Terms and privacy

1. Who I am

Holon is a simulator for the EX era of the Pokémon Trading Card Game. One person makes it and runs it. On this page, "I" means me. I decide what Holon collects and what is done with it.

2. What I collect

• Your request. The request form asks for your email address, the username you want, the platform you play on and your experience with the EX era. It also keeps any notes you add, and the version of these terms you agreed to.
• Your account. Your email address, username and password, and the decks you save to your account. The password is stored only as a one-way hash, so I can't read it. The account also records its status, when it was approved, when its password was set and when you last signed in.
• Sign-in protection. To stop password guessing, Holon counts failed sign-ins for each account and, for a short time, for each network address. The address is stored only as a one-way hash. These counters are cleared about a day after the last attempt.
• Google or Discord. If you sign in with one of them, it confirms your email address so Holon can match it to your approved account. It also sends the name and profile picture link on that account. They are stored with your sign-in, but Holon doesn't use or show them. Holon gets no password, contacts or friends list from them.
• Online play. The game server knows you only by your username. Its logs record connections and sign-ins by username. Friends lists on the server are kept by username too.
• Bug reports. F8, or three fingers held on a phone screen, writes a report on your device. It holds the build, your device and graphics card, the screen you were on and recent log lines, plus the game state if you were in a match. A screenshot is saved beside it. Nothing leaves your device until you send it to me yourself.
• On your device. The game keeps your sign-in, your settings and your decks on the device you play on. If "Keep me signed in" is off, the sign-in is not saved. If you play the AI as a guest, your decks stay on that device only.

Holon shows no ads. Unity's analytics and crash reporting are switched off in Holon's builds.

3. How I use it

I only use what you send me to manage the alpha, set up your Holon account and contact you about the project. In practice that means:

• reviewing your request and creating your account;
• signing you in and keeping the account safe, including an email to you whenever its password is set or changed;
• running online matches;
• keeping your decks on every device you sign in on;
• fixing the bugs you report;
• emailing you news about the alpha.

I don't sell your information. I don't share it with anyone for their own use, and I don't use it for advertising. The services in the next section handle it only to run Holon.

4. Where it is stored and who processes it

Holon uses a few outside services. Each one handles your data on my behalf.

• Supabase holds accounts, requests and saved decks, in its Frankfurt region (eu-central-1).
• Cloudflare hosts this website, the downloads and the web version of the game. It also runs the small programs behind sign-in, decks and card art, and keeps the nightly account backups in private storage. Card art is only served to signed-in accounts.
• The game server is a Raspberry Pi that I run. It hosts online matches and keeps the logs described above.
• Tally runs the request form and keeps a copy of each request.
• Resend sends Holon's emails: the welcome email, password resets and account notices.
• Telegram is where I review requests. Each new request is sent to me there, and I get a message when someone deletes their account.
• Google and Discord take part only if you choose to sign in with them.
• Google Fonts serves this website's fonts, so your browser contacts Google when it loads a page.

5. How long I keep it

• Your account is kept until you delete it. If you join the alpha, your email, username and decks will carry over into the beta.
• A request from someone who doesn't join the alpha is deleted when the alpha ends.
• Nightly account backups are each deleted after 30 days.
• Game server logs are deleted after 30 days.
• Sign-in counters are cleared about a day after the last attempt.
• Bug reports you send me are deleted when the alpha ends.
• Friends lists on the game server are not cleared automatically. I remove a username from them by hand when asked (see section 6).

6. Your choices and rights

Delete your account in the game. Open Settings and choose Delete my account. It takes effect at once. It removes your email, username, password, decks and any bug reports stored with the account.

Or ask me. Reply to any Holon email and ask me to delete your account. I'll remove it and its associated data within 30 days.

A few things outlive the account for a while:

• The nightly backup still holds the account until it is deleted, within 30 days.
• The game server's logs keep your username for up to 30 days.
• Friends lists on the game server keep your username until I remove it. Ask me in the same email and I'll take it out.
• Bug reports you already sent me stay until the alpha ends.
• Your request stays only as a record that a request was made, with its date and outcome. Its email, username and answers are removed.

See or correct your data. Reply to any Holon email to ask what I hold about you, or to fix something that is wrong.

7. Children

If you think a child has sent me their details without a parent's permission, contact me and I'll delete them.

8. Changes to this page

When I change this page, I update the date at the top.

9. Contact

Reply to any Holon email and it reaches me.

10. A fan project

Holon is an unofficial, non-commercial fan project. It is free. There is nothing to buy, there are no ads, and nothing is for sale.

It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Nintendo, Creatures, GAME FREAK or The Pokémon Company. Pokémon, the card game and every name and image from them belong to their owners.

11. The closed alpha

The alpha is still early. Things will break, matches may end early, and features may change or disappear while I work on them.

Access is limited during testing and ends when the alpha closes. Your account carries over into the beta. I may ask you to update to a newer build before you can play.

12. Keep it private

While the alpha is still early, please don't stream it or share videos or screenshots yet. Please don't share the game files or your account either.

13. Your account

Your account is yours alone. Don't share it or its password.

An account plays on one device at a time online. Every time the password is set or changed, the account's email address gets a notice. A reset by email always takes the account back.

Five wrong passwords in a row lock the account for 15 minutes. Each further lock lasts twice as long, up to 24 hours.

14. Playing online

Be decent to the people you play. Don't cheat, and don't use bugs against another player. Send them to me instead with F8 from any match.

15. Ending access

I may remove access if someone repeatedly makes online play worse for others.

You can stop playing and delete your account at any time (see section 6).

16. No guarantee

Holon is a test version, offered as it is. I can't promise that it will always work, or that it will stay online.

17. Music

Hoenn remixes by Zame. Full track list and links to follow. The music used in Holon is credited to its respective author.