Privacy Policy | Cut the Nets

The short version

Cut the Nets has no account or sign-up. We don't sell your personal information for money. In the browser version, Google and its ad partners may do so, as described in Ads, cookies and consent; under some US state laws that counts as “selling” or “sharing”, and you can opt out. Your runs, records and settings are kept on your device, or in your browser if you play the browser version. In versions that include it, a summary of how you play is also sent to us under a random install ID, unless you turn it off; see Play statistics. A problem report reaches us only if you email it yourself; see Problem reports.

In the iOS app, a few things involve Apple, Google or Meta, and each is described below: ads served by Google AdMob, Apple's tracking prompt, Apple's Game Center, the Remove Ads purchase through the App Store, iCloud sync in versions that include it, install measurement through Meta in versions that include it and, in version 1.0, the typefaces the app loads from Google Fonts. Apart from the play statistics described in Play statistics and any problem report you choose to email us, data from the iOS app goes to Apple, Google or Meta, not to a server of ours.

In iOS versions that include install measurement, the app tells Meta when it is opened, so that an ad we ran on Facebook or Instagram can be credited with bringing you here. It is a count of openings, not of anything you do in the game. Your advertising identifier is included only if you allowed tracking at Apple's prompt. See Measuring our ads.

The browser version at play.cutthenets.io shows occasional full-screen ads from Google AdSense between games. Google and its partners may use cookies, similar storage and your IP address to show, measure and personalize them. In the EEA, UK and Switzerland you're asked first and can decline; in some US states you can opt out. You can change your choices any time under Ad privacy choices in the game. See Ads, cookies and consent, How Google uses information from sites or apps that use its services and How Google uses cookies in advertising.

The browser version keeps your save in your browser. It is served by our web host, which keeps standard server logs of the addresses people request. A challenge link, whether it was shared from the browser version or the iOS app, can put a first name into that address. See The browser version.

This website, cutthenets.io, keeps only the standard server logs its host collects. See This website.

Who we are

Cut the Nets is made by an independent studio (“we” or “us”). You can reach us at support@cutthenets.io.

Which versions this policy covers

Cut the Nets comes in more than one form, and they don't all handle data the same way. Each section says which one it's about.

The iOS app, version 1.0: the Cut the Nets app for iPhone and iPad on the App Store.
Later versions of the iOS app: where a later version works differently, such as iCloud sync or challenge links, the section says it applies “in versions that include it”. Those statements don't apply to version 1.0.
The browser version: the game played in a web browser at play.cutthenets.io, on any device. See The browser version.
This website: cutthenets.io. See This website.

Data stored in the iOS app

Your saved brackets and runs, the rosters you build, your career ledger and records, your profile (the name and favorite team you enter, if any), your settings (such as sound, announcer, theme, motion and the daily reminder), whether Remove Ads is active, and your onboarding progress are kept in the app's local storage on your device. In versions that include challenge links, a bracket you open from a friend's link also keeps that friend's first name, if the link carried one.

Version 1.0 doesn't send any of this to us, doesn't send it anywhere else apart from the Game Center scores described below, and doesn't sync it between devices. Deleting the app deletes it. In versions that include iCloud sync, part of this data is also copied to your own iCloud account, as described in iCloud sync, and deleting the app doesn't delete that copy. No version of the app sends this data to us as it is; versions that include play statistics send the summary described in Play statistics, unless you turn it off.

If you back up your whole device with iCloud Backup or a computer, that backup may include the app's data, as it would for any app.

iCloud sync (iOS versions that include it)

Version 1.0 has no iCloud sync. In versions that include it, the app keeps your career ledger the same across your iPhone and iPad using Apple's iCloud key-value storage. Nothing is uploaded while the device isn't signed in to iCloud. The app's Settings then shows that it isn't syncing, and syncing starts if the device signs in later.

What is copied to your iCloud account:

Your career ledger: up to your 400 most recent finished runs (fewer if they don't fit the app's size limit for iCloud). Each run includes its team, season and seed, its record, the round you reached and the team that knocked you out, each game's opponent, seed, margin and overtimes, the budget you used, its score and grade, which bracket, daily or gauntlet it came from, and the date and time it ended.
Your records: your achievements and when you unlocked them, your scenario records and your pinned runs.
Your profile: the name and favorite team you entered, if any.
Your look settings: accent color, motion, theme and retro style.
Edit times: when each of these last changed, so your devices agree on the newest version.

