Terms of use

These terms are the agreement between you and the independent developer who makes Idle (“I” and “me” below). They are written to be read. If anything is unclear, ask.

1. What Idle is

Idle is a free desktop application and website that offers a quick game (rock paper scissors, chess, tic-tac-toe, blackjack) with someone nearby while an AI coding agent is busy. It is an early, personal project. "Idle", "the app", "the site" and "the service" below all mean this software and the website at idle-games.pages.dev. What the app reads and sends is set out in the Privacy Policy and, in technical detail, on the Trust page.

2. Accepting these terms

By downloading, installing or using Idle you agree to these terms. If you do not agree, do not use it. If you use Idle for an employer or organisation, you confirm you are allowed to, and that installing it complies with your organisation's software and security policies.

3. Who can use it

You must be at least 16 years old, and able to enter a binding agreement where you live. Idle is not intended for children. Do not use Idle if the law where you are prohibits you from doing so.

4. Your licence

I give you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to install and use Idle on devices you own or control, for your own non-commercial use. Idle and everything in it (code, design, text, names and logos) remain mine or my licensors'. You may not, except where the law gives you the right regardless:

• sell, rent, sublicense or redistribute Idle, or offer it as your own;
• copy or reverse engineer the software to build a competing product, or remove notices from it;
• use it in a way that breaks the law or these terms.

Independent security research done in good faith is welcome. Tell me about anything you find rather than publishing it first (see Contact).

If you send me feedback or ideas, you let me use them freely, without payment or credit, to improve Idle. Feedback is anonymous, so please do not include personal information.

5. Using it fairly

Idle connects you with other people. When you use it you agree not to:

• cheat, tamper with games or the connection, or automate play in a way that harms other players;
• harass, impersonate or deceive other people, or use a display name that is abusive, hateful or unlawful;
• probe, overload, scrape or attack the relay, the site or other people's devices;
• use office codes or invite links to get into groups you have not been invited to, or share invite links in a way that is spam.

If you switch on nearby play, you can be matched with other players in your area, and your first name is shown to them. It is off until you choose it and you can switch it off at any time. I may block devices or offices that do any of the above, with or without notice.

6. Changes Idle makes to your AI tools

If you choose to connect Idle to Claude Code or Codex, Idle adds a small entry (a "hook") to that tool's settings file so it can tell when the tool is busy. It keeps a one-time backup of the file and can remove its entries again from the menu-bar or tray icon. You are responsible for the settings of tools you control, for checking them, and for any policy of your employer about changing them. Idle only receives the words "busy" or "idle"; it is not designed to read your prompts or code, and the Trust page shows how you can check that yourself.

7. Opponents and bots

Other players are real people on their own devices, and I cannot control what they do. To keep games available while the community is small, some opponents may be computer-controlled players ("bots"), and the app may not label them. In the current version nothing of value (money, prizes or credits) is staked on any game, so the outcome of a game has no financial consequence for you.

8. Future features, including wagering

Idle is still being shaped by feedback. I may in future add more games, more platforms, accounts, leaderboards, optional paid features and other ways to play. I am also considering whether to offer real-time competitive play involving real-money stakes or prizes. None of that exists today. If I ever add anything of that kind:

• it would be introduced only where it is lawful, and would be unavailable in places where it is restricted or prohibited;
• it would require extra steps such as age, identity and location checks, and acceptance of separate terms and an updated privacy policy before you could take part;
• it would be optional, so the free version could carry on without it;
• nothing in this section is a promise that any feature will be built.

Gambling and skill-gaming laws differ widely between countries. It is your responsibility to make sure you are legally allowed to use any feature that involves money where you live.

9. Other people's products

Idle works alongside products made by others (for example Claude Code by Anthropic and Codex by OpenAI) and runs on infrastructure from providers such as Cloudflare. Names and logos belong to their owners. Idle is independent and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by them. Your use of those products is governed by their own terms, which may change in ways that stop Idle working with them.

10. Beta software, no warranty

Idle is early software, provided "as is" and "as available". It is not yet signed or notarised by Apple or Microsoft, so your system may warn you when you open it. To the fullest extent the law allows, I give no warranty of any kind, express or implied, including that Idle will be secure, error-free, always available, or suitable for any particular purpose. The service may change, be interrupted or be discontinued at any time. You should back up anything important and install software only on devices where you are allowed to.

11. Limits of liability

To the fullest extent the law allows, I am not liable for indirect, incidental, special or consequential loss, or for lost profits, data or goodwill, arising from your use of Idle. My total liability for any claim relating to Idle is limited to the greater of the amount you paid me for it (nothing, today) and USD 50. Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot lawfully be limited, such as liability for fraud, or for death or personal injury caused by negligence, and your statutory consumer rights where you live are not affected.

12. Ending your use

You can stop using Idle at any time by quitting and deleting it, and removing its hooks from the menu-bar or tray icon first. I can suspend or end your access if you break these terms or if I stop offering the service. Sections that are meant to survive (for example 4, 10, 11 and 14) will do so.

13. Changes to these terms

I may update these terms as Idle changes, especially if new features are added. The date at the top shows when they last changed. If a change is significant I will say so on the site. Using Idle after a change means you accept it; if you do not, stop using Idle.

14. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the United Arab Emirates, and any dispute that cannot be settled informally will be for the courts of the United Arab Emirates, except that if you are a consumer you keep any right to use the courts of your own country and the mandatory consumer protections of the place where you live. Please contact me first: most problems can be fixed without a dispute.

15. Contact

The best way to reach me is a message on LinkedIn, or through GitHub. Use the same routes to report a security problem.