Privacy Policy — Chill Ball Sort: Color Puzzle
This policy explains what information the App handles, why, who it is shared with, and the choices you have.
1. Summary
- The App has no user accounts. We never ask for your name, email address, phone number, contacts, photos, files or precise location.
- Your game progress is stored only on your device. We do not run any servers and do not receive your gameplay data.
- The App shows ads provided by Google AdMob. Google's advertising software automatically collects some device data (see section 4).
- For users in the European Economic Area (EEA), the United Kingdom and Switzerland (and where otherwise required by law), the App asks for consent through Google's User Messaging Platform before ads are requested. You can change your choice at any time in Settings → Privacy options.
- In-app purchases are processed by Google Play. We never see your payment details.
- We do not use any analytics or crash-reporting tools of our own.
- The optional Daily reminder is a notification created on your device. We do not use push servers.
2. Information stored only on your device
The App saves the following data locally on your device so you can continue playing: level progress and best results, the current puzzle (including undo history), Daily Puzzle streak and which recent Daily Puzzles you completed (Daily calendar), booster/hint counters, ad frequency counters (for example how many ads were shown today, used only to limit ads), total play time and whether the rating prompt has already been shown (used only to decide when to show it), settings (sound, music, vibration, colorblind symbols, language, theme, Daily reminder on/off), and whether you own "Remove Ads". Google's consent tool also stores your privacy choices on your device.
This data is not sent to us. It is deleted when you uninstall the App or clear its data in Android settings. The App does not back it up to the cloud.
Daily reminder (optional). If you turn it on, the App schedules one local notification around 7 PM on days you have not yet played the Daily Puzzle. The reminder is scheduled and shown entirely on your device using Android's background-task system (WorkManager); no data is sent to us or to a notification server. On Android 13 and later, Android asks for your permission to show notifications. You can turn the reminder off at any time in Settings → Daily reminder (7 PM) or in Android's notification settings.
3. Information we receive directly
We do not collect personal information through the App. If you email us, we receive your email address and your message. We use them only to reply to you and delete them when they are no longer needed.
Google Play may give us aggregated statistics about the App (such as number of installs, ratings, and crash and performance reports from users who have agreed to share diagnostics with Google). This information is provided by Google under its own policies and does not identify you to us.
Ratings and reviews. The App may occasionally show Google Play's rating card (Google Play In-App Review), and Settings → Rate the game opens the App's Play Store page. The rating card is displayed by the Google Play Store app, not by us. If you choose to leave a rating or review, it is sent to Google Play and published on the Play Store like any other review, under Google's policies. The App does not receive your rating or review text and cannot tell whether you left one. You can edit or delete your review in the Google Play Store.
4. Advertising — Google AdMob
The App uses the Google Mobile Ads SDK (AdMob), provided by Google LLC (or Google Ireland Limited for users in the EEA, UK and Switzerland), to show full-screen ads between levels and optional rewarded video ads (for example to get an extra tube or a hint). There are no banner ads.
According to Google's documentation, the SDK automatically collects and shares with Google:
- IP address, which may be used to estimate the general (approximate) location of your device;
- Device and advertising identifiers: the Android Advertising ID and app set ID (and, if applicable, other identifiers related to accounts signed in on the device);
- Product interactions: for example app launches, taps and ad views;
- Diagnostic information: for example app launch time, hang rate and energy usage;
- basic device and network information needed to deliver ads (for example device model, operating system version, language, and network or mobile network type).
Google uses this data for advertising (including ad measurement), analytics and fraud prevention. All data collected by the SDK is encrypted in transit (TLS).
- Personalized ads are shown only where you have consented or where permitted by law.
- If you do not consent, Google may show non-personalized or limited ads, which use less data.
- You can reset or delete your Advertising ID at any time in your Android settings (usually Settings → Privacy → Ads or Settings → Google → Ads; wording varies by device). After deletion, apps receive a string of zeros instead of the ID.
More information:
- How Google uses information from apps that use its services: policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites
- Google Privacy Policy: policies.google.com/privacy
- Google ad partners: support.google.com/admob/answer/9012903
- Manage your Google ad settings: myadcenter.google.com
5. Consent and your privacy choices
- EEA, UK and Switzerland: before any ad is requested, the App shows Google's consent message (User Messaging Platform, a consent tool certified under the IAB Europe Transparency & Consent Framework). You can consent, refuse, or choose purposes and partners.
- Some US states: where required by applicable US state privacy laws, the App may show Google's privacy message, including an option to opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information / targeted advertising.