Your saved brackets, the daily reminder setting and whether Remove Ads is active are not copied. The app syncs when it opens, when you return to it, when another of your devices makes a change, and shortly after you make one. If a sync fails, it tries again later.

This data is stored by Apple in your iCloud account, not on a server of ours, and we can't see it. Apple's handling of iCloud data is covered by Apple's Privacy Policy. Deleting the app doesn't remove the iCloud copy. To erase it, use Reset saved data in the app's Settings, which erases your brackets, runs and profile on the device and removes the synced copy from iCloud. If the app can't clear the iCloud copy, it tells you so, and you can try again. Another iPhone or iPad signed in to the same iCloud account keeps its own copy and can sync it back, so reset or delete the app on those devices too.

Play statistics (the app and the browser version, in versions that include it)

To see which seasons, teams and modes people enjoy, and where the game is too hard or breaks, versions of Cut the Nets that include play statistics send us a short summary of how the game is played. You can turn this off at any time in Settings under Play Data (“Share play data to improve Cut the Nets”). In the EEA, the UK and Switzerland it is off until you turn it on.

What a summary contains:

Your runs: when a run starts, is restarted or is deleted; the team, season and seed you play as and the mode (for example a daily, a gauntlet or a mission); the players you add to or remove from the roster, with their ratings, and the swap budget you used; for each game, the opponent and its seed, the score margin, overtime, whether you watched or simulated it and how many coaching calls you made; and at the end, your record, score, grade, whether a mission's goal was met and how long the run took. When you first turn this on, the runs already in your ledger are sent once the same way.
How the app is used: when it is opened, which screens are visited (counted, by screen name), when you share a result or a card (the kind of share, not its content), open a challenge or event link, see an ad (which point in the game it followed), or buy or restore Remove Ads.
About the device: whether it is the iOS app or the browser version, the app and data version, the language and region settings (for example “en-US”, read from your device's settings, not from GPS or your IP address; because the region names a country, the App Store privacy label lists it as coarse location), the time zone's offset from UTC, whether Remove Ads is active, and whether it is a test device.

What it never contains: your name or the profile name you type, the first name in a challenge link, the name you give a created team, your email address, contacts, photos or messages, your precise location or IP address (see below), your advertising identifier (IDFA), or your Apple, Game Center, iCloud or Google identity.

Each summary is filed under an install ID: a random code made on your device the first time play statistics are on. It isn't made from any device or advertising identifier, isn't synced through iCloud, and isn't shared with anyone. Deleting the app, clearing the browser's site data or using Reset saved data gives you a new one. Settings shows the first eight characters as your Play data ID.

We use play statistics only to run and improve Cut the Nets. We don't sell them, don't share them with advertisers, Google or Meta, don't use them for advertising or to track you across other companies' apps or websites, and don't combine them with other data. They are sent over an encrypted connection to our own server, which our web host (Hostinger) runs for us. Like any request, each one appears in the host's standard access logs with your IP address; the IP address is not stored with the statistics (to block abuse, a scrambled form of it that changes every day is kept for at most an hour). We keep play statistics for 12 months, then delete them.

To delete them: use Reset saved data in Settings, which also asks our server to delete everything filed under your install ID and starts a new one; or email support@cutthenets.io with the Play data ID shown in Settings. Without that ID we can't tell which statistics are yours, because nothing else in them identifies you. Turning Play Data off stops sending at once and clears anything still waiting on your device; what was already sent stays until 12 months pass or you ask us to delete it.

In the EEA, the UK and Switzerland we send play statistics only if you turn Play Data on, and you can withdraw that at any time by turning it off. Elsewhere it is on by default because it helps us improve the game, and you can turn it off at any time.

The browser version does the same, with the same switch in its Settings; its install ID lives in your browser's storage for play.cutthenets.io.

Problem reports (the app and the browser version, 1.3 and later)

From version 1.3, when something goes wrong in the game (a screen that fails to draw, a script error, or a save your device refuses), the game notes it in a small problem log kept on your device, or in your browser if you play the browser version. The log holds at most 50 entries. Each one records the kind of problem, a short technical message with web addresses, email addresses, quoted text and names removed, where in the game's code it happened, the screen it happened on (without any ids), the app version, how many times it happened and when. The log never reads your saves, your name or anything you typed, and nothing in it is sent anywhere on its own.

