Shiftwick Privacy Policy

1. The short version

• You can play the whole game without an account. Your progress is saved on your device.
• The online leaderboard is optional. If you join it we store a random player ID, a display name, your scores and the friends and parties you create. If you sign in with Apple or Google we also store the sign-in details described below.
• Cloud save is optional and only exists if you sign in with Apple or Google. It keeps your progress (levels, stars, candy, power-ups, streak, finished Dailies, season trails and skins) on your account so a new phone can pick it up. You can turn it off or delete the copy at any time in Settings.
• Anonymous usage statistics and crash reports are optional and OFF until you say yes. If you turn them on, we receive which screens and levels are used, the steps of video and purchase offers, and when the app closed unexpectedly, under a random ID that is not linked to you. You can turn them off at any time in Settings, which also deletes what we hold.
• A daily reminder is optional and OFF until you say yes. If you turn it on, your phone shows a short notice at the time of day you pick. Your phone makes and shows it: nothing is sent to us for it, and you can turn it off at any time.
• The game shows ads (Google AdMob) unless you buy "Remove ads". Ads may use your device's advertising identifier. You can limit this in the game and in your device settings.
• We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use your information to build profiles for any purpose other than the ads described below.
• You can delete your leaderboard data and account at any time inside the game: Settings, then "Leave and delete my data" (if you play as a guest) or "Delete my account and data" (if you are signed in).
• The game is not meant for children under 13 (or the minimum age in your country, if higher).

2. Who we are and how to reach us

The controller of your information is 4 Birds Studios LLC, 15807 W. Woodlands, Goodyear, AZ 85338, United States. Contact: support@4birdstudiosllc.com.

3. Information stored on your device only

The game saves your progress and settings on your device: the levels you have completed, candy and power-ups (including candy from candy packs), streak freezes, your Trail Pass progress, your sound, vibration and season choices, whether Remove ads is owned, the identifiers of recent candy pack purchases (so that a pack is never credited twice), your best Daily results, and your answer about anonymous usage statistics (section 8) with a count of the rounds you have finished, which the game uses only to decide when to ask, and the last price list the game received from our server (so that prices are known when you are offline), and your choice about the optional daily reminder (on or off, and the time of day you picked). This information stays on your device. We do not receive it unless you join the leaderboard, and then only what is listed in section 4. Deleting the game deletes this information.

The optional daily reminder works like this. Only if you turn it on, the game asks your phone to show a short notice, for example "Puzzle #12 is ready", at the time of day you pick, on the next few days. The notices are made and shown by your phone itself: they are not sent from a server, we do not receive them, and they do not use your advertising identifier. On phones that ask, the game requests permission to show notices at the moment you turn the reminder on, and not before. The reminders stop by themselves after a few days if you do not open the game. You can turn the reminder off in Settings or in your phone's notification settings.

4. Information we collect when you use the leaderboard

The leaderboard (Global, Friends and Party boards) only starts once you choose to join it. When you do, we collect and store:

• A random player ID created for your device (a guest account). It contains no personal information.
• A display name. You begin with a generated name such as "Gloomy Raven 417". You may change it to a username of 4 to 10 letters or digits. Your display name is visible to other players on the boards, in friend lists and in parties. Do not put your real name or any personal information in it.
• Your scores: your best score for each Daily puzzle and the number of levels you have cleared in Endless mode. When you finish a game the app sends the list of moves you made; we check the moves against the game rules and keep only the result (score, stars, number of taps and time). The list of moves is not stored.
• Your friend code, the friends you add and the friends who add you, and the parties you create or join, with their settings, members, invitations and round scores.
• Small counters that limit how many actions you can take per hour (to prevent abuse).
• The players you block, and the reports you send about other players (see "Reporting and blocking" below).

Friends and parties are private: other players can only find you with a friend code or party code that you share, and party standings are visible to the members of that party only. Your name and scores on the Global boards are visible to all players.

Reporting and blocking. Next to another player's name there is a "..." button. You can report that player for an offensive name, for cheating or for something else (you pick from a fixed list; there is no free text), and you can block them. A block is stored with your profile: their name is replaced by "Blocked player" on your boards, they are removed from your friends and party invitations, and they cannot add you with a friend code. They are not told. You can undo it any time in Settings, "Blocked players". A report stores who sent it, who it is about, the name as you saw it, the reason you picked and the date. Only we can read reports, we use them to decide whether to change or remove a name or a score, and we do not tell the reported player who sent one. Reports are removed after about 90 days.

5. Sign-in with Apple or Google (optional)

You can choose to sign in with Apple (on iPhone and iPad) or Google (on Android) so that you can keep your leaderboard profile if you change phone. If you do, our authentication provider receives a sign-in token from Apple or Google and stores your provider account identifier and the email address that Apple or Google shares with us (if you use Apple's "Hide My Email", this is Apple's private relay address). Google may also share your name and profile picture address. We use this only to recognise your account, not to contact you, and we do not show it to other players. Your guest profile (name, scores, friends and parties) is moved to your account when you sign in. We never receive your Apple or Google password.

