Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

This Privacy Policy describes how Cardinalis Web Development (“we,” “us,” or “Operator”) collects, uses, and shares information when you use Five Letter Tribe (the “Service”), including our website, applications, and related features.

Five Letter Tribe is a private social product that lets invited groups (“tribes”) share daily Wordle results, view standings, and chat. Five Letter Tribe is an independent product and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by The New York Times or Wordle.

Privacy requests: support@cardinaliswebdevelopment.com

2. Scope

This Policy applies to information we process as a controller of the Service. It does not cover The New York Times, Wordle, Google, Stripe, or other third-party sites you may visit or use in connection with the Service. Those parties have their own privacy practices.

3. Information we collect

3.1 Account and profile information

When you sign in with Google, we receive information from Google’s authentication service that typically includes your name, email address, and profile image, and a unique account identifier. We store this information to create and maintain your Five Letter Tribe account.

3.2 Tribe and membership information

We collect information related to tribes you create or join, including:

• Tribe name, invite codes, join settings, timezone, and tribe avatar preferences
• Your role (for example, chief/host or member) and membership status
• Approvals, denials, removals, and related membership actions taken by a chief

3.3 Daily results and scoring

When you submit Wordle share text, we store the submitted content, the calculated score, timestamps, and association with your account and tribe so we can display standings and “today” activity within your tribe.

3.4 Chat and media

If you use camp chat, we store messages you send (including text and GIF references or URLs) and related metadata such as timestamps and sender identity within the tribe.

3.5 Billing information (chiefs)

If you subscribe as a chief, payment processing is handled by Stripe. We do not store full payment card numbers on our servers. We may store Stripe customer and subscription identifiers, subscription status, trial usage flags, and related billing metadata needed to provide host entitlements.

3.6 Push notifications and device data

If you enable push notifications, we may store device/push tokens and related delivery metadata (for example, via Firebase Cloud Messaging) so we can send notifications you request or that relate to tribe activity (such as join requests or approvals).

3.7 Technical and usage data

We automatically collect limited technical data needed to operate the Service, which may include IP address, browser/device type, approximate timestamps, cookies or similar technologies for session authentication, and diagnostic logs.

3.8 Cookies and similar technologies

We use essential cookies or local storage for authentication, session continuity, theme preference, and active-tribe selection. These are required for the Service to function. We do not use the Service primarily as an advertising network.

4. How we use information

We use information to:

• Provide, maintain, and improve the Service
• Authenticate users and secure accounts
• Operate tribes, standings, chat, invites, and host controls
• Process subscriptions and communicate about billing status
• Send transactional or activity notifications you enable
• Detect abuse, prevent fraud, and enforce our Terms of Service
• Comply with law and respond to lawful requests

5. How we share information

We share information only as needed to run the Service or as required by law:

• Within your tribe: Other members of a tribe can see your display name, profile image (if provided), submitted results/scores, standings placement, and chat messages you post in that tribe.
• Chiefs/hosts: Chiefs may see member names/emails as needed to manage join requests and membership.
• Service providers: We use vendors such as hosting/database providers, Google (authentication), Stripe (payments), Firebase (push), and infrastructure needed for realtime features. They process data on our instructions.
• Legal and safety: We may disclose information if we believe it is reasonably necessary to comply with law, enforce our terms, or protect rights, safety, or security.
• Business transfers: If we are involved in a merger, acquisition, or asset sale, information may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to ongoing confidentiality commitments where applicable.

We do not sell your personal information for money.

6. Retention

We retain account, tribe, results, chat, and billing-related records for as long as needed to provide the Service and for legitimate business, legal, and security purposes. Chiefs may archive tribes; archived access may be revoked for members. You may request deletion of your account data as described below, subject to legal retention needs (for example, billing records).

7. Security

We implement reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational measures designed to protect personal information. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

8. Children’s privacy

The Service is not directed to children under 13 (or the minimum age required in your jurisdiction). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided personal information, contact us and we will take appropriate steps to delete it.

9. Your choices and rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to:

• Access or receive a copy of personal information we hold about you
• Correct inaccurate information
• Request deletion of personal information
• Object to or restrict certain processing
• Withdraw consent where processing is consent-based (for example, optional push)

You can update some profile information through Google or in-product settings, leave a tribe subject to membership rules, disable push notifications on your device, and manage billing through the Stripe customer portal where available.

To exercise privacy rights, use the contact method above. We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling a request. If we decline a request, we will explain why where required by law.

10. International users

The Service may be operated from the United States. If you access it from another country, your information may be processed in the United States or other locations where we or our providers operate, which may have different data-protection laws than your home country.

11. Third-party services

Authentication, payments, notifications, and GIF search may involve third parties (for example, Google, Stripe, Firebase, and GIF providers). Their collection and use of information is governed by their own policies.

12. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post the updated version on this page and revise the effective date. Continued use of the Service after an update means you acknowledge the revised Policy, except where additional consent is required by law.

13. Contact

Privacy requests: support@cardinaliswebdevelopment.com

Operator: Cardinalis Web Development
Product: Five Letter Tribe

Related: Terms of Service