If you tap Report a problem in Settings (or on the screen the game shows after it fails), you see the whole text of an email to support@cutthenets.io: the recent problems from the log and a short description of your setup. That description is the app version and exact build, your device model and operating system, your screen size and text size, which display settings are on (such as reduced motion or the retro look), the current screen and the ones before it, how long the game has been open, whether you're online, your language, and the size of your save and how many brackets and runs it holds, never what's in them. Your mail app opens with exactly that text, and nothing leaves your device until you press Send. We use a report only to find and fix the problem, and we treat it like any other email you send us.

To empty the log, use Clear this device's log under Report a problem. Deleting the app, or clearing the site data for play.cutthenets.io, also removes it.

Advertising (iOS app)

The free iOS app shows ads served by Google AdMob. To serve and measure those ads, Google's Mobile Ads SDK may collect:

Identifiers: a device identifier, including the advertising identifier (IDFA) if you allow tracking.
Usage data: product interaction and advertising data, such as which ads were shown and whether one was tapped.
Coarse location: an approximate location, not your precise location.
Diagnostics: crash, performance and other diagnostic data.

This data is collected by Google, not by us, and is described in Google's Privacy Policy. We don't receive it. If you allow tracking, Google may use the identifier and ad usage data to track activity across apps and websites owned by other companies for advertising.

The browser version doesn't use AdMob or Google's Mobile Ads SDK. Its ads come from Google AdSense instead, as described in Ads, cookies and consent.

Measuring our ads (iOS app versions that include it)

We advertise Cut the Nets on Facebook and Instagram. To know whether an ad actually brought anyone to the game, iOS versions that include install measurement use Meta's official App Events SDK. Version 1.0 does not include it.

What it does is narrow, and this is all of it:

It reports that the app was installed, and that it was opened. Meta's SDK sends one install event and one “app activated” event each time the app comes to the foreground.
It sends no game data. Not your brackets, runs, records, profile name, favorite team, settings, purchases or scores. Nothing you do inside the game is reported to Meta, and we log no events of our own through it.
It is not switched on until you have answered Apple's tracking prompt. Until then the SDK is not started at all, so nothing is sent. If the prompt is never answered, or your device doesn't allow tracking decisions at all, nothing is ever sent.
The advertising identifier (IDFA) is included only if you allowed tracking. If you chose Ask App Not to Track, the app doesn't read the identifier and tells Meta that advertiser tracking is off, which limits how Meta may use the report.
It is off for Remove Ads owners. Once Remove Ads is active, the app no longer asks about tracking and no longer starts Meta's SDK, so nothing further is measured.

Alongside this, Apple's own SKAdNetwork may send Apple-mediated, aggregated install reports to Google and to Meta. Those come from Apple, contain no identifier for you, and happen whatever you answer at the tracking prompt.

In this, Meta Platforms Ireland Limited and Meta Platforms, Inc. act as our processor for measurement and as a controller for their own purposes, as set out in Meta's Business Tools Terms. Their handling of the data is described in Meta's Privacy Policy. We never receive your identifier or any personal data back from Meta; what we see is a count of installs and openings per campaign.

The browser version and this website don't use Meta's SDK, don't contain a Meta pixel and don't report anything to Meta.

Apple's tracking prompt (iOS app)

Before the ads SDK starts, the iOS app shows Apple's App Tracking Transparency prompt. In version 1.0, it appears shortly after you first open the app. In later versions, a new player sees it after finishing the short introduction, and anyone who hasn't been asked yet sees it shortly after the app opens. The app respects your answer. There is one prompt, and it covers both the ads and, in versions that include it, the install measurement described above.

If you choose Ask App Not to Track, the advertising identifier isn't available to the app, to Google or to Meta. You'll still see ads, and they may be less relevant. Install measurement, in versions that include it, still reports an opening but without the identifier and flagged as not-for-tracking. You can change your choice at any time in iOS Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking (on iOS 15: Settings > Privacy > Tracking), and the app follows the new answer from then on.

The browser version has no tracking prompt, but Google's ad code in it uses cookies and similar identifiers. See Ads, cookies and consent.

The Remove Ads purchase (iOS app)

Remove Ads is an optional one-time in-app purchase, processed entirely by Apple through the App Store. We never see your name, your Apple Account or your payment details.

