1. Who I am
Square That is a puzzle game for Android, iPhone and iPad (the "app"). It is developed and published by Nemanja Maslaković, an independent developer ("I", "me"). This policy explains what information the app uses, what the advertising service Google AdMob collects, why, and what choices you have.
I am responsible for the app. Google processes the data it collects for ads as an independent controller under its own privacy policy.
2. Information stored on your device
To work, the game saves a few things in its private storage on your phone or tablet:
- your best score;
- your unfinished game (the board, your shapes and your score), so you can continue later;
- your progress in the levels: the stars you earned in each level, and your hearts (how many you have, and when the next one comes back);
- your settings: whether music and sounds are on;
- whether you have finished the tutorial;
- how many games you have finished, which is used to space out the ads between games.
This information never leaves your device. It is not sent to me or to anyone else, and I run no server that collects it. It is deleted when you uninstall the app or clear its data in your device settings.
3. Information collected by Google AdMob
The app uses the Google Mobile Ads SDK (Google AdMob) to show ads. When ads are requested, shown or measured, the SDK automatically collects the following information and sends it to Google:
- Device identifiers: on Android, the advertising ID, the app set ID and similar identifiers; on iPhone and iPad, the identifier for vendors (IDFV) and, only if you allow tracking, the advertising identifier (IDFA).
- IP address, which may be used to estimate the general (approximate) location of your device.
- Interactions: app launches, taps, and ad and video views.
- Diagnostics and performance: for example app launch time, hang rate, crash information and energy use.
- Basic device and app information, such as the device model, the operating system version, the language and the app version.
I cannot see your advertising ID or any of this data. AdMob only gives me anonymous, aggregated reports, such as the number of ads shown and the money they earned.
Google describes this in How Google uses information from sites or apps that use its services and in the Google Privacy Policy.
4. Ads in Square That
The game shows two kinds of ads:
- Rewarded ads are optional. You choose to watch one to get a used-up power-up back (once per game for each power-up), to continue after you lose (once per game), or to get a heart for the levels. You get the reward after watching the ad.
- Interstitial ads are full-screen ads shown between games: after your first finished game, and then after every third finished game. They never interrupt a game you are playing.
Google and its partners may process data to show and measure these ads, in line with your device settings and the consent choices you have made. Depending on your settings, your location and the law that applies to you, ads may be personalized (chosen based on your interests, using your advertising ID) or non-personalized (chosen based on the context, such as the app and your general location). In the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, personalized ads are shown only where the legal requirements, including your consent, are met.
On iPhone and iPad, the app asks once, through Apple's App Tracking Transparency prompt, whether ads may use your advertising identifier. If you choose "Ask App Not to Track", the identifier is not shared and the ads you see are not chosen by tracking you across other companies' apps and websites. The game works the same either way.
5. Why this data is processed
- To show ads in the app, both rewarded and interstitial.
- To measure how ads perform, for example impressions, views and clicks, and to calculate ad earnings.
- To prevent fraud and abuse, such as invalid traffic and fake clicks, and to keep the ads secure.
- To run the game: the data stored on your device saves your progress and your settings.
Where the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or a similar law applies, personalized ads rely on your consent. Non-personalized ads, ad measurement and fraud prevention rely on legitimate interests: keeping the game free to play and keeping its ads safe.
7. Security and retention
- On your device: the game's data is kept in the app's private storage, which Android and iOS protect from other apps. It stays until you uninstall the app or clear its data.
- With Google: the data the Google Mobile Ads SDK collects is encrypted in transit (TLS). Google keeps it for the periods described in How Google retains data. I don't know or control these periods.
If you have any questions about how your data is handled, write to me at squarethatgame@yahoo.com.
8. Your choices and rights
- Advertising ID on Android: you can reset or delete your advertising ID, or turn off ad personalization, in your Android settings (usually Settings → Google → Ads, or Settings → Privacy → Ads, depending on your device).
- Tracking on iPhone and iPad: you can change your answer to the tracking prompt at any time in Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking, where you can also stop all apps from asking.
- Google ad settings: you can review and change how Google personalizes ads in My Ad Center.
- Ad consent (EEA, UK and Switzerland): you can change the choices you made in Google's consent form through Privacy choices at the bottom of the game's main menu.
- Data on your device: delete the game (on Android you can also clear its data in the settings) to delete it.
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct or delete your personal data, to restrict or object to its processing, to data portability, to withdraw your consent at any time, and to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority. Because the app sends no personal data to me, I usually cannot identify you or find data about you; for data held by Google, the tools above and Google's privacy policy explain how to use these rights. I am happy to help with any request: squarethatgame@yahoo.com.
9. App permissions
On Android, the app uses these permissions:
- the permissions the Google Mobile Ads SDK needs to load and measure ads, such as internet access, network state and the advertising ID;
- vibration, for the game's haptic feedback;
- audio settings, to play the game's music and sounds.
On iPhone and iPad, the only permission the app asks for is tracking (App Tracking Transparency), described in section 4. Saying no doesn't limit the game in any way.
The app does not access your location (GPS), camera, microphone, contacts, photos or files.
10. Children
Square That is a game for a general audience and is not directed at children under 13. I do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child's information has been collected through the app, please contact me at squarethatgame@yahoo.com and I will help to have it removed.
11. Changes to this policy
I may update this policy from time to time, for example when I add new features, ad partners or SDKs to the app. The new version will be published on this page with a new "Last updated" date. If a change is significant, I will point it out here and, where the law requires it, ask for your consent.