Privacy Policy

Effective October 16, 2026

This policy explains what information Maimbrain collects, how it's used and shared, and the choices you have. It covers the Maimbrain website (maimbrain.com, including game pages you can play in a browser and the beta waitlist), the Maimbrain iPhone app, and the mb command-line tool's connection to Maimbrain. Using Maimbrain is also subject to our Terms of Use.

Who we are

Maimbrain is operated by Jason Meller, an individual in the United States, who is responsible for your information ("we", "us"). If a company is formed to run Maimbrain, it will take over this policy and we'll update this page.

Contact: privacy@maimbrain.com

What we collect

When you create an account

• Your username and email address.
• Your birthdate, to check you're old enough to use Maimbrain. It isn't shown to anyone.
• Which versions of the Terms of Use and this Privacy Policy you agreed to, and when.
• How you sign in: a password (we store only a salted hash of it), or passkeys (we store only their public keys).
• Anything you add to your profile: a display name, a bio and an avatar.
• Your settings, such as who can see your scores and which notifications you want.

Your avatar

Avatars are pixel art that Maimbrain draws and keeps: a critter drawn from a random number, or a pixel portrait drawn from a selfie or photo you choose. To draw a portrait, we send the photo to Google (Gemini), with Google's option to store it turned off. We don't keep the photo: we keep the portrait, and the expressions (emotes) drawn from it, which we also send to Google to draw. If you uploaded a photo as your avatar before avatars were pixel art, we keep it, shown only to you, until you convert it into a portrait or change your avatar.

Invites

Each member has an invite code, part of their personal invite link. We keep who invited you and whom you invited. Anyone who opens your link sees that the invite is yours. Joining with an invite makes you and your inviter friends. The people you invited are shown to you, with how many days each has played toward the invite reward (counted up to 3).

When you use Maimbrain

• What you post: games you upload (including their code and art), comments, likes, and reports you send us.
• People: who you follow, your friends and friend requests, and who you've hidden or blocked.
• Playing: which games you play and how often, how long each round lasts, when it ended and whether you finished it or left it early, your scores, and recordings of your best runs (the game's inputs, so the run can be replayed). For each round we also note how it was played: touch, controller, keyboard or mouse (and which kind of controller), which way the screen was held, and the app version, device model and system version it was played on. We also note which countries a game has been played in, taken from your device's region setting.
• Using the app: when you open the app and how long it stays open each time, and which of our notifications you open.
• Crash reports: when the app stops a game because it froze or crashed, it sends us a report so the game can be fixed: which game and version, what went wrong and where in the game's code, the game's own log, your input in that game until then and the game's saved data it started from (so the moment can be replayed), and the app version, device model and system version. It's linked to your account if you're signed in. You can turn crash reports off in Settings. We keep them for 30 days.
• Sign-ins and devices: for each signed-in device, the IP address and browser or device type it signed in from (shown on your account page so you can sign other devices out), and, if you turn on notifications, a push token from Apple.
• Creator AI tools: if we've given you access to Maimbrain's image, music, sound-effect and 3D model generation, a record of each request (when, what kind, which model and its estimated cost) and of the files you upload for it (when, what kind and their size). We keep only a fingerprint (hash) of each prompt, not its text; see "Who we share it with" below for where prompts go.
• Email: we email you to confirm your address and to reset your password.

The beta waitlist

You can join the waitlist from the website or the app. We keep your email address, which game's page you joined from (if any), and when you joined and agreed to this policy. You don't need an account to join.

Playing games in your browser

You can play a game on its web page without an account. When you finish a round there, the page tells us how it went: the score, how long it lasted, whether you used touch, a mouse, a keyboard or a controller (and which kind), which way the screen was held, your browser and system, and whether you're on a phone, tablet or computer. It's sent with a random ID kept in your browser, not with your name or account. The page also keeps a few things in your browser's local storage only, never on our servers: the game's saved progress, your best scores, your sound setting and a random ID the game sees instead of your name. Clearing this site's data in your browser erases them.

Your device's sensors

Some games use your phone's motion sensors or microphone, always after your device asks for your permission. Games only get a tilt angle, which way the phone is pointing and how fast it turns, a shake strength or a loudness level. Audio is never recorded, kept or sent to us.