Once Remove Ads is active in the app, after you buy it or restore it, the app stops showing ads and, from the next time it opens, no longer starts the ads SDK, no longer starts Meta's measurement SDK in versions that include it, and no longer asks for tracking permission, so none of the advertising or measurement data above is collected after that. In versions that include refund handling, ads come back if Apple refunds or withdraws the purchase, for example after a Family Sharing change. Apple's handling of purchases is covered by Apple's Privacy Policy.

The browser version has no purchases and no way to turn its ads off. Remove Ads doesn't apply to the browser version and doesn't carry over to it, so the browser version shows ads even if you've bought Remove Ads in the app.

Game Center (iOS app)

If you're signed in to Game Center, the app submits your daily bracket score, your streak and your weekly gauntlet score to Apple's Game Center leaderboards, where they appear under your Game Center nickname. Apple, not us, operates Game Center; see Apple's Privacy Policy. If you're not signed in, nothing is sent.

The browser version has no leaderboards and doesn't use Game Center.

Daily reminder notifications (iOS app)

The daily reminder is off unless you turn it on in the app's Settings and allow notifications. It's a local notification: your device schedules it, and no server of ours or push service is involved. You can turn it off in the app or in iOS Settings > Notifications at any time.

The browser version doesn't send notifications.

In the iOS app, when you share a recap of a run, the app hands the recap text or image to the iOS share sheet. It goes only where you choose to send it. With Play Data on, we record that you shared and what kind of share it was, never its content.

In versions of the iOS app that include challenge links, and in the browser version, two things are different:

Share card images, and the text shared with them, show “Coach” followed by the full profile name you entered, if any.
You can share a finished run as a challenge. Its text includes a link that carries your first name and details of your run. See Challenge links.

In the browser version, a recap or card goes to your browser's share sheet if it has one. If it has none, the text is copied to your clipboard and any card image is saved as a download. Recaps shared from the browser version end with the plain address play.cutthenets.io. Nothing you share is uploaded to us; with Play Data on, we record only that a share happened (see Play statistics).

Typefaces (iOS app version 1.0)

When version 1.0 of the app starts with an internet connection, it loads its typefaces, Archivo and IBM Plex Mono, from Google Fonts. As with any web request, this sends your device's IP address and basic technical details, such as the type of device and browser engine, to Google. The request carries no account, name or advertising identifier from us. See Google's Privacy Policy and the Google Fonts privacy FAQ.

Versions of the app that bundle the typefaces inside the app don't make this request, and neither does the browser version, which serves its own fonts from play.cutthenets.io.

The browser version (play.cutthenets.io)

The browser version lets you play Cut the Nets in a web browser at play.cutthenets.io, with nothing to install and no account. It has no purchases, Game Center leaderboards, iCloud sync or notifications. It shows ads from Google AdSense, as described in Ads, cookies and consent. This section covers what it stores in your browser and what it sends.

Saved in your browser

Your game is saved in your browser's local storage for play.cutthenets.io, in that browser on that device only. It holds:

Your save: your brackets, including their rosters and player names; your career ledger (the details of each finished run, such as its team, season, seed, record, opponents, score, grade and date); your achievements and when you unlocked them; your pinned runs and scenario records; your profile (the name and favorite team you enter, if any); and your settings.
Brackets from friends: a bracket you open from a challenge link keeps the sender's first name, if the link carried one, and is named after them.
Preferences: sound, vibration, whether the announcer is on, which announcer crew and on-device voice you picked, and which introductions and celebrations you've already seen.
Housekeeping: when the game last showed an App Store prompt, when you dismissed one or followed an App Store link (so it doesn't ask too often), whether it has already asked your browser to keep your save, and, if your save ever can't be read, a set-aside copy of it.
Ad privacy region: whether the ad privacy rules for the EEA, UK and Switzerland or for US states seemed to apply the last time Google's consent tool checked, and when that was, so the game can label Ad privacy choices before Google's code loads.
Your ad choices: Google's consent tool stores the choices you make in cookies or local storage for play.cutthenets.io.

A few short-lived items are kept in session storage, which your browser clears when you close the tab: for example, whether the opening animation has played, how many breaks between games there have been in that tab, and when the last ad showed, so ads stay spaced apart.

To stay within your browser's storage limit, the game clears old finished brackets on its own. It never clears a bracket you're still playing, one whose run ended in the last week or one you pinned. Of the rest, it keeps your 40 most recent (15 if the browser has run out of space). Your career ledger keeps every run. You can also clear finished brackets yourself in Settings.

