Privacy policy
Last updated: October 20, 2026
The Great Paper Expansion ("the game", "we", "us") is a free browser game at thegreatpaperexpansion.com. This page explains what information the game uses, why, and the choices you have. The short version: we collect as little as we can, we never sell your information, and your email address (if you give us one) is used to sign you in, plus occasional update emails only if you ask for them.
What we collect, and why
Your game progress
Your progress (folds, gold, upgrades, settings and so on) is saved in your browser so you can pick up where you left off. While you play, a copy is also saved to our server (your "cloud save"), If you add your email, you can sign in to that cloud save again after clearing your browser data, or from another device. A guest cloud save is linked only to the browser it was made in.
Your player account
After your first fold, the game creates a guest account for you automatically. It holds a random account ID, a player number, a generated player name (which you can change), the emoji you pick, your cloud save and your scores for the leaderboard. No email or password is needed for a guest account.
How you tap
While you play, the game keeps a short summary of how your taps arrive (how many, how fast and how regular; never where on the screen) and saves it with your player account. We use it to group players who use auto-clickers or other automatic tapping, which are allowed, for example in their own leaderboard group or badges. It is never used to block or slow anyone down.
Your email address (only if you choose to add one)
If you use "Save across devices" or "Sign in", we ask for your email address. We use it to send you sign-in codes and links, so you can reach your saved game on another device. We never sell or share your email address.
Update emails (only if you choose them)
You can choose to get occasional emails about big updates, such as new worlds: by ticking the box when you save your progress, by answering "Yes" when the game asks, or by tapping "Notify me" on the world map. The box is never ticked for you, and if you don't choose them, we don't send them. We keep a record of when and where you chose. Every update email has an unsubscribe link, and one click on it stops them for good; your game, progress and sign-in stay as they are.
Purchases (only if you buy something)
If you buy something in the game's Store, you pay on our payment processor's own secure page. It handles your card or wallet details, and we never see or store them. From the payment processor we receive a record of the purchase: what you bought, the price and currency, the time, and the email address used for the receipt. We keep it with your account so your purchases reach every device you sign in on, and to handle questions, refunds and our accounting.
What's public
The leaderboard shows your player name, emoji, player number and scores to everyone. Please don't use your real name or anything personal as your player name.
How the game is used (analytics)
We use Google Analytics to understand how people play: for example which pages are visited, how far players get, when the game hits an error, and general device and country information. We never send your name, email address or anything you type to Google Analytics. Google Analytics uses cookies; see "Cookies and your choices" below.
Keeping bots out
When a guest account is created, and when you sign in, a bot-protection service checks (invisibly) that you're a person and not a bot. It may process technical information such as your IP address and browser details to do this.
Basic technical information
Like every website, our servers and service providers receive technical information such as your IP address, browser type and the time of each request. It's used to run the game, keep it secure and stop abuse.
Cookies and your choices
The game stores your progress and settings in your browser's local storage (this is needed for the game to work). Google Analytics sets cookies to measure how the game is used.
If ads are shown on our website in the future, third parties including Google may use cookies to serve ads based on your visits to this and other websites. Google's use of advertising cookies lets it and its partners serve ads based on those visits. You can learn how Google uses information from sites that use its services at policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites, and opt out of personalized advertising at adssettings.google.com.
When you first visit, a banner asks for your cookie choice (visitors in the European Economic Area, the UK and Switzerland start with analytics and advertising cookies off). You can change your choice at any time: Cookie settings.
Who helps us run the game
We use trusted service providers, who process information only to provide their service to us and under their own privacy and security commitments:
- a database and accounts provider: player accounts, cloud saves and the leaderboard (servers in the United States);
- a payment processor: handles payments in the game's Store and sends your receipt;
- an email delivery service: sends the sign-in emails and any update emails you've asked for;
- a bot-protection service: keeps automated sign-ups out;
- Google: Google Analytics, Google Fonts, and in the future possibly Google AdSense;
- a web hosting provider: hosts the website.
If you'd like to know which providers we use, email us and we'll tell you.
How long we keep it
- Your player account, cloud save and leaderboard scores (including your tap summary) are kept so the leaderboard stays complete and your progress stays safe. You can ask us to delete them at any time.
- Your email address is kept for as long as your account exists. Your update-email choice is kept with it, including when you unsubscribed.
- Purchase records are kept for as long as tax and accounting laws require (usually up to 7 years), even if you ask us to delete your account.
- Google Analytics data is kept for up to 14 months.
Your rights
You can ask us to show you, correct or delete the information we have about you. Email hello@thegreatpaperexpansion.com from the address you use to sign in (or tell us your player name and number) and we'll handle it within 30 days. Deleting your data removes your account, cloud save and leaderboard entry, and can't be undone (purchase records we must keep by law are kept, but no longer linked to a playable account).
California residents: under the California Consumer Privacy Act you have the right to know what personal information we collect, to have it deleted, to correct it, and not to be treated differently for using these rights. We do not sell your personal information. You can turn off analytics and advertising cookies at any time in Cookie settings.
Visitors from the European Economic Area, the UK and Switzerland: you also have the right to object to or restrict how we use your information, to take a copy of it, and to complain to your local data protection authority. We rely on your consent for analytics and advertising cookies, and on our legitimate interest in running and protecting the game for everything else.
Children
The game is suitable for all ages, but it isn't directed at children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect personal information such as an email address from them. If you believe a child under 13 has given us their email address, contact us and we'll delete it.
Security
Your information is sent over encrypted connections (HTTPS), and access to our database is limited to what the game needs. No system is perfectly secure, but we work to protect your information.
Changes to this policy
If we change this policy, we'll update the date at the top of this page. For important changes, we'll also let players know in the game.
Contact
Questions or requests: hello@thegreatpaperexpansion.com