Pycto.iois a web application that allows you to create and solve Pycto's. Pycto’s are micro puzzles with a message embedded into them. You can share Pycto's on social media, messenger apps, forums, etc. The receiver can only read the message after the puzzle is solved.
The Pycto's of the day are daily Pycto's that we put on the website. These are high quality Pycto's, sometimes containing welcome surprises. If you have a nice picture and message that you want to share with our users through a Pycto of the Day, you can contact us.
Ok we are going to be very frank here. Like anyone we do not like
the data collecting giants that are all around us. We try not to collect
data, but to be able to compute the reach of Pycto's (of the day) we need
to collect a tiny bit of information.
We collect two events: the creation of a Pycto and solving a Pycto.
When either of the two events happens the app (or website) sends a
signal to our servers with a UID of the app and a UID of the Pycto.
Thats all.
If you would like access to this data or think we collect too much, please
send us an email :)
No. You don't need an account to use the basic functionality of Pycto.io. However, if you want to manage or subscribe to lists, you need to register with an email address.
To register you need to install a TOTP authenticator (on your phone) for example: Authy or Google Authenticator. During registration you need to provide us with an email address and a username. The system then sends you an activation mail with an activation link. If you follow that link you will get see a QR code that you can scan with your authenticator app to register the secret key. From now on, when you want to log in you fill in your email address and the temporary password shown by the authenticator.
OTP stands for One Time Password and is mostly used as a two factor authentication mechanism. We use it as the primary password. The benefit of doing so is that we don't need to store your password (and we don't have to trust you to come up with a secure password, and remember it).
We store the following extra fields for a registered user:
We do not store the solutions of Pyctos on our servers, which also means that we do not store the progress on Pyctos. The progress is only saved locally. We are working on a way to transfer progress without leaking solutions, but for now: Enjoy solving the Pyctos again.
A list is a ordered collection of Pyctos, often with a common theme. A prime example of a list is the Pycto of the Day which under the hood is just an ordinary list. You can subscribe to a list, which puts the list on your home page. If you manage a list you can add a Pycto to the end of the list. Note that like the Pycto of the Day, the list shows a Pycto per day. So if today you add two Pyctos, the first will be shown today, the second tomorrow. You can schedule Pyctos in the future, but it is (at the moment) not possible to add Pyctos in the past.
Adding a Pycto to a list is easy. Navigate to your favorite Pycto (or create one) and click on the "Add to List" button on the bottom of the Pycto.
When you register, you get a personal list. This list won't show up when people search for a list, but you can share the link and other users can subscribe. If you want to manage a public list you can create one. Note that at the moment we review all public lists and you will need to wait until we activate the list before you can use it (this will take about 24h). To speed up the review process give a good description of the content you are going to post and reason for creating list. The description can be shown to other users, the reason is for admin purposes.
A list publishes Pyctos at a pace of one Pycto a day. When you add a Pycto to a list it will add it as today's Pycto, or the next available date in the future.
Short answer no. Long answer, if the list hasn't been updated for a while we will try to contact the manager of the list. If this is unfruitfull we might transfer the list to you. To start this process, send us an email.
We take IP very seriously. Send us an email with all the details and we will investigate the matter.