Last updated 12 October 2026

Privacy policy

This policy explains what personal data rippleofhistory.com and The Rip in History handle, why, and how you can ask about it. It is written for the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Who is responsible

The data controller is Daniel Sellings, trading as Ripple of History, Eastbourne, East Sussex, United Kingdom. Contact: rippleofhistory@gmail.com.

This is a sole-trader site. There is no separate company number and no data protection officer is required.

What this site does not do

  • No user accounts or logins of my own.
  • No advertising network, no Google Analytics, no Facebook pixel.
  • No sale of mailing lists. I do not sell your data.
  • No payment card details are collected on this domain. Coffee goes through Buy Me a Coffee. Merchandise checkout, when it opens, will go through Shopify.

What is collected

Hosting logs

The site is hosted by Vercel. Like most hosts, it processes technical data so the pages can be served and kept secure: IP address, date and time, the page requested, referrer, and browser user-agent. The legal basis is legitimate interests — running a public website and dealing with abuse. Logs are kept only as long as the host retains them for that purpose.

Vercel Web Analytics

I use Vercel Web Analytics to count visits and which pages are read. It is cookieless: no advertising profile, no cross-site tracking, and it is not Google Analytics. It records anonymous page views (the path, the referrer, the country, and a rough device type). The legal basis is legitimate interests — knowing whether the site is actually being used. Vercel’s privacy policy covers how they process that data.

Email you send me

If you write to rippleofhistory@gmail.com, I process your address and the content of the message to reply. The basis is legitimate interests or, where you ask me to do something specific, taking steps at your request. I keep correspondence only as long as the thread is useful, then delete it.

YouTube, for the calendar and latest films

The server fetches the public YouTube RSS feed for the Ripple of History channel so the homepage and On This Day calendar can show the right video on the right date. That feed is public channel data (titles, IDs, dates). It is not information about you.

When you press play

Players use YouTube’s privacy-enhanced embed (youtube-nocookie.com). Playing a film is your choice. Google / YouTube may then set cookies or collect device data under Google’s privacy policy. I do not control that processing.

The shop

The Shop page is a catalogue on this domain, pulled from Shopify as products are added. Payment, shipping and order data are processed by Shopify, not by me on this server. Card details never sit on rippleofhistory.com. Shopify’s privacy policy applies to that purchase.

When you leave this site

Links to YouTube, X, Substack, Buy Me a Coffee and Shopify take you onto their services. If you subscribe, comment, or pay there, their privacy notices apply — not this one.

The Rip in History

The Rip in History is the side-scrolling game from Ripple of History. You can play it in a browser at rippleofhistory.com/play and as a store app on Google Play and the App Store (bundle ID com.rippleofhistory.therip). This section covers both.

What stays on your device

Progress, lives, unlocked eras, difficulty, mute, and whether keyboard hints are shown are saved in the browser or app’s local storage. That copy does not leave the device. Clearing site data or uninstalling the app deletes it.

The live leaderboard

If you submit a score, the game sends the name you typed (up to 16 characters) and the score to this site over HTTPS (/api/leaderboard). Those rows are stored so the public board can be shown to other players. There is no account, email, or player ID attached. The legal basis is legitimate interests — running a public high-score table you chose to join — and your request to submit. To change or erase a row, write to rippleofhistory@gmail.com with the name that appears on the board.

What the game does not do

  • No advertising SDK, no tracking pixels, no Google Analytics in the game or the app.
  • No sale of data, no advertising identifier, no crash-reporting SDK.
  • No in-app purchases and no account sign-in.
  • The store app bundles the six-era campaign. It does not load this website in a wrapper to play.

The only network the app needs after install is this domain, for the optional leaderboard and to open this privacy page. Typefaces are bundled with the app so it does not call Google Fonts.

Cookies

This domain does not set advertising cookies, and Vercel Web Analytics does not set a cookie either. Strictly necessary cookies may be used by the host to deliver the site. Third-party cookies may appear only after you play a YouTube video or follow an external link. You can block cookies in your browser; the pages will still read.

Where data goes

Hosting is with Vercel, which may process logs in the United Kingdom, the European Economic Area and the United States, with its own safeguards. Email is handled by Google (Gmail). YouTube is Google. International transfers, where they happen, rely on the host’s and Google’s published transfer tools (including standard contractual clauses where used).

Your rights

Under UK GDPR you can ask to:

  • access the personal data I hold about you
  • correct it if it is wrong
  • erase it, in the circumstances the law allows
  • restrict or object to processing based on legitimate interests
  • receive a copy in a portable form, where that right applies

Write to rippleofhistory@gmail.com with the subject “Privacy”. I will need enough to find you in the inbox — usually the email you used. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office at ico.org.uk.

Children

The site is history for a general audience. The Rip in History is a combat game with cartoon blood, aimed at a general audience around 12 and up. Neither the site nor the game is directed at children under 13, and I do not knowingly collect their data. If you believe a child has sent personal information or a leaderboard name, tell me and I will delete it.

Changes

If this policy changes in a material way, I will update the date at the top of this page. Continued use of the site after that date is the new version.