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Terms of Service

Last updated: 2026-07-26

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your use of the Hot & Cold mobile and web app (the “Service”), provided by Lambda 7 Tech LLC (“we”, “us”). By installing, accessing, or using the Service you agree to these Terms. If you don't agree, don't use the Service.

1. The Service

Hot & Cold is a semantic word-guessing game. You guess words, and the app tells you how close each one is in meaning to a hidden secret word. Endless mode defaults to online play on all platforms. The iOS and Android app ships with the word list built in, so you can optionally switch an Endless round to Offline mode from the Endless setup screen, and play the practice matches against our computer opponents, without a connection. Daily and multiplayer (“challenge”) modes require an internet connection.

On iOS and Android the app can also show one optional daily reminder to play. Reminders are off unless you turn them on, they are scheduled locally by your own device, and you can turn them off at any time in Settings → Notifications or in your device's notification settings. See our Privacy Policy §15.

2. Account access

Core gameplay (Daily, Endless, and Challenge modes) does not require an account. A locally-generated identifier and an optional device-only display name (defaults to Player XXXX) are used for multiplayer presence.

You may optionally sign in with Apple or Google to appear on the public daily leaderboard, sync your stats across devices, and report other players' display names. Sign-in stays optional, and you can sign out at any time from Settings → Account. See our Privacy Policy for the data we receive from the identity provider and what we store on our backend.

3. License

We grant you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to use the Service for non-commercial purposes, subject to these Terms. You may not:

4. Display names and user content

The display name you set when signed in is visible to other players on the public daily leaderboard and inside any challenge room you join. By choosing a display name, you confirm that you have the right to use it.

Don't pick a display name that is offensive, hateful, sexually explicit, harassing, infringing, impersonating, or that promotes illegal activity. Pre-registered names tied to brands, public figures, or our own staff identities (for example admin, moderator, support) are reserved.

We screen new and changed display names against an automated filter. Names that pass the filter at sign-up may still be reviewed later if other players report them.

5. Reporting and moderation

Signed-in players can report another player's display name from the leaderboard. Submit reports honestly. Abusing the report system to target players in good standing is itself a violation of these Terms.

When enough distinct players report the same display name, we automatically hide that name on public surfaces and replace it with a generic Player #XXXX handle. The affected player can recover by picking a new display name in the app. Hidden names are also added to a permanent banlist; the same name and trivial morphs of it (different capitalisation, added punctuation, leetspeak substitutions, repeated letters, embedded digits, etc.) cannot be used by any account on the Service from that point forward.

We may also hide or ban a display name without a report threshold being reached, or remove a hide / ban that we judge to be a false positive. We may suspend or terminate accounts that repeatedly attempt to circumvent the banlist or that engage in conduct prohibited by §3 or §4.

6. Intellectual property

The Service, including its code, design, branding, and the curated word list, is owned by us or our licensors and is protected by copyright and other laws. Third-party open-source software is incorporated under applicable licenses. The dictionary source is derived from publicly-available word lists.

7. Advertising

The web version of the Service (hotandcold.app and the in-browser game at /play) displays advertising served by Google AdSense. The iOS and Android app offers an optional rewarded video you can choose to watch, served by Unity LevelPlay; it is voluntary and no part of the game is gated behind watching it. Ads, and any sites or offers they link to, are provided by third parties and are not endorsed, controlled, or verified by us. We are not responsible for the content, products, or services of any advertiser, and your dealings with advertisers are solely between you and them. How advertising data is handled, and your consent and opt-out choices, are described in our Privacy Policy §14. You may not interfere with, block in a manner that circumvents the Service, or fraudulently interact with the ads (for example, generating invalid clicks or impressions).

8. Supporter count, streak protection, and streak repair

Watching an optional rewarded video in the iOS or Android app adds one to your supporter count. While you are signed in, that count is also your bank of streak protections: a protection is spent automatically to cover a day you missed, so your daily streak survives. Separately, if a missed day has already broken your streak, you may watch one ad to repair it in the round where the break happened.

These are in-game features, not property and not currency. They have no monetary value, cannot be bought, sold, transferred between accounts, or exchanged for anything outside the Service, and we owe you no refund or compensation for them. They exist only in connection with your account and end when your account does.

Protection and repair are deliberately limited so a streak can still be lost. A protection only applies when your bank covers every missed day of a gap. A repair only bridges a gap of up to 7 missed days, and only one repair is allowed every 30 days. Repairs are verified against the days you actually completed while signed in, so a repair can restore less than you expect if part of your run was played anonymously or on an account you no longer use.

We may change, limit, or discontinue these features, adjust the limits above, or correct counts affected by a bug or by abuse. We will not remove protections you have already earned except where they were obtained by circumventing these Terms, the ad networks' terms, or the intended flow of the app (for example, by generating invalid ad impressions, as described in §7).

9. Disclaimers

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. We do not guarantee that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or available in your region.

10. Limitation of liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, OR GOODWILL, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE. OUR TOTAL LIABILITY WILL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US IN THE TWELVE MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM (WHICH FOR A FREE APP IS ZERO).

11. Changes

We may update these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be reflected by an updated date at the top of this page. Continued use of the Service after changes means you accept them.

12. Termination

You may stop using the Service at any time by uninstalling it. Signed-in players may also sign out from Settings → Account, or request full deletion of their account and associated server-side data. Our Privacy Policy §11 covers what that removes.

We may suspend or terminate your access to the Service at any time, with or without cause, including for violation of these Terms or attempts to circumvent the moderation actions described in §5.

13. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, United States, where Lambda 7 Tech LLC is established, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles.

14. Contact

Questions about these Terms? Email support@hotandcold.app. Lambda 7 Tech LLC operates the Hot & Cold mobile and web app.