Last updated: 1 November 2026 (version 1.14)
Word Hive is a puzzle game for Android, iPhone and iPad, Windows and web browsers, developed by Jon Welch (G7JJF), Nottinghamshire, England. This policy explains what the app does with your information. It is the same on every version, except where noted.
You can play every puzzle, and the two-player games against the computer, without going online. Your progress is saved on your device only: on a phone in the app's own storage, on Windows in the app's folder in your user account, and on the web in your browser's storage for this site. It is removed if you clear the app's data, uninstall it or clear the site's data in your browser.
If you choose to join the leaderboard, the app sends the following to the Word Hive server at g7jjf.com:
| What | Why |
|---|---|
| The nickname you choose | Shown next to your score on the leaderboard and in hives you join. |
| A random player ID created by the app | Identifies your scores without needing an email address or password. It is not linked to your Google, Apple or Microsoft account, phone number or device ID. |
| The words you find in each daily puzzle | Checked by the server to calculate your score. Only the score, number of words and number of pangrams are stored; the words themselves are not kept. |
| Your guesses in each daily Honeycomb game, once you finish it | Checked by the server against that day's word. Only the number of guesses and whether you found the word are stored; the guesses themselves are not kept. |
| The words in each daily Ladder, once you finish or give up | Checked by the server. Only the number of moves and whether you reached the end are stored. |
| Your finished grid, time and number of hints in each daily Sudoku | The grid is checked by the server. Only your time and number of hints are stored. |
| Your sums in each daily Target round, once you finish | Replayed by the server to check them. Only the number you made, how far it was from the target and the number of steps are stored. |
| Your answers and hints in each day's Link puzzles, once you finish | Checked by the server. Only your points, the number solved and the number of hints are stored. |
| Your answers, time and number of hints in the other daily puzzles (Anagram, Codeword, Missing Vowels, Word Search, Killer Sudoku, Calcudoku, Picross, Dominosa, Pips, Make 24 and Minesweeper), once you finish or give up | Checked by the server. Only whether you solved it, your time and number of hints are stored. |
| Games you play with friends (Connect 4, Dots and Boxes, Reversi, Draughts, Battleships, Mills, Hangman and Backgammon): who's playing, each move, in Battleships where your ships are, and in Hangman your secret word | So both players can see the game and the server can check every move. Only the two players can see a game. Your opponent can't see your ships or your Hangman word until the game is over. Finished games stop being shown after two weeks and are removed when either player deletes their online data. |
| Names of hives you create, and which hives you're in | To show hive leaderboards and chat to their members. |
| Messages you send in hive chat, and people you block | To show the chat to members of that hive. See "Hive chat" below. |
Your nickname, scores and hive names are visible to other players, and your messages are visible to the members of that hive. Random puzzles are never sent.
The server briefly records a one-way scrambled (hashed) version of your IP address to stop automated sign-ups. Your IP address itself is not stored. Like any website, the hosting provider's standard server logs may include IP addresses for a short period.
Word Hive contains no advertising, analytics or tracking code, and your data is never sold or shared with anyone else.
Each hive has a group chat. Messages you send are stored on the Word Hive server so the other members of that hive can read them. Only members of the hive can see its messages.
Messages aren't end-to-end encrypted. They're sent over an encrypted connection (HTTPS) and stored on the server, so don't share anything private in hive chat.
Before using hive chat you agree to these rules: be kind, with no bullying, harassment or threats; no hate speech or slurs; no sexual content or anything unsuitable for teenagers; no spam, scams or sharing other people's personal details. Common slurs are hidden automatically. Messages that break the rules can be removed, and players who repeatedly break them can be removed from Word Hive.
When you invite friends, the app opens your device's share options (email, messages and so on), or on Windows and the web copies the invite to paste. Word Hive doesn't see or store who you send invites to. If a friend installs Word Hive from an invite link on Android, Google Play passes the hive code to the app so it can offer to join that hive.
In the app, go to Menu > Hives > Delete my online data. This immediately deletes your nickname, scores, messages, blocks, hive memberships and any hives you own from the server. If you no longer have the app, see how to request deletion.
Players who haven't used the leaderboard for two years may have their data removed.
If you sign up to test Word Hive on this website, your name, Google account email, phone model, Android version and any comments you add are emailed to the developer and kept in a private file, only so you can be invited to the test on Google Play and contacted about Word Hive. They are not shared with anyone else. Google Play also sees your email address when you are added as a tester. Ask via g7jjf.com if you'd like them deleted.
The app's Donate option opens Tracy Welch's JustGiving page for Breast Cancer Now in your web browser. Word Hive does not handle donations or payment details. Anything you do on JustGiving is covered by JustGiving's privacy policy.
Word Hive is not directed at children under 13 and doesn't knowingly collect information from them.
Under UK data protection law you can ask for a copy of your data or for it to be corrected or deleted. Contact details are below.
If this policy changes, the updated version will be posted on this page with a new date.
Questions about this policy can be sent via g7jjf.com.