Who Owns Your Poker Hands? A Guide to Reading the Fine Print
You download a poker app, create an account, and agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy as a condition of using it — without reading either one. Then you sit down at a live tournament and start logging hands — your reads, your bet sizing, the way the player in seat four always min-raises his draws. Every hand you record is now sitting on someone else's server. But what did you actually agree to?
Most poker players would never volunteer their HUD stats, database, or hand history notes to strangers. But when they accept a poker app's terms, they may be granting rights over that same data without fully realizing it.
This is not a scare piece, and most apps are likely not doing anything malicious. The point is simpler: the terms define what an app is allowed to do with your data, and those permissions vary more than most players realize.
Here is how to read the fine print, what to look for, and why it matters.
What You Are Really Agreeing To
Every poker app has two documents that govern how your data is handled: a Terms of Service (ToS) and a Privacy Policy. Most players skip both. That is understandable — they are long, full of legal language, and not exactly page-turners. But buried in those documents are answers to questions that matter:
Data ownership. Does the app explicitly say you own your hand data? Or is ownership ambiguous — or worse, does the app claim broad rights to use your data however it wants? This is the most fundamental question, and not every app answers it the same way.
Data commercialization. Can the app sell your hand histories? If so, can it sell them raw — with your player name, your tendencies, your results attached — or only after stripping out anything that could identify you? And if they de-identify the data, do they have safeguards to prevent anyone from re-identifying it?
Data retention and deletion. What happens to your data if you stop paying or stop using the app? Can you delete it? Is there a timeline for how long deletion takes? What about backup copies — does the app tell you whether your data lingers in their backup systems after you request deletion?
Third-party sharing. Who else gets access to your data? Does the app provide a clear, named list of every service provider that touches your information, or just vague categories like "service providers" and "business partners"?
Advertising and tracking. Does the app run ads? If so, what tracking data feeds those ads? Is your location being collected? Your device identifiers? Your usage patterns? The difference between "we show you ads" and "we feed your behavioral data to an ad network" is significant.
Your rights. Can you access your data? Correct it? Export it? Delete it? Is there a process for making these requests, a timeline for responses, and a way to appeal if the app denies your request?
These six dimensions give you a framework for evaluating any poker app's privacy practices. Most players give them little time or attention.
A Real Example
To make this concrete, consider what one popular hand-logging app's published policies say. Fastroll Poker's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy provide a useful case study because they show how broad these permissions can be in practice.
For a head-to-head product comparison of Fastroll and LiveHands on features, export formats, and pricing, see our detailed comparison.
On data ownership and commercialization: The app's Terms of Service (Section 6) reserve the right to "use, sell, distribute, or otherwise use" poker hand data "in any manner we see fit, without compensation to you." The policy does not appear to require de-identification before sale, and there are no stated safeguards against third-party re-identification. The Privacy Policy (Section 5) adds that data "may be used for research, analysis, marketing, or other purposes." That does not necessarily mean the app is actively selling hand data today, but the policy language appears to allow it.
On data retention and deletion: The Privacy Policy (Section 2c) states that hand history data is stored "indefinitely." If you want your data deleted, you must send an email requesting deletion. There is no in-app deletion option, no stated timeline for processing requests, and no disclosure about what happens to data in backup systems after a deletion request.
On advertising and tracking: Free-tier users are served ads through Google's AdMob platform (Privacy Policy, Section 7). AdMob collects device identifiers, location data (if the user has granted location permission), IP addresses, and app usage data. This is standard for ad-supported apps, but it means free-tier users are providing behavioral data to an advertising network in exchange for access.
On user rights: The published policies offer three options: do not provide information, opt out of promotional emails, or email to request data deletion. The policies do not appear to provide for accessing, correcting, or exporting your data, and there is no stated response timeline or appeal process.
On international users: The published policies do not appear to include GDPR or UK GDPR provisions — no data controller identification, no lawful basis disclosures, and no EU or UK representative — despite the app being available on app stores accessible in those regions.
