Last updated 9 October 2026. Retro Metro is run by IASoft (PVT) LTD, Sri Lanka.
The short version
Your games never leave your device. An account is optional and only there for perks, we set no cookies, show no ads and sell nothing. We do count plays: which system was started, which game, for how long, and how well it ran. That is the whole deal: you get an emulator with nothing attached, and we learn what to build next.
What stays on your device
- The ROMs, discs and files you open are read by the emulator inside your browser. They are never uploaded.
- Battery saves, memory cards and save states are stored in your browser's private storage for this site. Clearing site data deletes them. We cannot see them, unless you sign in: then they are also kept in your account (see Accounts).
What we collect
Play counts. When you open the Arcade’s line map, or start a system or a game in the Arcade, your browser sends us:
- the system (NES, SNES, Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, PlayStation, or our lab’s recreations of early games);
- the game's identity: a fingerprint of the file you opened and its file name, and whether it came from our Homebrew Collection or is your own file;
- how many minutes you played, in one-minute steps while the game is running on screen;
- how well it ran: frames per second, frames lost, sound gaps, disc read times;
- how saves are used: when a game saves, when you save or load a save state, and what save sync did (sent, fetched, or asked you to choose), never the save itself;
- whether you are signed in, never who;
- which page of the Arcade you were on (the line map or an era's page, such as the 8-bit era's);
- the kind of device (phone or desktop), the browser family, the graphics path (WebGPU or WebGL), and the country Cloudflare reports for the connection.
A daily visitor code. To count how many people play without identifying anyone, our server combines your network address and browser description with a secret that changes every day, and keeps only the one-way hash. The address itself is not stored. The code cannot be turned back into you, and because the secret changes daily, codes from different days cannot be joined. Nothing is set in your browser.
Site visits. We use Cloudflare Web Analytics, which counts page views without cookies or identifiers. Cloudflare's own policy covers it.
Server logs. Cloudflare keeps short-lived request logs to run and protect the site.
If your browser sends the Global Privacy Control signal, play counts are not sent.
Accounts
You never need an account to play. If you choose to sign in, you use an IASoft account (the sign-in is run by IASoft at iasoft.dev under its own policy) and pick a handle for Retro Metro. We store that handle and the profile fields you fill in, plus the sign-in token in your browser's local storage so you stay signed in; signing out removes it. Accounts exist for perks, such as saves that follow you between devices. Play counts are not linked to your account. To delete your account and its data, write to us; see the contact page.
When you are signed in, your battery saves, memory cards and save states are stored on our server so they follow you between devices. They contain only the game's own save data (a save state is a snapshot of the emulator, with a small picture of the screen), plus the game's name, the file's fingerprint and the kind of device that saved it. Delete any of them from your saves list on the sign-in page; deleting your account removes them all.
When you play a ranked run of a History Line game, we keep the run: the game, the button presses it was played with (no mouse movement, nothing else from your device), its score and when it was played, so our server can replay it to check the score. Your best scores appear on the leaderboards under your handle, which only signed-in riders can see. Deleting your account removes your runs and your places on the boards.
What we don't do
No account needed, no cookies, no advertising, no third-party trackers or pixels, no selling or sharing of data, no profiles across sites. Play data is used only to decide what we build and fix.
How long we keep it
Raw play counts are kept for 90 days. Totals and summaries without the visitor code are kept indefinitely.
Supporting us
The "buy us a coffee" link goes to Ko-fi, a separate site with its own privacy policy. We receive the amount and whatever name you choose to give there, nothing else.
Children
Retro Metro is not directed at children under 13, and we knowingly collect nothing from them.
Your rights
Wherever you live, you can ask us what we hold about you and ask for it to be deleted. In practice we hold nothing that identifies you, so there is nothing to look up. Write to us anyway if you have a question: see the contact page.
Changes
We will post changes here with a new date. Larger changes get a note on the home page.