Lanternwild
Privacy policy
Last updated 26 October 2026
The short version
- We only collect what the game needs: your handle, your password (scrambled so nobody can read it) and your game progress.
- We never ask players for their real name, email address, phone number, photo or where they live.
- If a grown-up writes to us using the Contact form, we get the email address they give so we can reply.
- There are no adverts and no tracking, and we never sell anyone's information.
- Strangers never see anything about you. Only friends you add with a friend code (and members of the Lantern Circles you choose to join) can see your handle and buddy.
- You can download everything we hold about you, or delete your account, from your Profile page at any time.
- Under 13? Please ask a parent or guardian to read this with you.
1. Who we are
Lanternwild (playlanternwild.com) is run by Christchurch Web Solutions Ltd (company number 10977032), which trades as Lanternwild, of Unit 6, 6 Silver Business Park, Airfield Way, Christchurch, BH23 3TA, United Kingdom ("we", "us"). We are the controller of the personal information described here. Contact us at hello@playlanternwild.com.
2. What we collect, and why
| Information | Why we use it | Legal basis (UK/EU GDPR) |
|---|---|---|
| Your handle (the name you choose) | To identify your account, and to show it to friends you've added with a friend code and to members of the Lantern Circles you've joined | Contract: to provide the game |
| Your password and recovery code, stored only as one-way hashes | To let you sign in and recover your account | Contract |
| Game data: cards, packs, swaps, walks, Expeditions, Bright forms you've grown, album rewards and discoveries, puzzle results and mini-game scores (such as Lantern Match, Lantern Pairs, Lantern Flight and the Drum Circle), Pairs for two and Lantern Trail games you play with a friend, Firefly Gathering and Drum Together rounds (how full the shared jar got, how brightly the song glowed), dioramas, favourites, your Lantern Buddy and hats, your chosen binder cover and card frame, story progress, badges, lantern light, Lantern Circle membership, the preset cheers you send and your Lantern Relay moves (which Circle members can see) | To run the game and keep your collection safe | Contract |
| Security records: when you sign in, open packs or swap, and failed sign-in attempts | To keep accounts safe, stop cheating and fix problems | Legitimate interests (security) |
| Your IP address and browser details, used briefly and not stored in our game database | To limit repeated attempts, block bots (Cloudflare Turnstile) and deliver the site | Legitimate interests (security) |
| Contact form messages (from grown-ups): the topic, message, the email address to reply to, and optionally a name and player handle | To answer you. Messages are emailed to our team inbox and are not stored in the game's database | Legitimate interests (answering your enquiry) |
| Gift code purchases (made by grown-ups on our gift page, not in a player's account): the number of packs, the amount, the date, Stripe's reference numbers, and which account used the code and when. We never see card details or store the code itself. Stripe passes us the buyer's email address so we can email the code; we don't keep it. We record whether that email was sent (and the email service's reference for it), and if a grown-up asks us to resend it, we look the address up from Stripe again. To stop checkouts being misused, we also keep a scrambled, one-way version of the network (IP) address used to start the purchase, which can't be turned back into the address | To deliver the gift, handle refunds and keep the records the law requires | Contract; legal obligation |
From players, we do not collect an email address, real name, date of birth, location, contacts, photos, microphone or camera. We do not use advertising, analytics or tracking cookies, we do not build profiles of you, and we make no automated decisions about you with legal or similar effects.
3. Cookies and storage on your device
We use one cookie, __Host-lw, which keeps you signed in. It is strictly necessary, so it does not need consent. The game also saves a few settings in your browser, such as reduced motion, sound, your puzzle progress, where you've placed your Lantern Buddy, which Lanternling flies in Lantern Flight and, in the offline version, your collection. None of this is used for tracking.
4. Children
Lanternwild is made to be safe for children. Following the UK Age Appropriate Design Code, privacy settings are high by default: profiles are private, there is no chat or messaging, no location, no adverts, and nothing nudges you to share more. Strangers never see anything about you: the Swap Board and the world map are anonymous. Only friends you add with a friend code can see your handle, your buddy, which Lanternlings you've found and your best scores in the mini-games. You can be in up to 3 Lantern Circles. Each Circle's members (up to 8) see your handle, your buddy, whether you've helped light the lantern that week and your preset cheers. You can only be invited to a Circle by a friend, you choose whether to join, and you can leave at any time. Because Circle members can invite their own friends, a Circle can include friends of your friends. If you play Pairs for two or Lantern Trail, the friend you play with sees the cards you play, how many cards you hold, and when you take your turn (never the cards in your hand). In a Firefly Gathering or Drum Together, everyone in the meadow sees your buddy Lanternling live (where it moves, and when it hits the drum); players who aren't friends with you see you only as "a friend of" the player who started it, never your handle. There is no chat and nothing you can type to each other. Handles are checked to keep them friendly.
Children under 13 need a parent or guardian to set up and look after their account. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 beyond what the game needs to work (see section 2). Please choose a handle that is not a real name. If you are a parent or guardian and want to see, change or delete your child's information, contact us at hello@playlanternwild.com.
5. Who we share information with
We only share information with companies that help us run the game, under contracts that require them to protect it:
- Cloudflare: hosts the site and database, provides security (including Turnstile bot checks) and sends our emails, such as contact form messages to our inbox.
- Stripe: sells gift codes to grown-ups as merchant of record through Stripe Managed Payments. Stripe collects the buyer's name, email, billing address and card details directly, uses them under its own privacy policy, and we never see card details.
We may also share information if the law requires it, or to protect players' safety. We never sell or rent personal information, and we do not "share" it for targeted advertising (as defined in US state laws such as the CCPA/CPRA).
6. International transfers
Cloudflare and Stripe may process information outside the UK or the European Economic Area, including in the United States. Where they do, transfers are protected by approved safeguards, such as the UK International Data Transfer Addendum, the EU Standard Contractual Clauses or adequacy decisions.
7. How long we keep information
- Account and game data: while your account exists. When you delete your account it is removed straight away from the live game, and from backups within 30 days.
- Security records: up to 12 months.
- Contact form emails: as long as needed to help you, then deleted within 12 months.
- Purchase records (including the scrambled network address and whether the code email was sent): 6 years, as UK tax law requires, and never used for anything else.
- Sign-in sessions end after 30 days, or when you sign out.
8. Your rights
Wherever you live, you can ask to see, correct, download or delete your information. Depending on where you live, you may also be able to restrict or object to how we use it. Downloading your data and deleting your account are both in your Profile, and work instantly. For anything else, contact hello@playlanternwild.com and we'll reply within one month.
If you're unhappy with how we've handled your information, you can complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk) or to the data protection authority where you live. We'd appreciate the chance to put things right first.
9. Keeping information safe
Passwords and recovery codes are stored only as one-way hashes. All connections use HTTPS. Access to systems is restricted, sensitive actions are logged, and the game's code is tested and security-reviewed.
10. Changes
If we change this policy, we'll update the date at the top. If a change is important, we'll tell you in the game before it takes effect.