Privacy
Last updated: 2026-05-17.
Email signups
If you submit your email address through the signup form, it goes to Buttondown, a US-based newsletter service. Buttondown stores your address so we can send build alerts. You confirm the subscription by clicking a link in a verification email (double opt-in). Every newsletter has an unsubscribe link in the footer; one click removes you from the list.
Analytics
The site uses
PostHog,
hosted in the United States (us.i.posthog.com). PostHog is cookieless: it
sets no cookies and builds no person profile (person_profiles: 'never',
autocapture off). It records five anonymous events: $pageview,
play_clicked, discord_clicked, patreon_clicked, and
game_session_ended. No IP address is stored. There is no Google Analytics or
ad SDK on the page.
Local browser storage
The site stores two keys in your browser's localStorage:
tloff_age_ack: remembers that you confirmed you are 18 or older, so the age gate stops asking on every visit.tloff_theme: remembers your light or dark theme choice.ph_phc_..._posthog(auto-generated by PostHog, when PostHog analytics is enabled): a randomly-assigned anonymous ID kept in your browser to deduplicate events. Not tied to any personal data.
Both are local to your browser. Clearing site data wipes them.
The in-page demo (itch.io)
The “Play the demo” section embeds the playable demo from itch.io, which hosts the game build. The iframe is empty on page load and only fetches anything from itch when you click the play button. Until you click, no request leaves your browser for itch.
Once you click play, itch.io sets an itchio_token session cookie scoped to
itch.io so the embed can run. The cookie is itch's, not ours; we do not
read it, and it is wiped when you close the browser session or clear site data. itch.io
may record traffic to the embed in their own analytics. Their privacy policy:
itch.io/docs/legal/privacy-policy.
What we do not collect
No account system, no cookies set by us, no third-party advertising, no fingerprinting. The game itself (downloaded from itch.io) runs offline and does not phone home.
Why there's no cookie banner here
Cookie banners exist because of third-party trackers like Google Analytics, ad pixels, and
behavioral profilers. We don't run any of that. The only analytics on this page is
PostHog, which sets no cookies and doesn't store your IP. The two keys we save in
your browser (tloff_age_ack and tloff_theme) are listed above.
They're functional, not trackers.
The itch.io demo iframe sets one session cookie (itchio_token) when it loads,
but only after you click “Play it here”. That click is your consent. If you
don't click, the iframe never loads.
Age assurance
This site uses self-attestation, not government-ID verification. When you confirm your age (either at the entry prompt or by clicking the embedded demo) you are providing your own declaration that you are 18 years of age or older. We do not collect, verify, or store identity documents.
This reflects current practice among independent developers. Vendor-level ID verification is not required by the platforms we distribute through (itch.io, Patreon, Discord), and we don't implement what those platforms don't require.
If age-verification requirements change in your region, you remain responsible for confirming you meet the legal age threshold for adult content where you live.
Contact
Questions, removal requests, GDPR / CCPA inquiries: hello@theloadoff.game.