Jigsaw Explorer Privacy Policy

Operated by Carolina Road Media, LLC

Effective Date:

Jigsaw Explorer (“Jigsaw Explorer,” “JE,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is operated by Carolina Road Media, LLC (“CRM”). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and share information when you use the Jigsaw Explorer website and puzzle platform (the “Service”).

Jigsaw Explorer is a browser-based jigsaw puzzle platform. It includes publicly available puzzles curated by our team, as well as a platform that allows users to create their own private, sharable puzzles based on images they specify.

1. Information We Collect

We collect information in the following ways:

A. Information You Voluntarily Provide

Email Subscriptions

You may provide your email address to subscribe to notifications about:

  • New jigsaw puzzles
  • Jigsaw Explorer news
  • Significant policy updates

Email subscriptions are managed through MailerLite. We do not share subscriber email addresses with advertising partners or other third parties.

You may unsubscribe at any time using the unsubscribe link in emails or by contacting .

Support Communications

If you contact us by email, we receive:

  • Your email address
  • The contents of your message

Support communications are handled through Microsoft 365 email services.

Diagnostic Submissions

In limited circumstances, we may request that a user submit diagnostic information to help us investigate a technical issue. Diagnostic reports may include:

  • Browser type and version
  • Operating system version
  • Technical logs related to the puzzle session
  • Approximate location (city and country) derived from IP address

Diagnostic tools are intended for troubleshooting purposes only and are not intended for use by children under 13.

B. Information Collected Automatically

When you use the Service, certain information is collected automatically to operate and improve the platform.

Technical & Usage Information

We may collect:

  • Browser type
  • Device type
  • Operating system
  • Referring pages
  • Pages visited
  • Puzzle activity data

Analytics

We use Google Analytics 4 (GA4) to measure aggregate website traffic and usage patterns.

  • Advertising features and remarketing are not enabled.
  • Analytics data is used only for internal measurement and improvement.

Error Reporting

We use RayGun to collect technical error reports when the puzzle program encounters an unexpected issue.

Error reports may include:

  • Browser and operating system information
  • Internal puzzle state logs
  • Approximate geographic location (city and country level only)

IP addresses are processed by our network provider (Cloudflare) for routing and security purposes. We do not store full IP addresses in our own systems for analytics or profiling.

Error report data is retained for up to 180 days.

Multiplayer Nicknames

If you participate in a multiplayer puzzle session:

  • You must choose a nickname.
  • The nickname is stored for the duration of the multiplayer session and may persist for up to 90 days of inactivity for that puzzle instance.
  • Nicknames are not linked to accounts and are not publicly searchable.

Nicknames should not contain personal information such as full names, email addresses, or contact information.

2. How We Use Information

We use information to:

  • Operate and maintain the puzzle platform
  • Enable multiplayer functionality
  • Restore unfinished puzzle progress
  • Improve website performance and reliability
  • Respond to support requests
  • Send email newsletters and notifications (if you subscribed)
  • Measure aggregate usage and site performance
  • Display advertising on public, ad-supported pages

We do not directly sell your name, contact information, or other sensitive personal information to third parties. However, certain data collected through advertising technologies on public pages of the Service may be shared with advertising partners and could be considered “selling” or “sharing” under some state privacy laws. Users may exercise opt-out rights as described in Section 4.

3. Cookies & Similar Technologies

Jigsaw Explorer uses cookies and similar technologies to operate the Service.

A. First-Party Cookies

We use first-party cookies and similar storage technologies to:

  • Store puzzle progress
  • Remember game preferences
  • Store limited gameplay statistics (such as aggregate completion counts)
  • Remember the most recent nickname used in multiplayer sessions so it does not need to be re-entered

These cookies are used solely to operate and improve the Service. They are not used for behavioral advertising and do not contain sensitive personal information.

B. Analytics Cookies

Google Analytics places cookies to help us measure traffic and usage trends.

C. Advertising Cookies (Public Pages Only)

Advertising cookies are used only on publicly accessible, ad-supported portions of the site. Custom puzzle pages do not display advertising.

You can manage cookie settings through your browser. Disabling cookies may affect certain functionality.

4. Advertising & Third-Party Ad Partners

CMI Marketing, Inc., d/b/a Raptive (“Raptive”) is a service provider of this Site for the purposes of placing advertising on the Site, and Raptive will collect and use certain data for advertising purposes. To learn more about Raptive’s data usage, click here: https://raptive.com/creator-advertising-privacy-statement

Raptive provides mechanisms for users to opt out of certain data collection and personalized advertising. An opt-out link is available in the footer of our Site.

Note that custom jigsaw puzzles created using our platform never display advertising.