Files kept for offline play

So the game opens quickly and works offline, it saves copies of its own files in your browser's cache storage. The game's code, fonts, logos and small index files are saved when it first installs. Game data (seasons and rosters), announcer audio and images are saved the first time each one is used. These files are the same for every player and contain nothing you typed, though the ones saved show which seasons you've opened. For an active player they can take up tens of megabytes.

They don't expire on a timer. They stay until a newer version of the game replaces them (when you tap Reload for an update, or the next time the game starts after one), or until you or your browser clear the site's data. Your browser's ordinary cache may also keep copies of some files: the game's code for up to a year, and audio, fonts and images for up to 30 days.

Asking your browser to keep your save

Browsers can clear a site's storage when space runs low. The game can ask your browser to keep its storage instead, using the standard persistent storage request. It asks:

once on its own, after you've finished at least one run, in browsers other than Firefox;
each time you export a save file; and
when you tap Protect this save in Settings, which appears only while your save isn't protected.

Some browsers, such as Firefox, may show a permission prompt for this. Others decide on their own without asking you. Either way, the request stays between the game and your browser and sends nothing to us. Settings also shows how much storage the game is using, which it reads from your browser.

Save files and Legacy codes

Because your save lives only in your browser, the game offers two ways to back it up or move it. Both are made on your device, and neither is uploaded to us.

Export save file creates a file named like cut-the-nets-save-2026-09-13.json. It contains every bracket (including friends' first names from challenge links), your career ledger, your profile name and favorite team, your settings, and your preferences (announcer, crew and voice, sound, vibration, and which introductions and celebrations you've seen). On an iPhone or iPad it opens your browser's share sheet, so it goes wherever you choose. On other devices it downloads like any other file.
Copy Legacy code creates one line of text that starts with CTN1- or CTN0-. It contains up to your 400 most recent runs (fewer if they don't fit its size limit) with each run's details and date, your achievements and when you unlocked them, your scenario records and pinned runs, your profile name and favorite team, and your look settings (accent color, motion, theme and retro style). The game copies it to your clipboard, or shows it for you to copy if your browser won't allow that.

Neither is encrypted. A save file is plain text, and a Legacy code is only compressed and encoded, so anyone who has one can read what's inside. When you import a save file or paste a Legacy code, the game reads it on your device and sends nothing anywhere. The game copies to your clipboard only when you ask, and never reads your clipboard.

Challenge links

In the browser version, and in versions of the iOS app that include challenge links, you can challenge a friend to beat a finished run. The share text includes a link to play.cutthenets.io. The link's web address carries:

the season, your team and the budget setting;
a number that recreates the same simulated bracket;
your result: wins, losses, your grade and, if you didn't win the title, the round you went out in; and
your first name, which is the first word of your profile name, if you've entered one. It's left out if that word is “Coach”, is longer than 20 characters, doesn't start with a letter, or contains anything other than letters, apostrophes, periods and hyphens.

Nothing else from your device is in the link. Challenge links aren't offered for scenarios, daily brackets, gauntlets or brackets whose field you've changed.

When someone opens a challenge link, their browser requests play.cutthenets.io with those details in the address. Once the game has loaded, it reads them, removes them from the address bar, and sets up the same bracket, saving it in that browser (with your first name, if included). By then the browser has already sent the full address to our web host, so the host's server logs can record it, including your first name, together with the opener's IP address. The game's own files loaded at the same time can also send the full address to our host as the referring page. If that browser has played the browser version before, the game usually opens from its offline copy and the link's details don't reach the server. The browser's own history may still list the full address.

Google's ad code isn't loaded during a visit that started from a challenge link, so the link's details aren't sent to Google. Ads can load after the game is reloaded. If you tap Ad privacy choices during that visit, the game offers to reload first.

On an iPhone or iPad, tapping a challenge link opens it in the browser first, even if the app is installed, so the same applies. Messaging apps that show link previews may also fetch the link and the details it carries. Anyone you send a link to can see what it contains.

Server logs

The browser version is hosted by Hostinger, through its servers and content delivery network. Like almost every web host, Hostinger keeps access logs of requests, which can record your IP address, the date and time, the full address requested (including anything after a “?”, such as challenge link details), the referring page and your browser's user agent.

The game downloads its data and audio as separate files, so these logs also show which files your browser fetched: for example, the seasons and rosters you opened and the announcer clips it downloaded, whose file names include player surnames and team names. Hostinger processes these logs on our behalf. We use them only to keep the game running and secure, and we don't combine them with any other data. See Hostinger's Privacy Policy.

