Legal

1. Terms of Service

By accessing or using coopcade you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the service. You must be at least 13 years old (or the age of digital consent in your region) to use coopcade.

What coopcade is. coopcade is a browser-based tool that lets people run video-game emulators and play together over a peer-to-peer connection. coopcade hosts only a small library of free, homebrew, or public-domain games. coopcade does not host, store, provide, or distribute any copyrighted game files ("ROMs" or "BIOS files").

Bring-your-own content. For any game that is not part of the free library, the game file is supplied by a user ("host") from their own device, kept in that user's own browser, and (if they choose to invite others) sent directly between users' browsers via peer-to-peer transfer. That content never passes through, and is never stored on, coopcade's servers. coopcade has no knowledge of, and no ability to control or inspect, what a user loads or shares.

2. Acceptable Use: your responsibilities

You are solely and entirely responsible for any content you load, play, host, or transfer using coopcade. You represent and warrant that:

• You legally own an authentic copy of any game you load, and your use of it is permitted by applicable law in your jurisdiction (for example, a personal backup of a cartridge or disc you own);
• You have all necessary rights to load, use, and share any file you make available to others through coopcade;
• You will not use coopcade to copy, distribute, or make available any content you do not have the legal right to distribute;
• You will not use coopcade for any unlawful purpose or in violation of any third party's rights.

You bear all legal responsibility and risk for the content you choose to load and share. coopcade is a neutral tool; the choice of what to play or share is entirely yours. If you are unsure whether your use is legal where you live, do not proceed.

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless coopcade and its operators, owners, and affiliates from and against any and all claims, damages, losses, liabilities, and expenses (including legal fees) arising out of or related to your use of the service, your content, or your breach of these Terms.

3. Copyright & takedowns

coopcade respects intellectual-property rights and does not host infringing material. If you believe that content available through the coopcade free library infringes your copyright, send a notice to [email protected] with: (a) your contact information; (b) identification of the work; (c) the URL or location of the material; (d) a statement that you have a good-faith belief the use is not authorized; and (e) a statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information is accurate and you are authorized to act. We will remove verified infringing material from the free library promptly and terminate repeat infringers.

Because peer-to-peer content is transferred directly between users and is never stored by coopcade, coopcade cannot remove such content: it exists only on the users' own devices.

4. Privacy

coopcade is built to collect as little as possible. There are no user accounts required to play.

• Local storage. We store a random, anonymous identifier and your game selection in your browser (via localStorage) so the app works and (if the paywall is enabled) so purchases attach to your device. It is not linked to your real identity.
• Game content. ROMs, save data, and gameplay are handled peer-to-peer and/or in your browser. We do not receive, store, or log the game files you load or share.
• Network. To connect players across networks, WebRTC is routed through a relay so players do not expose their home IP addresses to each other. Standard server logs may record request metadata for security and reliability.
• Payments. If you buy credits or a subscription, payment is processed by Stripe; your card details go directly to Stripe and are never seen or stored by coopcade. We store only a record of the purchase (amount, type, timestamp, and your anonymous id).
• Third parties. Emulator/runtime assets and peer-discovery services may be loaded from third-party providers, subject to their own terms.

We do not sell your data. Contact [email protected] for any privacy request.

How we keep your account secure

• Passwords are hashed & salted (PBKDF2-SHA256): we can never see or recover your password, and we screen new passwords against known data breaches.
• Your card never touches our servers: all payments are handled by Stripe.
• Sessions use httpOnly, Secure cookies (not readable by scripts) and can be revoked instantly by logging out.
• Everything is encrypted in transit (HTTPS everywhere), and your home IP is hidden from other players by a relay during gameplay.
• Sign-in is rate-limited and does not reveal whether an email is registered.

5. Payments, credits & subscriptions

Some features may require payment (for example, hosting a multiplayer room). Prices are shown before purchase. Credits and subscriptions grant access to host rooms; joining a room a host has opened is free. Payments are processed by Stripe. Subscriptions renew automatically until cancelled; you can cancel at any time and access continues until the end of the paid period. Except where required by law, payments are non-refundable. We may change prices or features at any time.

6. Disclaimer of warranties & limitation of liability

coopcade is provided "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE", without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or secure. Emulation and peer-to-peer connections may fail or vary in quality.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, coopcade and its operators shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or any loss of data, profits, or goodwill, arising from your use of (or inability to use) the service or from any content transmitted through it. Our total liability for any claim shall not exceed the greater of the amount you paid us in the 3 months before the claim, or CAD $20.

Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited under applicable law.

7. Suspension, changes & governing law

We may suspend or terminate access, or modify or discontinue the service, at any time. We may update these Terms; continued use after changes means you accept them. These Terms are governed by the laws of the Province of New Brunswick and the laws of Canada applicable there, and you agree to the exclusive jurisdiction of its courts, without regard to conflict-of-laws rules.

Questions: [email protected].