Cloud save (optional, only when you are signed in). If you sign in, the game can keep a copy of your progress on your account, so that a new phone picks up where you left off and two phones on one account are merged. The copy holds only numbers and skin names: the next level, your best stars for each level, your candy, spare power-ups and streak freezes, your streak, for each Daily you finished its stars, score, lanterns left and time, your progress on each season trail, and the skins you own and wear. It does not hold your name, e-mail address, advertising identifier, the moves you made or anything you typed. A guest cannot use it. We keep one copy per account, together with a counter and the time of the last change, until you delete it or delete your account. You can switch it off at any time in Settings, "Cloud save", and "Delete cloud copy" removes the copy from our server at once (your account and the progress on your phone stay as they are). It is on after you sign in; switching it off stops anything being sent.

6. Information collected by ads

The game shows a banner ad and, optionally, rewarded video ads served by Google AdMob. A rewarded video only plays when you tap a button that offers one (for example to double the candy from a win, get more hints, or earn a streak freeze). The banner is not shown if you buy "Remove ads"; the optional rewarded videos stay available, because you choose to watch them. To show and measure ads, Google and its partners may collect information from your device, such as your advertising identifier, IP address, device and operating system information, approximate location derived from your IP address, and information about how you interact with ads. We do not control this collection. Where the law requires it (for example in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland), the game asks for your consent before requesting ads, and on iPhone and iPad asks for your permission to track you. You can change your choice at any time: Settings, "Ad privacy choices". You can also reset or limit your advertising identifier in your device settings. See Google's information about how it uses data: policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.

7. Purchases

"Remove ads" is a one-time purchase, and the optional candy packs are in-app purchases that you can buy more than once. All are processed by Apple or Google. We do not receive your payment card or billing details. We receive confirmation from the store that a purchase was made, so that the game can remove ads or add the candy. "Remove ads" can be restored on a new device with "Restore purchases" in Settings. Candy packs are consumed when they are used and cannot be restored; the candy is kept on your device, as described in section 3.

8. Anonymous usage statistics and crash reports (optional)

The game can send anonymous usage statistics and reports of unexpected closes, so that we can fix levels that are too hard and things that break. This is off until you choose it. The game asks once, after you have played a few rounds, and you can change your answer at any time in Settings, "Anonymous usage statistics". If you say no, nothing is recorded for this purpose and nothing is sent. The game keeps only the count of finished rounds on your device, to decide when to ask; the count is never sent.

If you say yes, the game records short events from a fixed list and sends them in small batches, over an encrypted connection, to our database provider (section 11). Each event contains:

• A random install ID, made at the moment you say yes. It is not your leaderboard player ID, your account, your advertising identifier or any other identifier of your device, and it is removed from your device when you turn the setting off.
• A random ID for the play session, the version of the game, your platform (for example Android or iOS) and the season that is showing.
• The screens you open, for example the shop, Settings or the leaderboard.
• When a round starts and ends: the mode (campaign, Daily or party), the level number, whether you won, lost or left, how many seconds it took, your stars, how many hints and power-ups you used and how many tries it took.
• The steps of optional video offers (offered, started, finished, closed early, none available) and of purchases (started, completed, cancelled, failed or restored), by product name only. We do not receive the price, your payment details or a receipt through this.
• That you shared a result, or joined, left, signed in to or deleted a leaderboard profile. Only the action is recorded, never your name.
• Your choices about the optional daily reminder: that the one-time question was shown, whether you said yes or no, that you switched the reminder on or off in Settings, that your phone refused notifications, and which of four times of day you picked. The words of a reminder are never recorded.
• Your choices in the Wardrobe: which skin you tried, bought, put on, took off or earned, and its kind (pieces, board, confetti or flame). Nothing else about your wardrobe or your candy is recorded.
• Your cloud save choices: that you switched it on or off, deleted the cloud copy, that a sync brought changes to your phone, or that a sync failed. No progress numbers and no error text are recorded.
• Your report and block choices: that you reported a player (for an offensive name, for cheating or for something else), blocked or unblocked one. Never who, and never anything they wrote.
• Short fixed error codes when something fails, for example a purchase or a save. If the previous session ended while the game was in front, an "unexpected close" event says where you were (screen, mode and level), how long that session had lasted and which version it was. The game cannot tell a crash from other ways of ending, such as the system closing the app, and it records no technical crash trace.

The events can only hold values from this fixed list and numbers within fixed limits. They never contain your name, e-mail address, display name, anything you typed, your advertising identifier, any device identifier, your contacts or your location.

Like every request on the internet, the request reaches our database provider together with your IP address. We do not store the IP address with the statistics and do not use it to identify you, but our provider's server logs may keep it for a limited time.

