Privacy notice

Last updated: 27 September 2026.

We don't have accounts, analytics, trackers or advertising cookies, and we don't ask for your name. This notice explains the little information the site does handle.

Who we are

Steady Pencil, a sole proprietorship in South Africa, is the responsible party under the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA) and the controller under the GDPR.

Email: support@steadypencil.com
Postal address: on request at support@steadypencil.com

What we handle and why

Your IP address and basic request details (browser type, page, time). Your browser sends these with every visit, so we need them to deliver pages, keep the site secure and stop people guessing registration answers. Without them no website can load.
Your registration answers. They're checked and then thrown away. We keep only a daily count of registrations per book, which doesn't identify anyone. Registering is optional; if you don't, your book is still complete.
Emails you send us. Your address and message, used only to reply. Writing to us is optional.
Your game progress, on your device only. When you play, your progress, your settings and the companion you chose are saved in your own browser (local storage) so you can come back to a puzzle. They never leave your device and we can't see them. Clear this site's data in your browser to remove them.
Two small cookies, only if you choose a look. If you pick a look or light and dark mode in Settings, two first-party cookies (sp_look, sp_mode) remember that choice for a year, so every page opens in it. They hold only the choice, nothing about you, and are never shared. Choosing the default clears them.
Anonymous daily counts. While we try two versions of our logo, we count per day how many pages showed each one, and how many Play taps came from each. The counts hold no IP address, device or identifier of any kind.

No law requires us to collect any of this. We don't sell it, share it for advertising or use it to make decisions about you.

Who else sees it

Cloudflare hosts the site and routes our email, and our email provider stores messages sent to us. They act on our instructions and may process information outside South Africa, under written agreements that protect it as POPIA requires (section 72). We may also disclose information if the law requires it.

How long we keep it

Cloudflare's request logs are deleted within 7 days, and anti-guessing counts expire within the hour. We keep emails only as long as we need them to deal with your message, and no more than 2 years.

Your rights

You can ask to see the information we hold about you, and to have it corrected or deleted. You can also object to how we use it. Email support@steadypencil.com; it's free.

If you're under 18, please ask a parent or guardian to email us for you.

You can complain to South Africa's Information Regulator: POPIAComplaints@inforegulator.org.za · 010 023 5200 · https://inforegulator.org.za

If you're in the EU or UK: we rely on our legitimate interests in running a secure site and answering messages. You also have the rights to restrict processing and to data portability, and you can complain to your local data protection authority.

Changes