- Change or withdraw your choice at any time: open the App → Settings → Privacy options. (This item is shown when a privacy choice applies in your region.) Withdrawing consent does not affect processing that happened before.
- On your device: delete or reset your Advertising ID, or opt out of ad personalization in Android settings.
- Remove Ads purchase: if you buy "Remove Ads", the App no longer shows full-screen ads and does not request rewarded ads for boosters.
Legal bases (GDPR / UK GDPR): your consent for storing or accessing information on your device and for personalized advertising; where consent is not given, Google may rely on legitimate interests for limited purposes such as fraud prevention and serving non-personalized or limited ads, as described in Google's policies. Purchase processing by Google Play is necessary to perform the purchase you request.
6. In-app purchases — Google Play Billing
Purchases (for example "Remove Ads") are handled entirely by Google Play. Google processes your payment information under the Google Privacy Policy and the Google Play Terms of Service. The App only receives a confirmation of the purchase from Google Play (product, purchase status and a purchase token) to unlock the feature and to restore it on a new installation. This confirmation is used on your device only; we do not receive or store your card or payment details, and we do not send purchase information to any server of ours.
7. Android permissions
| Permission | Why |
|---|---|
Internet (INTERNET), network state (ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE) | Load ads, show the consent message, and connect to Google Play for purchases |
Advertising ID (com.google.android.gms.permission.AD_ID) | Used by the ads SDK as described in section 4 |
Google Play Billing (com.android.vending.BILLING) | In-app purchases |
Vibration (VIBRATE) | Optional haptic feedback (can be turned off in Settings) |
Basic phone state (READ_BASIC_PHONE_STATE) | Declared by the Google Mobile Ads SDK. A non-dangerous permission that lets the SDK read basic information such as the mobile network type. It does not give access to your phone number, calls, messages or contacts, and no permission prompt is shown |
Notifications (POST_NOTIFICATIONS) | Show the optional Daily reminder (section 2). On Android 13 and later you are asked first; you can refuse or turn it off later |
Run at startup (RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED) | Re-schedule the Daily reminder after your device restarts. A normal permission with no prompt; it does not read any of your data |
Wake lock / background tasks (WAKE_LOCK, FOREGROUND_SERVICE) | Declared by Google's background-task library (WorkManager), which the ads SDK uses to run small tasks such as sending ad-related data, and which the App uses only to schedule the optional Daily reminder. The App does not run any other background service for its own features |
The App does not request location, camera, microphone, contacts, phone calls, SMS or storage permissions.
8. Sharing and "sale" of personal information
We do not sell your personal information for money and we do not share it with anyone other than Google as described in sections 4–6, or when required by law. Under some US state laws, allowing an advertising SDK to collect identifiers for personalized advertising may be considered "selling", "sharing" or "targeted advertising"; you can opt out as described in section 5.
9. International transfers
Google may process data on servers outside your country, including in the United States. Google states that it uses appropriate safeguards (such as the EU Standard Contractual Clauses) for such transfers.
10. Data retention and deletion
- Data on your device: kept until you uninstall the App or clear its data (Android Settings → Apps → Chill Ball Sort → Storage → Clear data).
- Data collected by Google: retained according to Google's policies. You can delete or reset your Advertising ID in Android settings and manage your data at myadcenter.google.com.
- Emails to us: deleted when no longer needed to answer you, or earlier on request.
Because we do not hold any account or gameplay data on servers, there is no server-side data for us to delete. If you need help with data held by Google, contact us and we will point you to the right tools.
11. Your rights
Depending on where you live (for example under the GDPR, UK GDPR, or US state privacy laws), you may have the right to access, correct or delete your personal data, to object to or restrict processing, to data portability, to withdraw consent, to opt out of targeted advertising, and to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority. Use Settings → Privacy options in the App for ad consent. For any other request, email derekcheung1983@gmail.com; we will respond within 30 days. We will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights.
12. Children
The App is a general-audience puzzle game and is not directed to children under 13 (or under the minimum age required in your country, for example 16 in some EEA countries). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us personal information (for example by email), contact us and we will delete it.
13. Security
We keep data collection to a minimum: we run no servers and receive no gameplay data. Data sent by Google's SDKs is encrypted in transit. No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure.
14. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy when the App or the services it uses change. The new version will be posted at https://chungtruong.github.io/chillballsort/privacy.html with a new effective date. Significant changes will also be mentioned in the App's update notes.
15. Contact
C.T Studio — derekcheung1983@gmail.com