Privacy

Who runs this

Dot/480 is a personal, non-commercial project by Yash Mahajan. The source code is public at github.com/YashM20/dot-matrix. There is no backend, no database and nothing to sign in to: the site is a set of static files, and everything runs in your browser.

What the site collects

Nothing personal. There are no cookies, no analytics or tracking scripts, no advertising, no fingerprinting and no third-party fonts or CDNs (the typeface is served from this site). The page's Content Security Policy only allows connections to this site and to the APIs listed below.

What is stored on your device

A few things are saved in your browser's localStorage for this site so they survive a reload. They stay on your device, are never sent anywhere, and the site works without them.

dot480:intro

You closed the one-line intro above the boards.

dot480:skin

The display skin you picked (OLED, CRT, e-ink and so on).

dot480:clack

Whether the flip-disc clack sound is on.

dot480:pro

Pro mode is on.

dot480:fold:…

Which "More" panels in MAKE you left open or closed, one key per panel.

dot480.dots.gallery

Up to 40 DOTS programs you ran or remixed in MAKE · CODE.

dot480.studio.v1, dot480.studio.library

The card you are composing in MAKE · COMPOSE, and the cards you saved there.

dot480.hive.scores.v1

The game's high-score table: three-letter initials and scores.

dot480:live:…

The last weather, now-playing and GitHub readings the Live board received, so it can start from them next time (ignored after 7 days).

Open tabs of the site also talk to each other over a BroadcastChannel (so clocks and live cards stay in step); those messages never leave your browser and aren't stored.

To clear it all: remove this site's data in your browser settings (usually under site settings or "cookies and site data" for dot-matrix1.vercel.app), or in developer tools under Application → Local storage. In a private window it is gone when you close the window.

Camera, microphone and motion

Some cards can use your device's sensors. The camera and microphone are only requested after you press the card's control, and your browser asks you first:

• Camera (the mirror cards): frames from the front camera are drawn into the page and turned into dots on the spot. They are not recorded, saved or uploaded, and the camera stops when you switch it off or leave the tab.
• Microphone (the audio board): the sound is analysed in the page by the browser's audio engine to move the dots. It never plays through your speakers and is not uploaded.
• Motion and tilt (tilt-reactive cards on phones): orientation readings only move the dots on screen.
• Gamepad (the game): button presses are read while you play.

The site never asks for your location. If you use a REC or export button, the clip or image (a REC clip can include the board's sound) is made in your browser and saved to your device as a download; it is not uploaded. You can revoke any permission in your browser's site settings at any time.

Photos and files you open

An image you drop, paste or pick on the home page's touchable card, a photo you drop into "Your photo as dots" or use as a reference in DRAW, and any JSON card or drawing you open, is read and processed inside your browser. It is not uploaded anywhere, and the home card keeps nothing once you leave the page.

Share links

When you share a DOTS program, the program itself is packed into the link (the p= part of the address). Nothing is stored on a server: anyone with the link can read the program, it ends up in browser history like any address, and the request for it appears in the hosting logs described below. Don't put anything private in a program you share. Copy buttons write to your clipboard only when you press them.

Third-party services

Only the Live board talks to other services, only while it is on screen, and the requests come straight from your browser. Like any website, each service sees your IP address and browser type when it is contacted.

• Open-Meteo (api.open-meteo.com) receives the coordinates to forecast, rounded to two decimals. These are Tokyo's by default, or the lat / lon you put in the address; the site does not read or send your location. See Open-Meteo's terms.
• GitHub contributions (github-contributions-api.jogruber.de, a community service, not GitHub) receives the GitHub username whose public contribution calendar is shown: the author's by default, or the gh you put in the address.
• GitHub (api.github.com) receives the same username, only if the service above fails, to read that user's public activity. See GitHub's privacy statement.
• A now-playing feed, only if you add one yourself with np=wss://… in the address: your browser then connects to the address you chose.

Links to other sites (GitHub, the essay's references) are ordinary links; once you follow one, that site's own policy applies. The site tells them only that you came from this site, not which page.

Hosting

The site is hosted by Vercel. Like any web host, Vercel processes the technical details of each request (such as IP address, browser user agent, the address requested and the time) to deliver and protect the site, under Vercel's privacy policy. This project does not turn on Vercel's analytics and does not use those logs to identify visitors.

The MCP server and scripts

The mcp/ server and the scripts in the repository are not part of the website. They only run if you clone the repository and start them on your own computer; the MCP server talks to your AI client over stdio, and its push_to_device tool only sends to a local (loopback) address you configure.

Children

The site isn't aimed at children. It doesn't collect personal information from anyone, children included.

Changes

If what the site stores or sends changes, this page changes with it and the date above moves. Every past version is in the repository's history.

Contact

Questions or concerns: open an issue at github.com/YashM20/dot-matrix/issues.