Short version: the in-browser toy miner and the lesson run entirely on your own device, and nothing you type there ever leaves it. We use Google Analytics only to count visits and see which pages help people, with all advertising features switched off. Personal data comes into play only when you sign in with Google to have a real block struck. Then we store your inscription request and the resulting public block. If you order a physical Block Coin, we also receive the name and shipping address you give Stripe, used only to print and mail your coin.
1. Free in-browser mining: your text stays on your device
When you use the free miner or the interactive lesson, the work runs locally in your browser. The text you type, the hashes computed, and the blocks you mine never leave your device. We don't receive them, log them, or store them; analytics records only that the page was visited. No account is required or offered.
2. The public vault: read-only and anonymous
The vault shows genesis blocks that people have struck. Each entry shows the inscription and block data only, never any information about who requested it. Viewing the vault requires no account and collects nothing about you beyond the standard technical request logs described in §6.
3. Buying a real block
Paid Genesis Strikes are purchased through Stripe checkout; no Site account is needed. Stripe processes your payment and shares with us your checkout email and the inscription you typed (we never see your card details; see Stripe's privacy policy for their handling). We use the email solely to send your block certificate.
Block Coins. When you order a coin, Stripe additionally shares the shipping name and address you enter, the color you chose, and the id of the block the coin is for. We store these as an order record so we can print, ship, track, and replace your coin, and we email you a confirmation and a shipping notice. Order records are kept for support and accounting and are never shown publicly or shared beyond the carrier that delivers your coin. Legacy free-beta strikes were made with a Google sign-in:
- From Google sign-in we receive your Google account identifier and email address. We use them to associate your requests with your account, enforce the 10-block limit, and email you a certificate for each block you have struck (a receipt for something you asked for: inscription, hash, and proof-of-work details). We don't share this.
- Optional updates: when you submit a strike you can tick a box to also receive occasional product news from us. We only send those if you opted in, every one includes an unsubscribe link, and unticking the box (or unsubscribing) stops them. Your certificate emails are unaffected either way.
- We store your request (your account id, the inscription text, and status) so the foundry can mine it and show you progress. You can read only your own requests.
- What becomes public: only your inscription and the resulting block (hash, nonce, header), displayed anonymously in the vault, never your name, email, or account id. Please don't put anything private into an inscription; it is published on purpose.
4. Payments
Genesis Strikes and Block Coins are paid through Stripe Checkout. Stripe processes your payment under Stripe's Privacy Policy; we never see or store your card number. From each completed checkout we receive your email, what you bought, your inscription (for a strike) or shipping address and color (for a coin), and a payment reference we keep to handle refunds and support.
5. Service providers we use
- Google Firebase (Authentication, Hosting & Firestore) signs you in, serves this site, stores the public block records and your own requests, and dispatches certificate emails through an email delivery service.
- Google Analytics 4 counts visits and page usage in aggregate, with ad features disabled, under Google's Privacy Policy.
- Stripe processes payments for Genesis Strikes and Block Coins and collects the shipping address for coins.
- The postal carrier (typically USPS) receives your name and address to deliver a Block Coin.
These providers process data on our behalf. We don't sell your personal information to anyone.
6. Technical logs
Like virtually all websites, our hosting provider automatically records standard request data (such as IP address, timestamp, and browser type) for security and reliability. We don't use this for advertising or profiling.
7. Data retention
Public block records are intended to remain in the vault indefinitely as part of the service. Your request records (account id + inscription + status) are kept to enforce the per-account limit and for support, then deletable on request. Coin order records (email, shipping address, color, block) are kept for as long as needed for delivery, replacements, and our accounting obligations, and are deletable on request after that.
8. Your choices and rights
You can ask us what data we hold about your account, ask us to delete it, or ask us to remove a block you struck from the public vault. Email us and we'll help. Because inscriptions are published anonymously, removing a vault entry requires you to identify it (for example, the exact inscription and the account you used).
9. Children
The Site is not directed to children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect personal information from them.
10. Changes
We may update this policy; the “last updated” date above reflects the current version.
11. Contact
Questions about privacy or a request about your data: hello@strikeablock.com.