Privacy

Updated 18 October 2026

Who we are

Bitterballen is a game for learning Dutch, made by TechTulp (eenmanszaak, KvK 93688768, Breda, the Netherlands). TechTulp is the controller for the data described here. Questions or requests about your data: [email protected].

Your progress stays on your device

Your words, stroopwafels, streak and settings are stored in your browser (IndexedDB and local storage) on this device only. Without an account there is no server copy. Clearing your browser data or using "Opnieuw beginnen" in Instellingen deletes it; a back-up file you make yourself stays with you.

Anonymous usage statistics

To learn which games people enjoy and where they get stuck, the app sends anonymous events to PostHog, hosted in the EU (Frankfurt). An event is something like "a Woordle round finished, 4 of 5 correct, lesson 2", plus the technical basics any website receives (browser, device type, screen size and approximate country). Your IP address is used only to estimate that country and is then discarded.

PostHog keeps a random ID in your browser's local storage so it can tell a returning player from a new one. It is not linked to your name, email or any other identity. We don't use cookies, advertising trackers, session recordings or click tracking, and we never sell or share data for marketing.

Legal basis: our legitimate interest in improving the game (GDPR art. 6(1)(f)). You can switch it off at any time in Instellingen → Privacy; the app then stops sending events and, on your next visit, no longer loads PostHog at all. Events are kept for at most 12 months.

Speech and microphone

Zeg het! and spoken replies in Gesprek use your browser's built-in speech recognition. Depending on your browser, the audio may be processed by its maker (for example Google for Chrome, Apple for Safari). We never receive or store your voice.

Accounts (optional, coming soon)

Later you will be able to make an optional account to keep your progress across devices. If you do, we store your email address and a copy of your progress with Supabase, in the EU (Ireland). Legal basis: performing our agreement with you (GDPR art. 6(1)(b)). Delete your account and that copy is deleted too. Playing without an account stays possible.

Payments (Bitterballen Plus)

Purchases are handled by Paddle.com, our reseller and Merchant of Record. Paddle collects your name, email, billing country and payment details to process the order, collect VAT and prevent fraud, under its own privacy policy (paddle.com/legal/privacy). We receive only what we need to give you access: your email, what you bought, and whether the subscription is active. We never see your card details. Legal basis: performing our agreement with you, and our legal duty to keep financial records (7 years).

Your rights

Under the GDPR you can ask to see, correct or delete data about you, and object to its use. Because our statistics are anonymous we can't link events to you, but you can switch them off at any time. You can also complain to the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens.

Changes

If this policy changes in a way that matters, the app will tell you.