Terms of Service

Acceptance of terms

By using DetectiveOS and its case files ("the Service"), you agree to these Terms of Service. The Service is a simulated environment for entertainment. Attempts to exploit the infrastructure behind it will end your access immediately.

Using the Service

Playing with friends is allowed. You may share your account with friends to solve a case together, so everyone can open the evidence, question the suspects and work the file from their own computer.

You agree to use the Service only for lawful purposes. You may not:

• Reverse-engineer the source code, or decrypt protected files outside the way the game is meant to be played.
• Sell, rent out or publicly post your account or your purchased cases.
• Harass other players or DetectiveOS staff, including through the support channels.

Intellectual property

All case files, evidence, images and stories in DetectiveOS belong to DetectiveOS and its developers. You get a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to use the Service for personal, non-commercial entertainment.

Disclaimer of liability

The Service is provided "as is". We make no warranties, express or implied, about the accuracy of the simulated forensic data. We are not liable for lost progress caused by clearing your browser storage or by network interruptions.

Payments and refunds

Cases are one-time purchases, processed by our payment provider, Stripe. We never see or store your card details.

Because the content unlocks straight away, all sales are final. Exceptions may be made for technical failures, at our sole discretion. For refund or billing questions, email support@detectiveos.net from the address you bought with, or use the link in your Stripe receipt.

Your account and data

When you create an account, we store only what the Service needs to work:

• Your email address, display name and password (stored encrypted; we cannot read it).
• Which cases you bought, when, the amount paid and the Stripe payment reference.
• Which cases you have solved.
• Reviews, feedback, case ideas and support requests you send us, with the email address you give.

Your in-game progress is saved in your own browser, not on our servers. Clearing your browser data removes it.

This data is used only to run the Service, give you access to your cases and answer your requests. We do not sell it. It is processed by the providers that run the Service: Supabase (accounts and database), Stripe (payments) and Netlify (website hosting).

Cookies and ads. With your permission we use Google Analytics to count visits and the Meta Pixel to see which of our ads on Facebook and Instagram bring players to the site. They set cookies and receive the pages you visit and events such as signing up, starting a checkout or a purchase (with its value). When you buy a case after allowing this, we also tell Meta about the purchase from our server, including a scrambled (hashed) copy of your email address, so Meta can match it to the ad you saw. Visitors in Europe are asked first; elsewhere this is on by default. You can change your choice at any time: Privacy choices.

The game itself works the same whether or not you allow cookies. Your sign-in session and game progress use your browser's storage only to make the Service work.

Deleting your account

You can ask us to delete your account at any time: sign in and go to Contact, Get help, Delete my account, or email support@detectiveos.net from the address you signed up with.

We delete your account and the personal data linked to it within 30 days and confirm by email. This includes your purchased cases and your solved-case record; purchases are not refunded when an account is deleted.

Payment records that Stripe keeps, and that we must keep for tax and accounting purposes, are kept only as long as the law requires.