Email Link Identifiers

If you subscribe to our email updates and click a link in one of our emails that leads to the Jigsaw Explorer website, the link may include a unique identifier derived from your email address. For Jigsaw Explorer, this identifier is created by applying a cryptographic hashing process to your email address.

This identifier does not include your name or email address in readable form. It may be used by our advertising service provider to help recognize returning users for advertising measurement and related purposes.

Jigsaw Explorer does not share subscriber email addresses with anyone other than our email service provider (MailerLite).

5. How We Share Information

We share information only as necessary to operate the Service, including with:

  • Cloudflare (network security and performance)
  • AWS and DigitalOcean (infrastructure hosting)
  • Photon Engine (multiplayer synchronization)
  • RayGun (error tracking)
  • Google Analytics (usage analytics)
  • MailerLite (email list management)
  • Microsoft (email services)
  • Raptive (advertising management)

These providers process information either on our behalf as service providers or independently in accordance with their own privacy policies.

We may also disclose information if required by law.

6. Data Retention

We retain information only as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy:

  • Email subscription information: After unsubscribing, your email address may remain in a suppression list maintained by our email service provider to ensure you do not receive further emails, unless you request deletion.
  • Support communications: Indefinitely, unless deletion of communication is requested.
  • Error reports: Up to 180 days.
  • Multiplayer session data: Up to 90 days of inactivity.
  • Analytics data: Up to 14 months.

7. International Users

Jigsaw Explorer is operated from the United States. If you access the Service from outside the U.S., your information may be transferred to and processed in the United States.

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA) or the United Kingdom, we process personal data under the following legal bases:

  • Legitimate interests (such as operating, securing, and improving the Service and enabling multiplayer functionality).
  • Consent, where required (such as for advertising-related technologies managed through our advertising partners).
  • Performance of a contract, where processing is necessary to provide features you request (such as email subscriptions or multiplayer sessions).

You may have rights under applicable data protection laws, including:

  • The right to request access to your personal data
  • The right to request correction or deletion
  • The right to object to certain processing
  • The right to request data portability (where applicable)

To exercise these rights, contact .

8. U.S. State Privacy Rights

Residents of certain U.S. states (including California) may have rights under state privacy laws, such as:

  • The right to request access to personal information
  • The right to request deletion
  • The right to opt out of certain data sharing for advertising purposes

Advertising-related opt-outs are managed through our advertising partner as described in Section 4.

To submit a privacy-related request, contact .

9. Children’s Privacy

Jigsaw Explorer is intended for users age 13 and older and is not directed to children under 13.

Certain publicly accessible portions of the Service display advertising through third-party providers that may use cookies or other persistent identifiers for advertising purposes. Because U.S. law (including the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, or “COPPA”) imposes specific requirements on services that collect personal information from children under 13, we restrict general use of the Service by children under 13 except in limited supervised contexts described below.

Supervised Educational or Parental Use of Custom Puzzles

Custom puzzle links may be used in supervised classroom or parental settings involving children under 13, provided that:

  • The puzzle was created by an adult.
  • The child’s use is supervised by a teacher or parent.
  • No personal information is submitted.
  • The child does not access other parts of the Site beyond the custom puzzle link.

Custom puzzle pages:

  • Do not display advertising.
  • Do not use behavioral advertising technologies.
  • Collect only limited technical information necessary to operate the puzzle platform (such as session identifiers, multiplayer synchronization data, and aggregate analytics).

Children under 13 must not:

  • Submit support requests directly.
  • Use diagnostic tools.
  • Provide personal information in nicknames or any form fields.
  • Access any other pages of the Site beyond the custom puzzle page.

Supervising adults are responsible for monitoring children’s use of the Service and ensuring compliance with these restrictions.

If we learn that we have collected personal information directly from a child under 13 outside of these limited circumstances, we will delete it.

Parents who believe their child has provided personal information may contact us at .

10. Security

We implement reasonable technical and organizational safeguards designed to protect information handled by the Service. Security measures are reviewed and updated as appropriate for the nature of the platform.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If changes are significant, we will post an updated version with a revised effective date.

Click here to receive email notices whenever this privacy policy is significantly modified.

12. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact:


Jigsaw Explorer
Operated by Carolina Road Media, LLC


Change History

March 19, 2026

The entire privacy policy was rewritten to provide better clarity and transparency regarding the types of information collected, how it is used, and how it is shared. The policy was also restructured to improve readability and organization. There were no significant changes to our policy concerning privacy. It should be noted that the most important clarification made is that Jigsaw Explorer is restricted to users aged 13 and older only, except for limited supervised use of custom puzzles as detailed in the "Children's Privacy" section.

This privacy policy change history is a new addition to the privacy policy page.