Puttstorm Privacy Policy
This policy explains what the Puttstorm mini golf game for Android ("Puttstorm", "the game", "the app") does with information, and the choices you have. Puttstorm is made by an independent developer ("we", "us"). You can reach us at trackiddeck@gmail.com.
In short
- We do not create accounts. We do not ask for your real name, email address, phone number, contacts, photos or precise location.
- Your progress (coins, stars, levels, settings) is kept on your own device. If you sign in with Google Play Games, a copy of it is also kept in your Google account, by Google, so that you can carry on from another device.
- When you play with other people, the name you typed into the game and your shots are sent to the other players in your match.
- The game shows ads: ones you choose to watch for a reward, and full-screen ones between levels of the Solo Tour. They are provided by Google AdMob, which collects its own data as described below.
- We do not sell your information.
1. Information kept on your device
The game saves the following in the app's own storage on your device. We cannot see it, and it is never uploaded to us as a profile:
- the player name you type into the game (a random name such as "Putter123" until you change it);
- your progress: coins, trophies, experience and player level, stars, unlocked stages, balls, clubs and power-ups;
- your settings (sound, vibration, and any server address you entered yourself);
- while you are in a match with friends, what is needed to return to it if the app is closed (the room code, and on the hosting phone the scorecard so far);
- a random identifier created by the app when it is first opened. It is not derived from your device, your Google account or your advertising ID, and it is used only to give you back your seat if your connection drops during a match with friends.
Uninstalling the game, or clearing its data in Android settings, deletes all of this. If you have Android's backup turned on, Google may include the game's saved data in your own device backup, under your Google account's settings.
2. Google Play Games (optional)
Puttstorm can use Google Play Games to keep your progress in your Google account. Play Games may sign you in by itself when the game starts, if you use it on your device; you can also sign in from the game's Settings ("Sign in with Google"). If you never sign in, nothing in this section applies.
When you are signed in:
- the game receives your Play Games name (your gamer name, not your real name or email address), and shows it in Settings;
- the game saves a copy of the progress described in section 1 to Play Games' "saved games" in your Google account, and reads it back on any device where you sign in. The random identifier, the server addresses and your sound and vibration settings are not included: they stay on each device;
- if your Google account already holds a different save, the game shows you both and asks which one to keep. The other one is replaced.
The saved copy is stored by Google, in your Google account. We cannot see it and do not receive it on our servers. Google Play Games also collects its own information (such as your gamer profile, and diagnostics about the Play Games software) under the Google Privacy Policy. You can delete Puttstorm's saved games, or your whole Play Games profile, from your Play Games profile settings or your Google Account.
3. Information sent when you play with others
Practice and the Solo Tour work entirely on your device. "Play Online" and "Play with Friends" need the internet, and while you are in a match the game sends:
| What | Who receives it | How long it is kept |
|---|---|---|
| The player name you typed into the game, and the ball design you chose | Our game server or friend-match relay, and the other players in your match | Only for the length of the match. It is not saved by our servers. |
| Your shots, ball positions and scores | Our game server or relay, and the other players in your match | Only for the length of the match. In a match with friends, the hosting player's phone keeps the scorecard until the match ends. |
| The random identifier described above, and a one-time rejoin code (friend matches only) | The friend-match relay and the hosting player's phone | Only while the room exists, and at most 4 hours. |
| Your IP address | Our servers and their hosting provider, as with any internet connection | Used to prevent abuse (for example, limiting how many rooms one connection can open) and held in memory for at most 10 minutes. Our code does not log it. |
Please choose a player name that does not identify you: other players in your match can see it.
There is no chat, and players cannot send each other messages, pictures or files.
4. Advertising
Puttstorm shows two kinds of ad. Rewarded video ads play only when you tap a button marked "Ad" (for example to earn coins or a power-up). Full-screen ads between levels appear without being asked for in the Solo Tour: one after every five levels you finish, and a shorter one when you retry the same level for the second time. There are no banner ads, and no ad ever appears in the middle of a hole or during a match with other players.
Ads are served by Google AdMob. When an ad is requested, the Google Mobile Ads software in the app may collect and use, under Google's own privacy policy:
- your device's advertising ID;
- your IP address, which can indicate your approximate (not precise) location;
- device information such as model, operating system version, language and screen size;
- how you interact with ads, and diagnostic information such as crash and performance data from the ads software.
Google may use this to show and measure ads, to prevent fraud, and, where permitted and where you have agreed, to personalise ads. See How Google uses information from sites or apps that use its services and the Google Privacy Policy.
Your choices. In regions where the law requires it (including the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland) the app asks for your choice about ads through Google's consent form before any ad is requested. On any Android device you can reset or delete your advertising ID, or turn off ad personalisation, in Settings > Google > Ads (or Settings > Privacy > Ads). You can also simply not tap the "Ad" buttons: everything in the game can be earned by playing. The ads between levels cannot be switched off inside the game.
5. What we use information for
- to run matches between players and show each player the others' names, shots and scores;
- to keep the online service working and protect it from abuse;
- to show ads: rewarded ads when you ask for one, and ads between levels of the Solo Tour;
- if you sign in with Google Play Games, to keep your progress in your Google account and bring it back on another device.
We do not build profiles of players, we do not use your information for our own marketing, and we do not sell it.
Where data protection law requires a legal basis: match data, and the copy of your progress in your Google account if you sign in, are processed because they are necessary to provide what you asked for; abuse prevention relies on our legitimate interest in keeping the service available; and advertising relies on your consent where the law requires it.
6. Who we share information with
- Other players in your match see your player name, ball design, shots and scores.
- Cloudflare, Inc. hosts our game server and relay, and so handles the connections to them.
- Google (Play Games) keeps the copy of your progress in your Google account, if you sign in with Google Play Games (section 2).
- Google (AdMob) receives the advertising information described in section 4 when an ad is requested: when you choose to watch one, or when one is due between levels.
We may also disclose information if the law requires it. These providers may process data in countries other than your own, including the United States.
7. Permissions
The app uses the Android internet permission (for online play and ads) and the vibrate permission (for feedback when you putt, which you can turn off in Settings). The advertising software may add the permission to read the advertising ID. The app does not ask for your location, contacts, camera, microphone, photos or files.
8. Security
Connections between the app and our servers are encrypted in transit (TLS). No method of transmission or storage is perfectly secure, but we keep what we handle to the minimum described here, which limits what could ever be exposed.
9. Children
Puttstorm is a general-audience game and is not directed at children under 13 (or the equivalent minimum age where you live). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided personal information through the game, contact us and we will help to remove it.
10. Your rights and how to delete your data
Because we do not create accounts, almost everything is in your hands:
- Delete your game data: uninstall Puttstorm, or clear its storage in Android settings.
- The copy in your Google account (only if you signed in with Google Play Games): delete Puttstorm's saved games, or your Play Games profile, in your Play Games profile settings or your Google Account.
- Match data: is discarded by our servers when the match or room ends, so there is nothing stored for us to delete afterwards.
- Advertising data: is controlled through your device's ad settings and Google's privacy controls, as described in section 4.
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to ask what personal information is held about you, to have it corrected or deleted, to object to or restrict its use, to withdraw consent, and to complain to your data protection authority. To make a request, email trackiddeck@gmail.com. We do not hold information that identifies you by name, so we may need to ask for details of the match concerned.
11. Changes to this policy
If the game changes in a way that affects this policy, we will update this page and change the date at the top. Significant changes will also be noted in the game's store listing.
12. Contact
Questions or requests about privacy: trackiddeck@gmail.com