Your privacy.
Hence keeps as little about you as it can. Here is all of it.
If you just play
Your streak, times, characters and settings live in your browser. They don't leave it unless you save a backup file yourself.
Your solve time goes into the puzzle's public average as a total, not as yours. To count how many people play, your browser also tells us once a day that it visited and whether it opened and solved the puzzle, with no name, email or IP address attached.
Your badges are worked out in your browser too. So that a friend who starts playing from a link you shared counts toward your badges, your browser makes a random code when you first solve a puzzle, and your share links carry a short tag made from it. We keep the code (scrambled, so it can't be read back), that tag, which links a new player came in on and the days they play, and when someone plays a link you shared to the end, and whether they beat your time, tied it or met your dare. When a new player comes in on your link, we also keep the name on that link and the name they use on their own, if you each gave one. For friend streaks we keep the days you play and which friends' links you opened, and show your streak and your username only to friends who have each opened a link from the other. Friends you hide are kept so they stay hidden. Otherwise none of it says who you are. We also count how many people earn and share each badge, as totals.
Everyone who plays has a username, so no two players share a name. Until you pick one in Settings it is a made-up one, like sloth-4821, and we keep it with that code. The made-up one is never put on the links you share.
For the leaderboard we keep, with that code, your time on each day's puzzle when you solve it on its own day without hints, and when you made your first move on it (so a time can be checked against our own clock). Once a day is over everywhere, the ten fastest are shown with their usernames, and the week's best players with how many others they beat. Nobody else sees your own time or place.
If you save your streak with your email
We keep your email address, a copy of your progress (solves, times, streak, characters and settings) and your time zone. That is what lets your progress follow you to any device you sign in on, and a streak reminder arrive in your evening. There's no password: you sign in with a code we email you.
Your public profile
When you save your progress with your email, you get a public profile under your username, like hencegame.com/u/sloth-4821, which you can change in Settings. Anyone with the link can see it. It shows your username, your badges and when you earned them, your current and best streak, how many days you've played and the month you started, plus your best times if you switch that on. It never shows your email, your other solves or anything else. Search engines are asked not to list it, and the site has no list or search of profiles. Switch your profile off in Settings at any time and it comes down at once.
Email we send
- A sign-in code, when you ask for one.
- A streak reminder on an evening your streak is about to end. Turn it off in Settings, or from any reminder.
- Now and then, updates about Hence, such as a new app.
Every email has a link to stop it.
Who else handles it
Our emails go out through Brevo, which holds your address to send them. The site runs on Cloudflare. Google Analytics counts visits and plays; in the EU, the UK and Switzerland, only if you agree to it. We don't sell your data or share it with anyone else.
Deleting it
In the game, open Settings, then Delete my account. That removes your address, your saved progress and your public profile from our server, and your address from Brevo. Whatever is in your browser stays there until you clear it.
Questions? Get in touch.
Updated November 3, 2026.