Privacy Policy

Last updated: 16 October 2026

Query the Murder is built privacy-first. There are no accounts or logins, and we do not collect personal information about you unless you choose to give us your email in the feedback form. This policy explains the little data we do handle and why.

What we don't collect

We do not ask for your name or any account details, because there are no accounts. We do not keep a record of which cases you have solved, and we do not link anything you do on the site to you.

What happens when you submit a query

When you click Submit Query, your query is sent to our server, run against the case database (PostgreSQL) and the result is sent back to your browser. Your query is not saved in the database.

Our server writes each query and its result to our hosting provider's logs, which we use to fix problems. Our hosting provider, Vercel, keeps standard request logs (such as the page requested, the time and your browser type) for a limited time for security and reliability.

What we do collect

We use PostHog, a privacy-focused analytics tool, to understand how people use the site in aggregate — for example, which cases are started most often, or where players get stuck. This helps us improve the game.

This analytics data is anonymous. Specifically:

• We do not identify you personally.
• PostHog is set up so it does not store your IP address.
• We do not use session recording or screen capture.
• The events we record are things like "a case was started" or "a query was submitted".
• When a query doesn't match the expected answer, we record the query text and the error message. This shows us which mistakes are most common so we can write better hints. It isn't linked to you, but please don't type personal information into the query box.

Feedback

If you use the Feedback button, your message is emailed straight to our inbox at querythemurder@gmail.com. It is not stored on the site. Adding your email is optional; if you do, we use it only to reply to you, and you can ask us to delete your message at any time.

Cookies

The site sets these cookies and browser storage:

• Game progress: a session cookie remembers which questions you have solved in the current case. It is deleted when you close your browser.
• Solved cases: your browser keeps a list of the cases you have finished so the case list can mark them solved. It stays on your device until you clear your browser data and is never sent to us.
• PostHog: a random anonymous identifier, so it can tell one visit apart from another. It is not linked to your name or any personal identity.
• Google Analytics: cookies named _ga that Google uses to count visits and pages viewed.

Third-party services

• PostHog handles our gameplay analytics, using the anonymous events described above.
• Google Analytics measures visits and pages viewed. Google's own privacy policy covers how it handles that data.
• Vercel hosts the site, keeps the request logs described above and measures page views and loading speed for us.
• Gmail delivers feedback emails to our inbox.

The case data lives in a database, but nothing about you is stored there.

Children's privacy

Query the Murder is an educational tool suitable for a general audience and does not knowingly collect personal information from anyone, including children. The only personal information we can receive is an email address someone chooses to add to a feedback message.

Changes to this policy

If we ever change what data we collect, we'll update this page and change the "last updated" date above.

Contact

Questions about privacy? Email querythemurder@gmail.com.