Privacy Policy

1. Game data and cloud backup

The game stores progress, XP, ranks, statistics, match history, puzzle completion, earned items, settings, unfinished games, and reward limits on your device. Recovery copies help protect against interrupted saves.

Google Play Games: the game checks the signed-in Play Games profile and may offer Google's sign-in flow. It uses your player identifier, display name, and account-derived identifiers to show connection status and keep progress associated with the correct account. When connected, supported progress, statistics, earned inventory, and reward history are backed up automatically through Google's Saved Games service. Offline changes remain local until syncing can resume.

Changing Play Games accounts switches the associated progress. Separate local account copies and recovery information may be retained so switching or interrupted syncing does not discard progress. Account-derived identifiers are linkable identifiers, not anonymous data. Preferences and unfinished games are not included in this progress backup. Purchased access is verified separately.

Apple Game Center and iCloud: the game checks Game Center sign-in and iCloud availability and uses your game-scoped player identifier, display name, and a local iCloud account marker to keep progress associated with the correct accounts. An account-derived identifier accompanies the saved progress; it is linkable data, not anonymous data. The game does not request your Apple Account password, email address, or contacts.

Apple backups contain supported progress, XP, puzzle completion, statistics, earned inventory, reward history, and save-version information. Backup is automatic when Game Center and iCloud are available; there is no in-game automatic-sync toggle. Eligible changes are backed up at save opportunities, and offline changes remain on the device until syncing can resume. Account changes switch the associated player progress. Conflicts or recovery situations may require a choice. Paid entitlements, device preferences, and unfinished matches are kept separately. Local backups and account-binding records protect against interrupted transfers and accidental account changes.

Leaderboards: eligible Classic and Strait completion times, daily puzzle scores (shown as barrels), accumulated daily scores, and result metadata are submitted to Google Play Games or Apple Game Center using the connected player's platform identity. The game reads profile names, scores, and ranks to display global and friends leaderboards. Other players may see your platform display name and submitted results according to the platform's profile visibility, friendship, and privacy settings. The Friends view uses the platform's friends leaderboard service and any permission it requires; the game does not upload your device contacts.

Eligible offline results and the last displayed leaderboard information can be stored locally. Pending results may be submitted when the same player reconnects, subject to the leaderboard's eligibility and time window. Platform leaderboards are separate; a Google Play Games account and a Game Center account are not automatically linked. Leaderboards and cloud backup do not use a separate Ticerapps account or a Firebase/PlayFab backend.

We do not operate a separate game-save server or receive these backups on a Ticerapps server. Google and Apple provide the respective cloud services under the Google Privacy Policy and Apple Privacy Policy.

2. Advertising and consent

Android and iOS/iPadOS builds use Google AdMob for between-match and optional rewarded ads, and Google's User Messaging Platform (UMP) for consent and privacy choices. These services may process:

• IP address and approximate location derived from it.
• Device identifiers, such as Android advertising/app set IDs, Apple's advertising identifier (IDFA) when permitted, and applicable app- or developer-scoped identifiers.
• App/ad interactions, ads viewed, crash information, and diagnostic or performance information.
• Information needed to present privacy messages and record your choices.

Google and advertising partners use this information for ad delivery, advertising measurement, analytics, and fraud prevention. The game does not pass its save payload or your email address to the advertising integration. Cloud backup and purchase verification are separate integrations; the game does not send their account identifiers or purchase records to AdMob.

The game checks UMP eligibility before requesting ads. Depending on your choices and applicable requirements, ads may be personalized, non-personalized, limited, or unavailable. Non-personalized and test ads can still process data. See how Google uses information from apps and the Google Privacy Policy. Available consent messages identify advertising partners and choices.

Apple tracking permission: when applicable, Apple's App Tracking Transparency prompt asks whether the app may track activity across other companies' apps and websites for advertising or ad measurement. You can decline and keep playing. Google handles ad requests without IDFA when permission is not granted. Declining tracking is separate from Google's regional consent choices and does not stop every connection or all non-tracking processing.

We do not sell game-save data or support messages. Advertising activity may qualify as sharing or targeted advertising under some laws; available controls are described below.

3. Support and this website

If you email us, we receive your email address, message details, and attachments. We use them to respond to support and privacy requests. Gmail processes messages as our email provider. Do not send passwords or payment-card details.

This website, minesweeperstraitofhormuz.com, is hosted on GitHub Pages. GitHub processes connection information, including IP addresses, as described in its Privacy Statement. Fonts are served from this website’s own hosting. External links lead to services with their own policies.

Browser demo: the playable board on this site runs entirely in your browser. It keeps a small save (settings, whether you have seen the tutorial, and an XP tally) in your browser’s site storage (IndexedDB) so it can resume between visits. We do not receive its board state or saved progress. Loading the demo still makes ordinary hosting requests, and the website’s optional analytics can count presses of the play button. Clearing site data in your browser removes it.

Advertising on this website: we use Google AdSense to show ads on this site. Google and its partners use cookies and similar technologies, such as the DoubleClick cookie, to serve ads based on your visits to this and other websites, to measure ad performance, and to prevent fraud. This may involve your IP address, browser and device information, the pages you view, and advertising identifiers. You can opt out of personalised advertising at Google Ads Settings, and learn how Google uses data from sites that use its services at policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites. Other third-party vendors and ad networks may also serve ads on this site; you can opt out of some of them at aboutads.info. Where consent is required by law, for example in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, Google’s consent tools govern ad eligibility and choices. When available, use “Ad privacy choices” in the footer to reopen that message.