Ads, cookies and consent

The browser version shows occasional full-screen ads between games, never during a game. They're served by Google AdSense, and we don't choose individual ads. Once you've finished the introduction, the game loads Google's ad code and consent tool from Google.

While that code runs, Google and its ad partners may collect:

Your IP address: used to deliver ads and, with your consent or where the law allows, to measure and personalize them.
Browser and device information: such as your browser type, operating system, screen size and language.
The page address: play.cutthenets.io and the page of the game you're on, without any challenge link details.
Cookie and local storage identifiers: set in your browser by Google or its partners.
Ad activity: which ads were shown and whether you tapped one.
Approximate location: worked out from your IP address, not your precise location.

This data is collected by Google and its partners, not by us. We see only totals in our AdSense reports, such as how many ads were shown. How Google uses it is described in Google's Privacy Policy, How Google uses information from sites or apps that use its services and How Google uses cookies in advertising.

In the EEA, the UK and Switzerland, Google's consent message asks for your choice before cookies or similar storage are used for ads, and lists the companies involved. The message waits for a quiet moment, not the middle of a game, and the game doesn't show ads until you've answered. If you decline in the EEA, UK or Switzerland, you'll see non-personalized ads or none. You can change your mind at any time: tap Ad privacy choices on the game's Home or About screen, or Privacy options in its Settings, or use the “Privacy and cookie settings” link Google adds to the page. A copy of the game added to your Home Screen can keep its own choices, so you may be asked again there.

In US states with privacy laws, you can opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information for targeted advertising. See US state privacy rights.

Ad technology providers. Google works with other companies to deliver and measure ads. They're listed in Google's ad technology providers list and, in the EEA, UK and Switzerland, in the vendor list in the consent message.

Other opt-outs. Wherever you are, you can turn off personalized ads from Google in Google's Ads Settings, and opt out of personalized ads from many other companies at aboutads.info/choices. If an ad or content blocker stops Google's code from loading, ads can't appear, and Ad privacy choices can't open until the code can load.

Apart from the play statistics described in Play statistics, which you can turn off, we run no analytics or crash-reporting service of our own in the browser version. The game's own code, fonts, data and audio come from play.cutthenets.io. Google's ad and consent code loads from Google, and the page's security policy still limits which scripts can run.

It doesn't ask for your location, camera, microphone or notifications. It uses your browser's share sheet, clipboard (to copy only), file picker (to import a save file) and, on touch devices with vibration turned on, vibration. To fit itself to your device, it checks your browser type, screen and touch support on the device; the game doesn't send this anywhere, though your browser's user agent still appears in server logs as described above.

US state privacy rights

Some US state privacy laws, such as California's, give residents rights over their personal information. They matter here because the browser version shares data with Google and its ad partners for targeted advertising (called cross-context behavioral advertising in California), which those laws can count as “selling” or “sharing” personal information. We don't sell personal information for money.

What's shared: identifiers (cookie identifiers and your IP address), device and browser information, ad interactions (ads shown and tapped) and approximate location worked out from your IP address.
Who receives it: Google and its ad partners. See Ads, cookies and consent.
Why: to show, measure and personalize ads, and to detect invalid traffic.
How to opt out: tap Ad privacy choices on the game's Home or About screen, or Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information in its Settings. Your choice is saved in that browser, so make it again in each browser you use and after clearing the site's data.
Global Privacy Control: if your browser sends a Global Privacy Control signal, Google treats it as an opt-out for the states where that applies, with nothing else for you to do. See Google's explanation.
Retention: we don't keep any of this data ourselves. Google keeps it as described in Google's Privacy Policy.

We don't knowingly sell or share the personal information of anyone under 16.

To ask what personal information we have about you, or to have it deleted or corrected, email support@cutthenets.io with “US privacy request” in the subject. We'll reply within 45 days, and if we need more time, we'll tell you why and how much longer, up to another 45 days. Apart from our web host's server logs, any email you've sent and the play statistics filed under a random install ID (see Play statistics), we hold nothing about you, because the ad data goes to Google, not to us; for that data, use Google's tools linked above. To have play statistics deleted, use Reset saved data or send us the Play data ID shown in Settings. If we turn down a request, you can appeal by replying to our answer, and we'll respond to the appeal within 45 days. Someone you authorize can make a request for you. Using these rights won't change how the game treats you.

