Terms of Service

By accessing or using Handheld, you agree to be bound by these terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the service.

Handheld is a free, browser-based retro game emulation platform. It allows you to play retro games directly in your web browser using open-source emulation cores. The service is provided as a hobby project and is not a commercial product.

You may optionally create an account by signing in with Google. Your account provides access to cloud save sync and a personal dashboard. You are responsible for maintaining the security of your Google account. Handheld does not store your Google password.

Handheld is an emulation platform — it does not distribute, host, or provide game ROMs. You are responsible for providing your own game files and ensuring you have the legal right to use them.

You agree not to use Handheld to distribute copyrighted material, attempt to gain unauthorized access to our systems, or interfere with the service's operation.

Handheld does not claim ownership of any game ROMs, BIOS files, or other copyrighted material that you load into the emulator. All game content remains the property of its respective rights holders.

The Handheld platform itself, including its source code, design, and branding, is open-source software. The emulation cores used are provided by the Libretro project under their respective licenses.

If you enable cloud sync, your save states and settings are stored on our servers. We provide this feature on a best-effort basis. While we take reasonable measures to protect your data, we cannot guarantee that cloud data will never be lost.

We recommend keeping local backups of important save states. You can export saves at any time through the emulator interface.

Handheld is provided as-is, without warranties of any kind. We do not guarantee that the service will be available at all times or that it will be free of errors. As a hobby project, maintenance and updates happen on a best-effort basis.

You may stop using Handheld at any time. You can delete your account and all associated data from the Dashboard.

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these terms or that are used for illegal purposes.

Handheld and its contributors are not liable for any damages arising from your use of the service. This includes, but is not limited to, loss of data, loss of save states, or any issues caused by emulation inaccuracies.

You use Handheld entirely at your own risk.

We may update these terms from time to time. Changes will be reflected on this page with an updated date. Continued use of Handheld after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated terms.

If you have questions about these terms, you can reach us through the project's GitHub repository.