Logs and cookies

Our servers log requests (IP address, browser, the page or API asked for and when) to keep Maimbrain running, fix problems and stop abuse. On the website we use cookies only to keep you signed in and to protect forms against forgery. There are no ad or analytics cookies, and no third-party trackers, on maimbrain.com or in the app.

How we use it

• To run Maimbrain: your account, your feed, games, comments, likes, leaderboards, friends and notifications.
• To keep it safe: reviewing games before they're listed, handling reports, limiting spam and abuse, and enforcing our Terms.
• To show creators how their games do: counts such as plays, players, likes and countries, never who played.
• To email you about your account and, if you joined the waitlist, to invite you to the beta and tell you when Maimbrain launches.
• To fix bugs and improve Maimbrain.
• To understand how Maimbrain is used and report how it's doing: totals such as how many people play each day, for how long and whether they come back, and which games they spend their time in. These are counts across everyone, not reports about you.

We don't sell your information, use it for advertising, or use it to train AI models.

What other people can see

Some of what you do on Maimbrain is public, on the website and in the app, including to people without an account: your username, display name, bio and avatar; when you joined; your followers, who you follow and your friends; games you publish (including their code, which other creators may remix if the game allows it); and your comments. Your scores and best runs are visible to the people your score setting allows: friends (the default), followers, or everyone. Likes are shown as counts. Who you've hidden or blocked and the reports you send are private.

Who we share it with

We share information only with service providers that run parts of Maimbrain for us, who may use it only to provide their service:

• DigitalOcean: servers, file storage and content delivery.
• PlanetScale: our database.
• Resend: sending email.
• Apple: push notifications and TestFlight beta distribution.
• Google (Gemini), ElevenLabs and Tripo: when you use Maimbrain's creator AI tools, your prompt goes to Google to make images, to ElevenLabs to make music and sound effects, or to Tripo (with any reference image or model you upload) to make 3D models. Their own terms and privacy policies also apply to what they receive.
• Google (Gemini): when you make a pixel portrait, the selfie or photo you choose goes to Google to draw it, and the portrait goes to Google to draw its expressions (see "Your avatar" above). Google's own terms and privacy policy also apply to what it receives.

We may also disclose information if the law requires it, to protect people from harm, or to enforce our Terms. If Maimbrain becomes part of a company (including one formed to run it), your information would move to that company under this policy.

Our servers and providers are in the United States. If you use Maimbrain from elsewhere, your information is processed there.

How long we keep it

• Account information, for as long as you have the account.
• When you delete your account, we delete your profile, birthdate, avatar, games, comments, likes, scores, runs, round records, records of opening the app, follows, sessions and devices. Copies in our database provider's backups expire on their own schedule. We may keep a minimal record of moderation actions taken against content or accounts.
• Round-by-round records and records of opening the app, for 13 months. After that we keep only daily totals that don't identify anyone.
• Waitlist entries, until the beta ends, or sooner if you ask.
• Server logs, for a limited time: they're deleted automatically as newer logs replace them, unless we need some longer to look into abuse or a security problem.

Your choices and rights

• Edit your profile and settings, including who can see your scores, at any time.
• Delete your account from your account page on the website or in the app.
• Leave the waitlist with the link in any email we send, or by writing to us.
• Turn off notifications, and motion or microphone access, in your device's settings.

Wherever you live, you can ask us for a copy of your information, to correct it, to delete it, or to stop using it for something you agreed to. Write to privacy@maimbrain.com and we'll reply within 30 days. We may need to confirm the request comes from you. If you're in the European Economic Area or the UK, we rely on our agreement with you (to provide Maimbrain), your consent (the waitlist, motion and microphone access, notifications), and our legitimate interest in keeping Maimbrain safe and working. You can also complain to your local data protection authority.

Children

During the beta, Maimbrain is for adults: you must be 18 or older to create an account, and sign-up asks for your birthdate. If you're younger, we don't create the account or keep the birthdate you entered. Once Maimbrain is publicly released, it won't be for children under 13, and in the European Economic Area and the UK it'll be for people 16 and older unless a parent or guardian agrees. We don't knowingly collect information from children under 13. If you believe a child has given us information, email us and we'll delete it.

Security

We protect your information with encryption in transit, hashed passwords, and access limited to the people who run Maimbrain and, for games awaiting review and reports, the moderators who help us. No service is perfectly secure; if a breach affects your information, we'll tell you as the law requires.

Changes

We'll post any changes here and update the date above. If a change is significant, we'll also tell you in the app or by email before it takes effect.