App Store links

The browser version shows links to the iOS app, and occasional cards and prompts about it. Following one opens the app's page on Apple's App Store at apps.apple.com, which has its own privacy policy. Most of these links send no referring page. The prompt that can appear after a game lets Apple see only that you came from play.cutthenets.io, not the full page address or any challenge link details. When you follow one of its App Store cards or prompts, the game notes the time in your browser and nowhere else.

On an iPhone or iPad, Safari may also show its own App Store banner for the app, because the page includes Apple's standard banner tag. Safari handles that banner itself, and the game's code doesn't contact Apple for it.

The announcer's voice

The announcer mainly plays pre-recorded audio clips downloaded from play.cutthenets.io. As a fallback, the game can use your browser's built-in speech, but only with English voices your browser reports as running on your device. It skips voices your browser marks as online, such as some browsers' cloud voices, so the game never hands a line to an online voice service. If your device has no suitable voice, the fallback stays silent. It saves which voice you picked, and nothing about what was said.

Removing the browser version's data

Clearing the site data for play.cutthenets.io in your browser's settings removes your save, preferences, offline files and ad privacy choices from that browser, so Google's consent message may appear again. Cookies Google sets on its own domains are cleared separately, in your browser's cookie settings. Reset saved data in the game's Settings erases your brackets, runs and profile, but keeps your settings, preferences, App Store prompt times and offline files. In versions that include play statistics, it also asks our server to delete the statistics filed under your install ID and starts a new one.

Browsers can also clear site data on their own. For example, Safari can erase a site's data after 7 days without a visit. On an iPhone or iPad, a copy of the game added to the Home Screen keeps its own separate save. None of this affects save files or Legacy codes you've exported, or challenge links you've shared.

What we never collect

We never ask for or collect your email address (unless you email us), contacts, precise location, photos, health data or messages, and there's no sign-up. The only analytics of our own is the play statistics described in Play statistics, which you can turn off, and it never contains your name, contacts or precise location. There is no automatic crash reporting: a problem report leaves your device only as an email you choose to send (see Problem reports). We don't sell your personal information for money. In the browser version, Google and its ad partners may do so, as described in Ads, cookies and consent; under some US state laws that counts as “selling” or “sharing”, and you can opt out as explained in US state privacy rights. Apart from us, the companies that handle data from Cut the Nets are the ones named on this page — Apple, Google, Meta in iOS versions that include install measurement, and our web host — plus, in the browser version, Google's ad technology providers and the vendors listed in the consent message.

The game offers an optional name field for your profile, which you can leave blank. A name you type there stays with your game data: on your device or in your browser, and in your own iCloud account in iOS versions that include iCloud sync. It leaves that data only in things you choose to share or export: challenge links (first name only), share cards and the text shared with them, save files and Legacy codes. A first name in a challenge link can end up in our web host's server logs when someone opens the link, as explained in Challenge links.

In the iOS app, game data, player data and the announcer's audio are bundled inside the app, so playing doesn't download them from us. The browser version downloads them from play.cutthenets.io as you play and keeps copies in your browser, as described in Files kept for offline play.

Children

The iOS app is rated 4+ on the App Store. Neither the app, the browser version nor this website is directed at children. Apart from the server logs described above, emails people send us, and the play statistics described in Play statistics (filed under a random install ID and used only to run and improve the game), we don't knowingly collect personal information from anyone, including children. The browser version's ads aren't directed at children, and the data described in Ads, cookies and consent is collected by Google and its partners, not by us.

Your choices and rights

In the iOS app:

Decline tracking at the prompt, or change it later in iOS Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking (on iOS 15: Settings > Privacy > Tracking). That one answer covers the ads and, in versions that include it, the install measurement described in Measuring our ads.
Remove ads entirely with the Remove Ads purchase, which also stops install measurement in versions that include it.
Manage what Meta does with activity businesses share with it, including install measurement, in Facebook or Instagram under Settings > Accounts Center > Your information and permissions > Your activity off Meta technologies. Meta's own tools are at accountscenter.facebook.com.
Turn the daily reminder off in the app or in iOS Settings.
Sign out of Game Center to stop scores being sent.
Turn Play Data off in Settings to stop play statistics, or use Reset saved data (or email us your Play data ID) to have them deleted.
Delete the app to remove everything it stored on your device. In versions that include iCloud sync or play statistics, first use Reset saved data in the app's Settings if you also want the iCloud copy and the play statistics on our server erased. Nothing is uploaded while your device isn't signed in to iCloud.