Embedded games and videos

The homepage includes an itch.io game and download widget, a YouTube video and a TikTok profile preview. The video and profile previews and download widget load automatically when you approach them on the page. The playable game loads when you press Play. Loading an embed connects your browser to its provider and shares connection and device information. Videos do not start playing automatically.

We use YouTube’s privacy-enhanced embed domain. YouTube may use storage and process viewing activity under Google’s Privacy Policy. TikTok may use cookies or other storage under its privacy policy. The itch.io game and download widget are covered by itch.io’s privacy policy. Direct links remain available if an embed cannot load. These third-party embeds are separate from our optional Google Analytics setting.

We do not operate a separate gameplay analytics or crash-reporting service. SDK diagnostics and store/provider reporting are separate from this.

4. Purchases

Google Play Billing processes Android purchases; Apple StoreKit and the App Store process iOS/iPadOS and native macOS purchases. RevenueCat verifies purchases, restores purchased access, and keeps entitlement status current, including refunds or revocations. This involves store receipts or purchase tokens, product and transaction information, purchase history, and a RevenueCat-generated customer identifier. Purchase reporting also supports RevenueCat dashboard analytics. RevenueCat also processes technical information associated with its service, such as app/device information and service activity.

The game does not supply a custom customer login to RevenueCat; its generated identifier is separate from the Play Games or Game Center identity used for progress. We do not supply RevenueCat with your email address, name, Game Center identity, or advertising identifier, or enable advertising-attribution integrations through this game. RevenueCat may process customer information when the purchase SDK connects, even if no purchase is completed. We may access purchase/customer records in its dashboard for purchase support and management. We do not receive your full payment-card details.

Deleting game progress does not remove purchases or erase billing records. The relevant store and RevenueCat retain information according to their roles, policies, and applicable obligations. See the Google Privacy Policy, Apple Privacy Policy, and RevenueCat Privacy Policy.

5. Your choices and controls

• Ad privacy: use Google's consent message or Settings → PRIVACY → PRIVACY OPTIONS when available. Declining consent does not prevent gameplay. Older builds may place this under GAME → LEGAL. Android also provides advertising-ID controls. On iPhone/iPad, manage tracking permission in device Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking.
• Optional ads: rewarded ads are optional. Remove Ads suppresses between-match ads, but does not disable optional rewarded ads or all SDK/consent processing.
• Play Games: manage the account used for the game through Google's Play Games account settings. Offline play saves locally; supported features such as cloud backup and care-package opening require a connection.
• Apple cloud saves: the Game Center status in Settings → GAME shows connection or recovery information. Automatic backup is enabled when the required services are available. Game Center and iCloud accounts are managed in your device's settings. Signing out does not erase existing cloud progress. For cloud-data removal, use available Apple storage controls or contact us for guidance; uninstalling or signing out alone is not a cloud-deletion request.
• Leaderboard visibility: manage your gaming profile, friends permissions, and visibility through Game Center or Google Play Games settings. A private Google Play Games profile may not appear on public leaderboards. Resetting local progress or removing the app does not necessarily remove previously submitted leaderboard records. Use the platform's game-data controls or contact us for help with a score-removal request.
• Restore purchases: use Settings → GAME → PURCHASES → RESTORE PURCHASES with the store account that bought the items. This restores purchased access, not game progress.
• Android progress reset: use Settings → GAME → GAME PROGRESS → REVIEW RESET…, then confirm DELETE PROGRESS. This resets progression for the active profile on the device and in that Play Games account's cloud save. Purchases are kept. It does not delete your Google account or another account's progress. New progress may be backed up afterward.
• Remove local copies: clear app storage or delete the app using your device's controls. On iPhone/iPad, offloading an app keeps its documents and data; it is different from deleting the app. This does not delete cloud saves or purchase records. Exported files and external backups must be removed separately; operating-system behavior may vary.
• Other requests: email ticerapps@gmail.com to request access, correction, or deletion of information handled by us or on our behalf, including purchase-support records. We can help identify provider controls for records held independently by Apple, Google, RevenueCat, or GitHub.

6. Retention, security, and transfers

Local saves, account copies, and recovery data remain until replaced or removed. Cloud progress remains until replaced, reset, or removed using the applicable service. Signing out does not remove existing cloud progress or previously submitted leaderboard results. A progress reset can retain limited account/history metadata to prevent older saves from restoring deleted progress; recovery copies and provider backups may also remain. It is not a promise of immediate erasure of every copy.

Support and purchase-related information is retained as needed to provide support, maintain purchased access, prevent fraud, resolve disputes, and meet applicable obligations. Service providers apply their own retention practices to information they control. Contact us about deletion requests and any applicable exceptions.

The game uses operating-system app-storage protections and provider security measures. The website uses HTTPS. No storage or transmission method is completely secure. Providers may process information in other countries under their policies and applicable transfer safeguards.

7. Privacy rights

Depending on applicable law, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, or obtain a copy of your information; restrict or object to processing; withdraw consent; opt out of applicable sale, sharing, or targeted advertising; and complain to a regulator or appeal a decision. We will handle requests concerning information within our control as required by law, without penalizing you for exercising applicable rights.

Where a legal basis is required, processing relies on providing requested services, consent where required for advertising, legitimate interests in support and service security, or legal obligations, as applicable. Withdrawing consent does not affect earlier lawful processing. Providers explain their own legal bases in their policies.

Email ticerapps@gmail.com. We may request information reasonably needed to verify and fulfill your request.

8. Children's privacy

If you are a parent or guardian with a concern about a child's information, contact ticerapps@gmail.com. We will investigate and address information within our control, including deletion where required.

9. Policy updates

We will update this page and its date when practices change, and provide additional notice or obtain consent where required. Platform-specific and test-only features are identified above; a feature being described here does not mean it is enabled in every build.