We keep individual events for 35 days and then delete them. We keep the days on which an install ID was active for up to 400 days, to see how many players come back. When you turn the setting off, the game asks our server to delete everything held for your install ID and repeats the request until the server confirms it; our provider may keep backups for a limited time afterwards. If you delete the game without turning the setting off first, the data we hold under that random ID cannot be linked to you, and it is deleted on the schedule above.

9. Information we do not collect

The game does not ask for or collect your contacts, photos, camera, microphone or precise location. The game reads the text on your clipboard only at the moment you tap "Got a challenge?", and only to look for a friend's challenge link; it does not read the clipboard at any other time, and the text is neither stored nor sent anywhere. When you share a result, the text you share (which can contain a link with a board number and your score) goes only to the app you choose in the share sheet. To show the current prices of power-ups and candy packs, the game asks our server for a price list when it starts and from time to time while it is open; this request contains nothing about you apart from what every internet request carries (such as your IP address, see section 8). Apart from the ad provider's own software (section 6) and the optional anonymous statistics in section 8, the game does not contain analytics or crash-reporting services. If this changes we will update this policy before the change takes effect.

10. How we use information

• To run the game and the leaderboard: boards, friends, parties, invitations, score checks and showing your name to other players.
• To keep your leaderboard profile and, if you leave cloud save on, your progress when you sign in or change phone.
• To protect the game: limiting abuse, checking that scores are genuine, blocking inappropriate names, and investigating reports.
• To show ads, through the ad provider described in section 6.
• If you agreed, to understand how the game is played, fix problems and decide what to improve, using the anonymous statistics in section 8.
• To answer your messages and comply with the law.

If you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or Switzerland, our legal bases are: performing our contract with you (running the features you ask for), your consent (ads and tracking, and the optional anonymous usage statistics, which you may withdraw at any time), and our legitimate interests (security, preventing cheating and abuse, and keeping the game working).

11. Who we share information with

• Our database and authentication provider, Supabase, which hosts the leaderboard and, if you agreed, the anonymous statistics for us as our processor. Our database is located in the United States (Amazon Web Services region us-east-1, North Virginia).
• Apple or Google, when you choose to sign in with them or make a purchase.
• Google AdMob and its partners, for ads (section 6).
• Other players, but only your display name and scores, as described in section 4.
• Authorities or other parties where required by law, or to protect rights, safety and the security of the game.

We do not sell your personal information. We do not share the information in section 4 or 5 with advertisers.

12. How long we keep information

We keep your leaderboard profile while you use it. Daily scores older than about 90 days may be removed. Finished parties are removed about 7 days after they end. Reports about players are removed after about 90 days. Guest accounts that never joined the leaderboard may be removed after about 30 days. Your cloud save is kept until you delete it or delete your account. Anonymous statistics are kept as described in section 8. When you choose "Leave and delete my data" or "Delete my account and data", your profile, scores, friends, party memberships, invitations, your cloud save and your sign-in record are deleted immediately; our database provider may keep backups for a limited time afterwards.

13. Your choices and rights

• Delete your data: Settings, Leaderboard, "Leave and delete my data" if you play as a guest, or Settings, Account, "Delete my account and data" if you are signed in. Either one deletes your account as well as your leaderboard profile.
• Change your name at any time in Settings.
• Report or block a player from the "..." next to their name, and unblock in Settings, "Blocked players".
• Sign out in Settings. Your profile and cloud save remain on the server so you can sign in again later.
• Cloud save: switch it off, sync now or delete the cloud copy in Settings, "Cloud save".
• Ad choices: Settings, "Ad privacy choices", and your device's advertising settings.
• Anonymous usage statistics: turn them on or off at any time in Settings, "Anonymous usage statistics". Turning them off deletes the data we hold under your install ID. Because the data is not linked to your name or account, we can only find it with the install ID that is on your device, so use the switch rather than a written request.
• Depending on where you live (for example under the GDPR, the UK GDPR, or California and other US state laws) you may have the right to access, correct, delete or receive a copy of your personal information, to object to or restrict certain uses, to withdraw consent, and not to be discriminated against for using these rights. Write to support@4birdstudiosllc.com and we will respond within the time the law requires. You may also complain to your local data protection authority.
• California residents: we do not sell personal information. Some laws treat the sharing of data with advertising partners as "sharing" or "targeted advertising"; use "Ad privacy choices" to opt out.

14. Children

The game is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 (or under the higher minimum age that applies in your country, for example 16 in some European countries). If you believe a child has given us personal information, write to support@4birdstudiosllc.com and we will delete it. Parents can also delete a child's data using the in-game delete button.

15. Security

We use encrypted connections, restrict database access with access rules, and check scores on the server. No system is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.

16. International transfers

Our service providers may process information in countries other than yours, including the United States. Where required, we use legal safeguards for these transfers, such as standard contractual clauses.

17. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy. We will change the "Last updated" date above and, for important changes, tell you in the game. The current version is always available in the game: Settings, Privacy Policy.

18. Contact

4 Birds Studios LLC, 15807 W. Woodlands, Goodyear, AZ 85338, United States

support@4birdstudiosllc.com