In the browser version:

Leave your profile name blank, or don't share challenge links, if you don't want your first name in a link.
Export save files and Legacy codes only when you want to, and choose where they go.
Turn Play Data off in the game's Settings to stop play statistics, or use Reset saved data (or email us your Play data ID) to have them deleted.
Use Reset saved data in the game's Settings to erase your brackets, runs and profile, or clear the site data for play.cutthenets.io in your browser to remove everything the game stored there. Clearing site data also resets your ad privacy choices, and the consent message returns where it applies.
Tap Ad privacy choices on the game's Home or About screen, or use its Settings: Privacy options in the EEA, UK and Switzerland, or Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information in US states. In the EEA, UK and Switzerland you can also use the “Privacy and cookie settings” link Google adds to the page.
Turn off personalized ads from Google in Ads Settings, and from many other companies at aboutads.info/choices.
Turn on Global Privacy Control in your browser, if it offers it, to opt out in US states where it applies.

Apart from the server logs our web host keeps for us, any email you send and the play statistics filed under your install ID, we don't hold personal data about you. To see or delete play statistics, email us the Play data ID shown in Settings. For data held by Google or Apple, use their privacy tools linked above. If you live in a US state with a privacy law, see US state privacy rights. You can always email us with a question or request.

Content and name removal

Cut the Nets is a statistical simulation built on publicly available historical sports information. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by any league, conference, school, athletic association or player. In the browser version, players whose last season was 2022 or later are shown by jersey number, position and year instead of by name, and the announcer doesn't call them by name. Players, current or former, who wish to have their name removed may contact us. We'll review each request and remove the name from the iOS app in a future update and from the browser version when we next update it.

Removal can't reach recaps or links that have already been shared, copies of the app that haven't been updated, game files a browser has already saved for offline play (until the updated version replaces them), or brackets, save files and Legacy codes that people already have.

This website (cutthenets.io)

cutthenets.io is hosted by Hostinger, through its servers and content delivery network. Like almost every web host, Hostinger's servers keep standard access logs when you visit: your IP address, the date and time, the page requested, the referring page and your browser's user agent. Hostinger processes these on our behalf, and they are kept for a limited time. We use them only to keep the site running and secure, and we don't combine them with any other data. See Hostinger's Privacy Policy.

The site sets no cookies, runs no analytics and loads no third-party scripts or fonts. Everything is served from cutthenets.io. The browser version of the game, at play.cutthenets.io, is covered in The browser version.

Links to the App Store, Apple or Google take you to their sites, which have their own privacy policies. If you email us, we use your address and message only to reply. Our inbox, support@cutthenets.io, is hosted by Hostinger, our web host, which stores those messages as our email provider. That includes any problem report you send.

Changes to this policy

If the app, the browser version or the site changes how data is handled, we'll update this page and the effective date at the top before the change takes effect.

What changed on September 27, 2026 (play statistics and problem reports): versions that include it now send us a summary of how the game is played, filed under a random install ID and never your name. We added Play statistics, the Play Data switch in Settings (off by default in the EEA, UK and Switzerland), how to delete the statistics, and that we keep them for 12 months, and we corrected every sentence that said nothing is sent to a server of ours. We also added Problem reports: the on-device problem log and the Report a problem email, which you read in full and send yourself.

What changed on September 20, 2026 (install measurement in the iOS app): iOS versions that include it now report installs and app openings to Meta, so that Facebook and Instagram ads can be credited with bringing players to the game. We added Measuring our ads, explained that nothing is sent before you answer Apple's tracking prompt and that the advertising identifier is included only if you allowed tracking, noted that Remove Ads turns it off, reworded the tracking prompt's purpose to name both uses, and added Meta's own controls to Your choices and rights.

What changed on September 13, 2026 (ads in the browser version): the browser version now shows ads from Google AdSense, so we added Ads, cookies and consent, with Google's consent and opt-out tools and Ad privacy choices in the game, added US state privacy rights, explained that Google's ad code doesn't load during a visit that started from a challenge link, and noted that recent players are shown without their names in the browser version.

What changed earlier on September 13, 2026: we added the browser version at play.cutthenets.io, including challenge links and its server logs; added iCloud sync for iOS versions that include it; marked which statements apply to version 1.0 of the iOS app and which to later versions; and limited the Google Fonts section to version 1.0.

Contact

support@cutthenets.io