Safety & how VineBlocks works
VineBlocks was made by a dad for his own son. Its guiding rule: a child should be able to explore freely without a parent ever needing to worry. Here is exactly how that’s enforced — in plain language.
What we do not do
- No chat and no typing to others. There is no text channel anywhere in the game. Between players, the only communication is movement and a short list of pre-approved emoji (👋 🙏 ❤️ 😊 🐑 ✨). It is impossible for anyone to send your child words.
- No accounts, logins, or personal information. There is nothing to sign up for. We do not ask for — or store — a name, email, age, photo, or location for your child. Player names are chosen from a fixed, curated list (no free text).
- No ads, no tracking, no purchases. The game is free. There is no advertising, no analytics profiling of your child, and nothing to buy.
- No public/stranger servers. Your child can never be dropped into a world with strangers. Multiplayer is private-invite only (see below).
How multiplayer works
Multiplayer is off by default and lives behind a parental gate (a simple math question a young child won’t solve on their own). When you turn it on, you get or enter a private room code and share it only with families you personally know and trust — for example, cousins, or a church small group.
A private-invite model is also ideal for a youth group or classroom: a trusted adult shares one code with their group, and everyone builds together in a walled garden. (An expanded, leader-administered version of this is on our roadmap.)
Parent controls
- Daily play limit (“Sabbath Rest”). Set how long the game may be played each day; when the time is up it gently winds down with a restful verse — teaching that rest is good (Genesis 2:2–3). Pair it with your device’s Screen Time / Family Safety as the hard backstop.
- Weekly summary. A recap of play time and progress can be compiled on the device and sent from your own email app — nothing about your child is stored on our servers to make it.
- Cross-device backup by code. Progress is saved on the device. An optional backup uses an anonymous code you keep (like a coat-check ticket) — no account, no email, no personal data attached.
Our security model (the technical bit)
For the technically-minded, here is what actually crosses the network:
- Same-origin only. The game talks only to its own server (vineblocks.com). It loads no third-party scripts, fonts, or trackers, and is served under a strict Content-Security-Policy.
- Numbers, not words. In a shared world the server relays only validated numeric data — positions, a colour palette, an emoji index, block coordinates. Any unexpected field is dropped, and no free text can ride along on any channel.
- Private rooms are code-gated. A room cannot be joined without a valid code; there is no global room. Traffic is rate-limited to prevent flooding.
- Minimal, anonymous storage. The only thing we can store is an anonymous save blob under a code you choose — no identifiers, expiring on its own if unused.
We designed this to align with the spirit of children’s-privacy laws (such as COPPA): the safest data is the data you never collect. See our Privacy Policy for specifics.
A note on the content
VineBlocks is explicitly Christian. Gameplay is framed around Scripture (KJV), stewardship, and generosity — feeding the hungry, clothing those in need, honest work, and rest. There is no violence or combat. Heaven is portrayed with care and hope, and God is represented as light, never as a figure.