Accounts, handles, friends and privacy

How free ChessMess accounts work: email confirmation, your @handle and display name, friends, password resets, and what data we keep.

Updated 28 October 2026 · 1 min read

Guests and accounts

You can play without an account; your games and settings stay in your browser. A free account keeps them on every device and unlocks every world, board and piece set.

Signing up

Choose a display name, a unique @handle, your email and a password. We email you a 6-digit code to confirm the address. Forgot your password? Use Forgot password? on the log-in screen and we'll email a code to set a new one. You can also change your password from Settings, confirmed with an emailed code.

Display name and @handle

• Your display name shows on the board.
• Your @handle is unique; friends use it to find and challenge you.
• Each can be changed for free once a year. If you need a change sooner, it's a one-off $5.

Friends

Search by @handle or name, send friend requests, see who's online, and challenge friends directly. See Play with friends.

What we keep

Your account details (email, display name, handle, avatar, country if you choose one), your settings, ratings and game history. Passwords are stored as salted hashes, and email codes are stored only as hashes. There are no ads and no ad trackers.