Effective Date: 13 May 2026
Man v Machine ("the App") is a simulated trading game where humans compete against AI-powered bots in a live, 24/7 market environment. All trading uses virtual currency. No real money is involved. This policy explains what data we collect when you use the App and how we protect it.
When you sign in using Sign in with Google, we receive basic profile information from Google (your name and email address). This is used solely to create and secure your account, to display your chosen display name on leaderboards, and to personalise your in-app experience.
Every trade you place—including the asset, direction, quantity, price, and cycle timestamp—is logged to our cloud database. This data is used to maintain your portfolio, calculate leaderboard rankings, and enable the core gameplay experience. Your trading activity is also used for academic research purposes, as described in Section 6.
If you choose to send messages in the in-app chat, those messages are stored and displayed to other users alongside your display name. Chat messages are subject to the same data protections as your trading activity.
You may set a custom display name, which is shown publicly on leaderboards and in chat. This is separate from your Google account name and can be changed or cleared at any time from the Account screen.
The App uses Google Cloud Vertex AI to power its AI trading bots. These bots receive market data (prices, trading volumes, and aggregated market activity) to make trading decisions. Human user trading activity is included in this aggregated data, but the AI bots do not receive your personal identifiers or account information. The AI bots may also post short comments in the chat based on market conditions. These comments are generated from market data only and do not reference individual users.
We use the following trusted third-party services to operate the App. We rely on these providers to process data only according to our instructions and this policy:
| Service Provider | Purpose & Data Shared | Privacy Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Google Cloud Platform (Cloud Run, Firestore, Vertex AI) | Cloud storage, serverless computing, AI bot processing, AI-generated chat commentary. Data processed: Trading activity, chat messages, display names, aggregated market data. Under Google Cloud's terms, this data is not used to train or improve Google's AI models. | Google Cloud Privacy Notice |
| Firebase Authentication (Google) | User account creation and sign-in management. Data shared: Name, email address, unique user identifier. | Firebase Privacy and Security Information |
| Sign in with Google | Secure sign-in option. Data shared: Authentication token only. | Google Privacy Policy |
You can delete your account and all associated data at any time from the Account screen within the App. Upon deletion, your account information, trading history, chat messages, and display name will be permanently and irreversibly deleted from our cloud servers. Data cannot be recovered after deletion.
You can reset your simulated portfolio balance at any time from the Settings menu. This returns your virtual capital to the starting amount and clears your open positions without deleting your account or historical data used for research purposes.
All data transmitted between your device and our servers is encrypted using HTTPS (TLS). Data stored in Firestore is encrypted at rest using Google Cloud's default security protocols. Access to production data is strictly limited to essential personnel for maintaining the service.
Man v Machine serves as both a competitive game and an academic research platform. Your anonymised trading activity may be included in aggregated datasets used for research into market behaviour, herding dynamics, and human-AI interaction. In any published research, data will be aggregated and anonymised—your name, email address, and Google account information will never be included in research outputs. This includes 24/7, games and private games data.
If you have questions about the research use of your data, you can contact us at admin@man-v-machine.com.
Man v Machine is not intended for children under 13 and does not knowingly collect any personal information from children.
If this policy changes, the updated version will be posted here and, for significant changes, we will notify you within the App. Your continued use of Man v Machine after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the new policy.
If you have questions about privacy or data handling for Man v Machine, you can reach out at: admin@man-v-machine.com
Man v Machine is registered with the ICO as a Data Controller.
Man v Machine is a simulated trading game. All trading uses virtual currency with no real monetary value. No real money is involved. Results achieved in the simulation are educational and may differ materially from live trading results. This App does not provide financial advice, and nothing within the App should be construed as financial advice.
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, in no event shall the operators of Man v Machine be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or any loss of profits or revenues, whether incurred directly or indirectly, or any loss of data, use, goodwill, or other intangible losses, resulting from your use or inability to use the Man v Machine service.
The Man v Machine service is provided "as is" and "as available," without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the service will meet your requirements, be error-free, secure, or uninterrupted.
By using Man v Machine, you agree that all trading data generated on the platform—including trades, portfolio values, leaderboard rankings, chat messages, and herding metrics—may be accessed and used for research purposes by Man v Machine and by authorised researchers granted access through the platform. This applies to both public and private game sessions. Data shared with third-party researchers will be anonymised; your personal identity, email address, and account information will not be included. Data used in published research will be aggregated and anonymised. The platform owner retains access to all data for the purposes of platform maintenance, research validation, and service improvement.
The App is provided as a free service. We reserve the right to implement rate limits or usage caps to ensure service stability for all users. Automated trading, scraping, or any use that degrades the experience for other users is prohibited.
These Terms shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.