Privacy Policy for ChessMachina

The controller for the ChessMachina app is Tom Silas Helmke, c/o Online-Impressum #4746, Europaring 90, 53757 Sankt Augustin, Germany. Contact: tshfm78@gmail.com.

This policy describes processing by the ChessMachina app. Processing when visiting tommsel.com, including hosting and any website services, is described in the general tommsel.com privacy policy.

ChessMachina is locally oriented. The app uses no user account, no custom backend server, no custom cloud synchronization, and no custom cloud chess engine. Both the reconstructed historical machines and the modern reference engine compute locally on your device.

ChessMachina stores on your device, among other things, app settings and local game records: starting positions or the information needed for them, move sequences, results, and opponent and engine version. Replays can be deterministically reconstructed from this information; this is not separately uploaded additional data but information derived locally from the saved game. ChessMachina does not transmit this data to its own servers.

The historical chess machines in ChessMachina are algorithmic clean-room reconstructions based on available historical documentation, not a reuse of third-party original code or original data. The modern reference engine in Compute Mode is ChessMachina's own development.

If you use the native iOS share feature, content is handed off only through the share action you choose to the destination you select. ChessMachina does not operate its own share server for this.

Links to historical sources, Apple pages, or other external destinations are subject to the respective external providers' privacy terms.

ChessMachina uses no app analytics, tracking, or advertising.

Local data can be deleted through app functions and settings and by removing the app from the device. Available iOS options can differ.

Data processing when visiting tommsel.com, including hosting and server logs, is described in the general tommsel.com privacy policy and is not covered by this app-specific policy.

Where the legal requirements are met, you have rights of access, rectification, erasure, restriction of processing, data portability, and objection. You can contact tshfm78@gmail.com and have the right to lodge a complaint with a data-protection supervisory authority.

Last updated: September 21, 2026. This policy will be updated if ChessMachina features or data processing change.