Privacy policy

Last updated October 24, 2026

Artifact Detective is a daily museum-artifact guessing game run by KnowItAll Games. The short version: there are no accounts, no ads, and we never sell your information. The rest of this page explains exactly what is used and why.

Who we are

KnowItAll Games ("we") is responsible for the information described here. To reach us about privacy, email privacy@knowitall.games.

What stays on your device

To remember where you are, your browser keeps a few things in its local storage: your guesses and results for each day, a list of the days you have finished (which also drives your streak), and your cookie choice. This stays on your device. We can't see it, and it's what lets the game pick up where you left off. Clearing your browser's site data for this site deletes it.

Analytics (optional)

If you allow it, we use Google Analytics, loaded through Google Tag Manager, to learn how the game is used: which pages are visited, how visitors found us (for example which website linked to us), when a game is started, completed (with the puzzle number and score) or shared, your approximate location (country or region, worked out from your IP address by Google), and the type of device and browser. It sets cookies that last up to two years. We keep analytics data for up to 14 months. We don't use Google's advertising features, and the data is not used to show you ads.

• In the EU, the rest of the European Economic Area, the UK and Switzerland, analytics is off until you choose Accept. Until then nothing is sent to Google and no analytics cookies are set.
• Everywhere else, analytics is on by default, and you can switch it off at any time.

You can change your mind whenever you like with Cookie settings (also in the footer of most pages). Choosing Reject stops collection and removes the analytics cookies. We remember your choice for about six months, then ask again.

What our server handles

When you play, your browser asks our server for the day's objects and sends each guess to be scored. We don't store your guesses or link them to you. To protect the game from abuse, we keep a count of requests per IP address in our database, and delete those counts after 24 hours. The site is hosted by Vercel, which keeps standard technical logs of requests (including IP addresses) for a limited time. Our database is hosted by Supabase in the EU (Ireland).

Other companies your browser contacts

Loading the game means your browser fetches some files directly from other companies, which therefore see your IP address:

• OpenFreeMap draws the map, so it sees which part of the map you view.
• The museums serve the object photos from their own servers: the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Rijksmuseum (through its image service). Photos from the Art Institute of Chicago are served from our own site.
• Google, only as described under analytics.

None of them receives your score, your guesses or any identifier from us. Links to the museums' own pages are governed by their policies once you click.

Why we are allowed to use it (EU and UK)

Analytics runs on your consent, which you can withdraw at any time. Keeping the game running and protected from abuse (the 24-hour request counts and hosting logs) is a legitimate interest. Saving your progress on your own device is part of providing the game you asked to play.

Transfers outside your country

Google and Vercel are US companies, so some information may be processed in the United States. They rely on safeguards such as the EU–US Data Privacy Framework or standard contractual clauses.

Your rights

You can ask us for access to, correction of, or deletion of your information, object to or restrict how it's used, and withdraw consent at any time. You can also complain to your data protection authority (in the UK, the Information Commissioner's Office). Because we don't collect your name, email or account, we can't look you up by them, so we may ask you for the identifier in your Google Analytics cookie to find your data. To ask for any of this, email privacy@knowitall.games.

US residents: we do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it for targeted advertising.

Changes

If this changes in a way that matters, for example if we add accounts or advertising, we'll update this page, change the date at the top, and ask for your choice again.