How LiveHands Handles This Differently
LiveHands takes the opposite approach: it treats hand data as user-owned and reflects that position in its Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Here is how that shows up across the same dimensions.
Data ownership: The Terms of Service (Section 5.1) state: "You retain ownership of all Hand Data and other content you create using the Service."
Data commercialization: LiveHands may create aggregated or de-identified datasets — population-level patterns, not individual hand histories. The Privacy Policy (Section 5) requires that such data "does not identify and is not reasonably linkable to any individual user," and third parties receiving de-identified data are contractually prohibited from attempting re-identification. Raw hand histories are not sold.
Data retention and deletion: Your data is retained while your account is active. If your subscription lapses, your data is not deleted — it stays in your account (Privacy Policy, Section 6.1; Terms of Service, Section 8.4). If you request account deletion, personal information and hand data are deleted from active systems within 30 days (Privacy Policy, Section 6.2). The policy is transparent about backups: residual copies may persist briefly in disaster recovery systems but are overwritten in the ordinary course of backup operations.
Third-party transparency: The Privacy Policy (Section 3) provides a table listing every third-party provider by name — Supabase (database and sync), Apple and Google (authentication and billing), RevenueCat (subscription management), Firebase Crashlytics (crash reporting), Mixpanel (usage analytics), Google Analytics (website analytics), Resend (transactional email), and Google Drive (optional user-initiated export). The policy commits to updating this list as data practices change.
No advertising: LiveHands is subscription-only with no ad-supported tier and no AdMob integration. The Privacy Policy (Section 1.3) states that LiveHands does not intentionally collect GPS coordinates, precise geolocation, or fine-grained location data.
Data portability: Export is a core part of the product. LiveHands outputs hand histories in PokerStars text format for import into PokerTracker 4, Holdem Manager 3, Hand2Note, and other compatible analysis tools. The Terms of Service (Section 8.3) explicitly recommend exporting your data before account deletion.
User rights: The Privacy Policy (Section 7) provides access, correction, deletion, export, and analytics opt-out rights. Requests are responded to within 30 days. There is an identity verification process, support for authorized agents, and a right to appeal denied requests.
International users: The Privacy Policy includes a full GDPR and UK GDPR section (Section 12) with an appointed EU representative in Ireland and UK representative in London, a lawful basis table covering every processing purpose, and specific rights under EU and UK data protection law — including the right to restrict processing, object, withdraw consent, and lodge complaints with supervisory authorities.
The Checklist: Eight Questions for Any Poker App
Before you agree to a poker app's terms, run through these questions. The answers should be in the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, and missing answers are informative too.
- Does the app say you own your data? Look for explicit ownership language in the Terms of Service. If it is not there, assume the app claims broad usage rights.
- Can they sell your raw hand histories? Check whether the terms allow sale or distribution of your data without de-identification.
- If they use your data commercially, is it de-identified? Look for a de-identification standard and anti-re-identification safeguards. Vague language like "may be used for research or marketing" is not the same as a commitment to de-identify.
- Can you delete your data, and is there a timeline? Look for a stated deletion process, a response deadline, and disclosure about what happens to backup copies.
- Do they list every third party that touches your data? A named, specific list of providers is more transparent than generic categories.
- Are you the product or the customer? Ad-supported apps monetize your attention and your behavioral data. Subscription apps monetize the service itself.
- Can you export your data and take it with you? Data portability means your hand histories are not locked inside one app. If you decide to leave, your data should go with you.
- If you are in the EU or UK, do they have GDPR provisions? Look for a data controller identification, lawful basis disclosures, and appointed local representatives.
The difference between poker apps is not just features and price. It is also what happens to your data after you log it, who can use it, and how clearly those rights are disclosed. If you want a hand-tracking app with clear data ownership, export-friendly workflows, and no ad-supported tracking model, LiveHands is built around those priorities. Try it free for 7 days.