing in this policy is used for advertising, profiling or tracking across sites.

2. What we use, in short

  • We use only technical storage: items needed to sign you in, to make the features you use work, to remember your preferences and to avoid losing your training progress.
  • We use no analytics cookies, no profiling or advertising cookies and no third-party tracking tools. For this reason we do not ask for cookie consent; the banner shown on your first visit is only information.
  • Most items are first-party browser storage, not cookies. Their content stays on your device; it is not sent to us with every request like a cookie.

3. Technical storage (no consent required)

Grouped by purpose. Unless stated otherwise, items stay until you sign out, clear your browser’s site data, or they are replaced.

3.1 Sign-in and app data (Firebase)

  • Firebase Authentication (Google) keeps your signed-in session in your browser’s IndexedDB (firebaseLocalStorageDb); during Google sign-in a page on chessnotes-a9726.firebaseapp.com is used to complete the login. Duration: until you sign out.
  • Cloud Firestore keeps an offline copy of your data in IndexedDB so the app works on poor connections and syncs later. It is deleted when you sign out.
  • firebase-heartbeat-database (IndexedDB) — a technical record kept by the Firebase SDK of the days it was used, sent to Google with requests to report which SDK versions are in use. It contains no account content.
  • chessnotes_is_logged_in (LocalStorage) — lets the home page send you straight to the app when you are signed in. Removed on sign-out.

3.2 Preferences

  • chessnotes_lang — your interface language.
  • chessnotes_cookie_ack — remembers that you closed the cookie information banner.
  • Interface and board settings, e.g. chessnotes_board_orient, chessnotes_sidebar_w, chessnotes_board_tools_open, chessnotes_add_moves_to_tree, chessnotes_memory_overlay, chessnotes_stockfish_enabled, chessnotes_multi_pv, chessnotes_explorer_master_db, chessnotes_quickstart_filter_structured, chessnotes_position_stats_*, chessnotes_coverage_band (the rating band you picked), chessnotes_canvas_collapse_* (folded branches per repertoire), chessnotes_smartdrill_* (drill board size, speed, blindfold, evaluation bar), chessnotes_show_lines and chessnotes_selected_depth (engine display), chessnotes_engine_failures and chessnotes_engine_loading (which engine build could not run on this device, so the next visit starts with one that works),chessnotes_popup_sidebar_w, chessnotes_reminder_time (daily reminder time, if enabled).
  • These stay after sign-out (they are device preferences, not account data) until you clear your browser’s site data.

3.3 Training and safety copies

  • chessnotes_pending_flush__* and chessnotes_pending_xp__* — temporary safety copies of training progress and XP not yet saved to the server (e.g. if the tab closes or you are offline), deleted once saved.
  • chessnotes_smartdrill_color__*, chessnotes_new_budget__*, chessnotes_drill_boost__*, chessnotes_training_load_prefs — the colour you drill per repertoire, how many new positions you started today, positions to prioritise, and a copy of your training-load settings.
  • chessnotes_tour_*, chessnotes_onboarding_done, chessnotes_games_ready_dismissed__*, chessnotes_games_first_drill_dismissed__*, chessnotes_games_origin_seen__* and the policy-notice flag — progress of the guided tour and which notices and suggestions you have closed.
  • SessionStorage, deleted when you close the tab: chessnotes_pending_games_connect (the chess.com or Lichess username you typed on our website, so the app can import those public games right after sign-up; removed once used), chessnotes_verify_banner_dismissed (you hid the “verify your email” reminder) and chessnotes_chunk_reload_at (the time of an automatic reload after a new version of the app was published, to avoid reload loops), chessnotes_terms_pending (your acceptance of the Terms while the Google sign-up completes; removed as soon as it is saved to your account).
  • Training items linked to your repertoires are removed on sign-out.

3.4 Caches

  • chessnotes_replist_* — a copy of your repertoire list so the library opens instantly. Removed on sign-out.
  • chessnotes_explorer_v1__* and chessnotes_lichess_stats__* — opening statistics already downloaded (chess positions and move counts only), kept for 14 and 7 days respectively.
  • chessnotes_games_insights_v1__* and chessnotes_coverage_last__* — results computed from your games and your last coverage score per repertoire. Removed on sign-out.
  • chessnotes_pending_games_sidecar__* — the game statistics of a repertoire built from your games, kept only until they are saved to your account (if saving failed, it is retried the next time you open the app). Removed on sign-out.

3.5 Your games (only if you connect chess.com or Lichess)

  • chessnotes-chesscom (IndexedDB) — a local copy of your imported chess.com and Lichess games and of the position index built from them, so they are not downloaded again at every visit. Cleared when you disconnect a username and deleted on sign-out. The app may ask your browser to keep this storage persistent so it is not evicted.
  • chessnotes-games (IndexedDB) — evaluations of positions from your games, cached to avoid recomputing them (entries for positions without an evaluation expire after 30 days). Deleted on sign-out.

4. Analytics and usage statistics

  • We do not use Google Analytics, Firebase Analytics, advertising pixels or any other third-party analytics tool, and we set no analytics cookies.
  • The app keeps first-party usage statistics (the dates on which you first reach a few product steps and how many days you use the app). The app sends them to your account in our database; they are not kept in cookies or in dedicated browser storage (like the rest of your account data, they can be part of the offline copy of your account that Firestore keeps in your browser, which is deleted when you sign out). They are used only for aggregate statistics about this app, are not combined with other data and are never shared. They are described in section 4 of the Privacy Policy.
  • Because they are first-party, limited to this app and used only for aggregate statistics, we treat them like the analytics tools that the Garante assimilates to technical tools (guidelines of 10 June 2021, section 7.2), so we do not ask for consent.
  • You can switch them off at any time in the app: account menu → Profile & progress → Privacy → Usage statistics. Recording stops immediately, on all your devices, and the statistics already collected are deleted.

5. Third-party services

These services are contacted by your browser only when you use the related feature. They receive your IP address as part of the connection:

5.1 Fonts

The Geist typeface is served from our own domain. Your browser does not contact Google Fonts or other font services.

5.2 Lichess, chess.com and Google sign-in

  • Only when you use the related features (cloud evaluation, study search and import, games import), your browser connects to lichess.org or api.chess.com. See section 6.2 of the Privacy Policy.
  • If you choose to sign in with Google, the Google sign-in window (accounts.google.com) and the sign-in page on chessnotes-a9726.firebaseapp.com may use Google’s own cookies to complete the login you asked for. They are governed by Google’s privacy policy.

6. Managing and deleting this storage

Signing out removes the account-related items listed above. To remove everything, clear the site data of chessnotes.app in your browser settings:

Chrome: Settings → Privacy and security → Third-party cookies / Site data → See all site data and permissions.

Firefox: Settings → Privacy & Security → Cookies and Site Data → Manage Data.

Safari: Settings → Privacy → Manage Website Data.

Edge: Settings → Cookies and site permissions → Manage and delete cookies and site data.

Blocking this storage may prevent you from signing in or using the Service correctly, and unsaved offline progress could be lost.

7. Changes to this policy

We will update this Cookie Policy if we change the storage we use. Material changes are announced in the app. If we ever wanted to use storage that requires consent, we would ask for it first. This is version 3.0.0, last updated on 2026-10-01.

8. Contact

For questions about cookies and browser storage: albanofrancesco22@libero.it.

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