Privacy policy

Last updated 30 September 2026

Who we are

Cryptic Inkling (crypticinkling.co.uk and the Cryptic Inkling YouTube channel) is an independent project run from the UK that explains cryptic crossword clues. You can contact us at info@crypticinkling.co.uk.

What we collect

There are no accounts and we don't ask for your name, email or any other personal details to use the site.

We don't set advertising or tracking cookies. The clue game remembers your score and streak in your own browser (local storage) so you can pick up where you left off; it never leaves your device and you can clear it at any time in your browser settings.

Like every website, our hosting providers keep standard server logs (such as IP address, browser type and the pages requested) to deliver the site and keep it secure. The site is hosted by Google Firebase and our videos are served by Cloudflare. We may use privacy-friendly, cookie-free statistics that only count visits in aggregate.

If you email us, we use your message and address only to reply, and delete them when they're no longer needed.

YouTube videos

Our walkthrough videos are hosted on YouTube. Puzzle pages show the video's thumbnail image, which your browser loads from YouTube's image server (i.ytimg.com). The player itself loads from YouTube's privacy-enhanced domain (youtube-nocookie.com), together with YouTube's player script, only when you press play. From then on YouTube's own terms and privacy policy apply to what you watch: https://www.youtube.com/t/terms and https://policies.google.com/privacy.

Our use of YouTube API Services

Cryptic Inkling uses YouTube API Services only to upload and manage videos on its own YouTube channel (for example setting a video's title, description, thumbnail and playlist). It does not ask visitors to sign in with Google, and it does not access, collect, store or share any YouTube or Google data about viewers or other users.

By using any part of Cryptic Inkling that relies on YouTube API Services, you agree to be bound by the YouTube Terms of Service (https://www.youtube.com/t/terms). Google's Privacy Policy applies to data Google processes: https://policies.google.com/privacy.

The only Google account connected to our application is the channel owner's. Access can be revoked at any time through Google's security settings: https://myaccount.google.com/permissions.

Sharing

We don't sell or share personal information. The only third parties involved are the hosting and video providers named above, who process data on our behalf or under their own policies.

Your rights

Under UK data protection law you can ask what personal data we hold about you, and ask us to correct or delete it. Email info@crypticinkling.co.uk. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk).

Children

The site is suitable for all ages and doesn't knowingly collect personal information from anyone, including children.

Changes

If this policy changes we'll update this page and the date at the top.