WordSmithy

About this policy

WordSmithy - Word Hunt is a word game made by Bernardo, an independent developer (“I,” “me”). This policy explains what information the app uses, why, and the choices you have.

WordSmithy - Word Hunt has no accounts of its own. The only ads are optional reward videos you choose to watch in the shop, provided by Google AdMob. I don’t receive your game data except what global play posts to CloudKit (see Global play). Features that connect you with other players use Apple’s Game Center, and purchases use Apple’s App Store.

iPhone and Android: this policy covers both versions of the app. Where something works differently on Android, it is described in the section called “Android version”; that section overrides the Apple-specific parts above for Android users.

Information the app keeps on your device

Your scores, daily results, streaks, coins, power-ups, themes, settings and chosen app icon are stored on your device. Deleting the app deletes them.

• I do not collect your name, email address, contacts or photos. The ad provider estimates your general location from your IP address; see Advertising below.
• There is nothing to sign in to in the app itself.

Game Center

Leaderboards, friend challenges, live matches and brackets use Apple Game Center. If you are signed in to Game Center, Apple shares your Game Center name and avatar with the players you play against, and your daily scores appear on the leaderboard. In friend matches the app sends the words you found and your scores to your opponent through Game Center. This data is handled by Apple under Apple's Privacy Policy; I don't receive it. You can use the rest of the app without Game Center.

Purchases

Coin packs are bought through the App Store. Apple handles payment, and I never see your payment details. The app receives only confirmation that a purchase completed.

Advertising

The shop lets you watch a short video ad to earn coins or a power-up. Ads only play when you choose to watch one; the app shows no other ads.

Ads are provided by Google AdMob. When an ad loads, Google may collect:

• Your device’s advertising identifier, only if you allow tracking
• Your IP address, used to estimate your general location
• Information about how you interact with ads
• Crash and performance data from the ad software

Google uses this to show ads, measure them and prevent fraud. I don’t receive this data. Learn more in Google’s privacy policy and how Google uses information from apps that use its services.

Your choices: The app asks whether it may track you before showing personalized ads. If you choose “Ask App Not to Track,” your advertising identifier isn’t shared and you’ll see non-personalized ads. You can change this anytime in Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking. Where the law requires it (such as in Europe and the UK), adults also see a consent form from Google’s User Messaging Platform (UMP) before any ads load, and can reopen it any time from Me > Privacy choices. You never have to watch an ad to play the game.

Age: the app asks Apple for your age range (under 13, 13 to 17, or 18 and over) through Apple’s Declared Age Range feature. It never asks for your birthdate, and Apple decides what to share. I use it only to choose ad settings and never save it. If you are under 13, or the app can’t tell your age, ads are child-directed and non-personalized and you won’t see the tracking prompt. If you are 13 to 17, ads are non-personalized. Only adults who allow tracking get personalized ads.

Global play

Global play lets you compete in a shared round with other players around the world. When a round ends, the app posts one record to Apple’s CloudKit public database (in this app’s own CloudKit container) containing:

• Your Game Center player ID (an identifier Apple gives your Game Center account for this game, not your Apple ID or email)
• Your Game Center display name (shortened to 20 characters)
• Your chosen in-game avatar
• Your score and the round number
• The words you found, stored as the board positions you traced, not as text

This is used only to build the round’s rankings and to check that scores are real. You must be signed in to iCloud and Game Center to post. Anyone playing global play can see names, avatars and scores on the rankings. Players under 13 see other players as “Player 1”, “Player 2” and so on.

How long it’s kept: global play records are kept for 90 days and then deleted. The app removes your own records older than 90 days when you open global play, and I also clear any older records from the database myself. Until then they are stored by Apple, and I can see them in my CloudKit dashboard. I do not use them for advertising, analytics or anything beyond the rankings, and I do not sell or share them. To have your records removed sooner, email me at the address below and include your Game Center name.

To keep every player on the same clock, the app also asks this website for the time (a plain request, like opening a web page, with no personal information).

Sharing

When you tap Share, the app creates a short message and a picture (your score, your name if you are signed in to Game Center, and similar details) and gives them to the iOS share sheet. Nothing is sent anywhere unless you choose an app and send it. Shared daily results contain numbers only, never the words you found.

Android version

On Android the app uses Google services instead of Apple’s. Everything above about Game Center, CloudKit, the App Store and Apple’s age range feature applies to iPhone only. On Android:

No account, no personal details. There is nothing to sign in to. The app does not ask for your name, email address, phone number, contacts, photos or location, and it does not use your Google account.

Online features (Firebase). Global play, the daily leaderboard, friends, challenges and brackets run on Google Firebase (Authentication and Cloud Firestore). The first time you go online, the app creates an anonymous player ID for your phone. It is a random identifier, not linked to your name or Google account. The app also gives you a friendly generated name such as “Brave Otter” and a friend code. What is stored online:

• Your anonymous player ID, generated name, friend code and chosen avatar (your profile)
• For global play and the daily board: your score, the round or day, and the words you found, stored as the board positions you traced, not as text
• Your friends list (who you connected with by friend code)
• For friend challenges and brackets: the players involved, board settings, scores, the words played and whose turn it is

Other players can see your generated name, avatar and score on the rankings, and your friends see your generated name and avatar. Google, as Firebase’s provider, also processes technical data such as your IP address when the app connects. See Firebase privacy information and Google’s privacy policy.

Names you type stay on your phone. You can type your own name in Me and give your friends nicknames. These are saved only on your phone and are never sent to Firebase or shown to anyone else. Online, everyone appears only under generated names.

How long it’s kept. Firebase deletes old records automatically: scores (global and daily) after 30 days, challenge and bracket records after 30 days, and profiles and friend connections after 90 days. I do not use this data for advertising, analytics or anything beyond making the features work, and I do not sell or share it. To have your online records removed sooner, email me at the address below with your friend code (shown under Play > Friends > Add friend).

Purchases. Coin packs are bought through Google Play. Google handles payment and I never see your payment details. The app receives only confirmation that a purchase completed.

Ads. The only ads are optional reward videos from Google AdMob, shown when you choose to watch one in the shop. Because WordSmithy is made for everyone, including children, on Android all ads are treated as child-directed: they are non-personalized, they are limited to family-friendly content, the app does not use or request your Android advertising ID, and there is no tracking or ad-consent prompt. Google may still process your IP address and information about how the ad performs to deliver the ad and prevent fraud. You never have to watch an ad to play.

Age. The Android app does not ask for or store your age. It treats every player as under 13 when choosing ad settings.

Sharing. Tapping Share (for your friend code or a result) opens Android’s share sheet. Nothing is sent unless you pick an app and send it.

Time check. As on iPhone, the app asks this website for the current time so everyone plays on the same clock. It is a plain request with no personal information.

Children’s privacy

WordSmithy - Word Hunt is a general-audience game. I do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone, including children. Ads in the app are optional. On iPhone they are not targeted at children unless Apple reports the player is under 13, in which case they are child-directed and non-personalized; on Android all ads are child-directed and non-personalized. Names typed by players never leave their device, and other players are only ever shown by generated names.

Changes & contact

If this policy changes, I will update it here and change the date at the top.

Questions or requests: galomagames@gmail.com