Last updated 8 October 2026

Privacy Policy

What we collect

Nothing. Kibitz has no servers of its own. We do not collect, receive, store, transmit or sell personal data, usage data, device identifiers, diagnostics or crash reports.

The camera

Kibitz uses the camera only while you record a game, to recognize the board and the pieces.

• The picture is analysed entirely on your iPhone. Video is never stored and never uploaded.
• If the setting Save a photo of every move is on (it is by default), one small photo of the board is saved with each move, so you can check the game afterwards. You can switch this off in Settings.

Games and players

Your games, their move photos and the names of the players you enter are stored in the app's storage on your iPhone. If iCloud is enabled for Kibitz, they are synced through your own private iCloud account so they appear on your other devices. That data is held by Apple on your behalf; we have no access to it.

Deleting a game in Kibitz deletes it, including its photos. Deleting the app removes the data on that device.

Lichess

Kibitz can work with lichess.org, a free chess server run by an independent non-profit. Lichess is used only for things you choose to do:

• Uploading a game. When you upload a game, switch on automatic upload, add games to a study or start a live broadcast, Kibitz sends the game — its moves and the names, event and place you entered — to Lichess. Photos are never sent.
• Signing in. Signing in with Lichess is optional. If you do, Kibitz stores the access token Lichess gives it in your iPhone's Keychain. You can sign out in Settings at any time, and revoke access on lichess.org.
• Evaluations (Kibitz Pro). To show the evaluation and best move, Kibitz sends the current chess position — just the arrangement of the pieces, nothing about you — to the Lichess cloud evaluation service.

Data on lichess.org is covered by the Lichess privacy policy.

Purchases

Kibitz Pro is sold through Apple's In-App Purchase system. Apple handles the entire transaction. We never see your name, address, card details or Apple Account. All Kibitz receives from iOS is whether a purchase is active.

Apple's own privacy practices apply to that transaction and are described in the Apple Privacy Policy.

This website

This site is a few static pages. It sets no cookies, runs no analytics and embeds no third-party scripts or fonts. Our hosting provider may keep standard server logs, such as IP addresses and requested pages, for security and operational purposes.

Children

Kibitz is suitable for all ages and collects no data from anyone, of any age.

Changes

If this policy ever changes, the updated version will appear on this page with a new date at the top.

Contact

Questions about privacy, or anything else, can go to kibitz@csteiger.ch. See also the support page.

Kibitz is made by Cédric Steiger, Switzerland.