Privacy Policy
Last updated:
In short: we read the public comments on our own posts to run the show. We keep them privately and don't sell them. Apart from an AI assistant and a private online backup, both described below, we don't pass them to anyone. This website uses no cookies, analytics or trackers. To ask us to delete something, email [email protected].
Who we are
Made of Secrets is a pixel-art show and game run by its creator. In this policy, "we" and "us" mean the show and its creator. You can reach us at [email protected].
What we collect
When you comment on our videos and posts on YouTube, Instagram or TikTok, your comment is public. We collect public comments on our own posts, and nothing else from those platforms. For each comment, that means:
- your display name or handle, and where the platform gives us one, your account's ID (we use it to count one vote per account);
- the text of your comment;
- when it was posted, how many likes it has, and a link to it.
That includes comments that send in a character, votes ("1", "2" or "3") and the "I agree" replies that finalists send. We do not collect your email address, phone number or private messages. If you email us, we receive your email address and your message, and we use them only to reply.
How we get it
We read YouTube and Instagram comments through the official YouTube and Instagram APIs, using our own publishing tool, Crier. Crier runs on our own computer and signs in to our own YouTube channel and Instagram account, and to nobody else's. Viewers never sign in to Crier or give it access to anything. TikTok doesn't give us a way to read comments, so we copy TikTok comments in by hand.
Why we use it
To run the show: screening submissions against the rules, choosing finalists, counting votes, checking that finalists agree, replying to you (for example, to tell you that you're a finalist), and crediting winners. We don't use it for advertising or profiling, and we don't sell it.
Where it's kept
Comments are kept privately on our own computer. They are not sold, and there are no ads. We don't pass them to anyone else, with two exceptions that exist only to help us run the show: to screen and sort comments we use an AI assistant, so comment text passes through that AI service; and the notes described next are backed up online.
When a character becomes a finalist or the winner, we write a note about it in our private project notes. The note includes the original comment and the commenter's handle, so that we can credit them. Those notes are backed up to a private online repository (on GitHub) that only we can open. A winning character's original comment and handle are kept to credit the winner. We show your handle or display name publicly only to credit you, for example in a video about your character.
This website
This website uses no cookies, no analytics and no trackers, and it shows no ads. Its pages load only files from this site: no fonts, scripts, videos or images from anywhere else. The site is hosted on Cloudflare Pages. Like any web host, Cloudflare may log technical details such as your IP address when you load a page, for example to keep the site safe. We don't use those logs to track you. Cloudflare's Privacy Policy explains what it does.
How long we keep it, and deleting it
We keep comments for as long as we need them to run the show: while a job is open and through the vote. For finalists and winners, we keep the note with your comment and handle for as long as we need it to credit you. We have not set a fixed number of days.
To ask us to delete your comments and handle from our records, email [email protected]. A link to your comment helps us find it. We will act on your request as soon as we reasonably can. The one exception is a character who already appears in a published video or in the game: that character, and the credit that goes with it, stays.
Deleting a comment on YouTube, Instagram or TikTok removes it there, but not from our own records, so please email us as well.
Children
Made of Secrets is not directed at children under 13. If you are under 18, please ask a parent or guardian before you send in a character. If a parent or guardian asks us to remove a child's comment or character from our records, we will remove it. Email us.
YouTube API Services
Crier, our publishing tool, uses YouTube API Services to read the comments on our own videos and to upload our own videos. By using our content on YouTube, you are also agreeing to be bound by the YouTube Terms of Service. The Google Privacy Policy explains how Google handles information.
Only the creator gives Crier access to YouTube, and only for our own channel. Viewers never authorise Crier, so there is nothing for you to revoke. The creator can revoke Crier's access at any time on Google's security settings page. We use the comment data we get through YouTube API Services only as described in this policy.
Instagram and TikTok
Instagram is a Meta service. We read comments on our own Instagram posts through Instagram's official API. The Instagram Privacy Policy and Meta's Privacy Policy explain what they do with your information. TikTok gives us no way to read comments, so we copy them by hand from our own posts. TikTok's Privacy Policy explains what TikTok does with your information. Each platform decides how your comments are shown and who can see them.
Changes to this policy
This policy is dated at the top. If we change it, we will put a new date there.