The short version
velocitype is a typing game. We don't ask for your email, real name, or location. We don't sell data. Your profile + stats live in your browser, not on our servers. The only things we do send to third parties are anonymous analytics pings and (eventually) ad requests — both of which you can block or opt out of in your browser.
What stays only on your device
The following lives in your browser's localStorage and never leaves unless you click a button that submits a score:
- Profile: the username + 4-digit PIN you pick (PIN is hashed locally; we never see the plaintext)
- Stats: your best WPM, accuracy, flow-state scores, race count
- Preferences: sound on/off, classic vs lab sound scheme, default race difficulty + length, pineapple mode, track-style pick, practice-timer style
Clearing your browser's site data for playvelocitype.com deletes all of this from your machine. There is no server-side copy to recover.
What we send to our server
We use Google Firebase Realtime Database to make multiplayer + leaderboards work. When you opt in to those features, the following is stored:
- Leaderboard entries: your username, a random per-browser ID, and the score (WPM, accuracy, char count). Anyone can read these — that's the point of a leaderboard.
- Live race rooms: your username and live progress while a race is in session. Rooms self-delete shortly after the race ends.
- Presence: a random one-time ID + timestamp so the "N online" counter works. Auto-expires within 10 minutes of you leaving.
If you'd like a specific leaderboard row removed, email the address below with the row's date + score and we'll wipe it.
Third parties
The site loads scripts from a few Google-owned services:
- Google Analytics (GA4): anonymous traffic stats — page views, session length, country-level location. We use this only to understand which features people use. Install the Google Analytics opt-out to disable it sitewide.
- Google AdSense: serves ads on the landing page. AdSense + its partners may set cookies for ad personalization and frequency-capping. Manage your Google ad personalization · European users: youronlinechoices.com.
- Google Firebase: hosts the realtime database that powers multiplayer + leaderboards (covered above).
- Google Fonts + gstatic CDNs: the typefaces and the Firebase JS SDK are fetched from Google CDNs — Google logs request metadata as part of standard CDN operation.
Cookies
velocitype itself doesn't set its own cookies. Google Analytics and Google AdSense set their own (typically _ga, __gads, similar). You can clear them from your browser settings anytime; the site continues to work without them.
Children
velocitype is open to anyone but is not directed at children under 13. We don't collect age, real name, or identifying personal information from any user.
Changes
If this policy changes meaningfully, the date at the top of this page will update. Material changes (new data collected, new third party added) will also be mentioned briefly on the landing page for a few days after they take effect.
Contact
Questions or removal requests: reuben@playvelocitype.com.