Privacy Policy
This policy explains what data the Hue Lock game collects, why, and what you can do about it. We collect as little as we can to run the game.
What we collect
- Player profile: a random player name (like PND_123456) or a name you choose, and the avatar you pick. There is no password; your device keeps a random secret key, and our server stores only a hash of it.
- Google sign-in (optional): if you sign in with Google, we store your Google account ID and email address to link your progress across devices. Your email is shown only to you.
- Gameplay data: finished levels and games (level, board type, win or loss, time, lives lost, hints used), daily puzzle results and leaderboard ranks, league points, tier and trophies, the time you were last active, your friend code and friends list, and a cloud save of your progress, inventory, achievements and game settings.
- Purchases: payments are processed by Google Play. We never see your payment details; we receive only the product ID and a purchase token, which we store to verify the purchase and prevent it from being reused.
- IP address: used briefly in server memory to limit abuse (for example, too many new accounts from one address). It is not stored in our database. Our web server logs may contain IP addresses and request details; these logs are kept for up to 14 days.
Advertising
The free version shows ads from Google AdMob. Google may collect your device's advertising ID, IP address and device information to show and measure ads. In the EEA, the UK and Switzerland we ask for your consent with Google's consent tool before personalized ads are shown; you can change your choice at any time in the game's Settings. You can also reset or delete your advertising ID in your device settings. See how Google uses data: policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites and Google's privacy policy: policies.google.com/privacy. Buying "Remove ads" turns ads off.
Google Firebase
The Android app uses these Google Firebase services:
- Firebase Crashlytics: if the app crashes or hits a serious error, it sends a crash report with diagnostics: the stack trace, device model, Android version, app version and a Crashlytics installation ID. We use these reports only to find and fix bugs. Crash reporting is active only in the released app, not in development builds.
- Google Analytics for Firebase: records how the app is used, for example levels started and finished, daily puzzles, and ad and purchase events, together with an app instance ID, device information and your approximate location (country or region, derived from your IP address). Where you have given consent, the advertising ID is also used. In the EEA and the UK, analytics and ad storage follow the choice you make in the in-app consent dialog. We use this data in aggregate to understand which parts of the game work and to improve it.
- Firebase Cloud Messaging: to send you notifications (for example a new chapter, a friend beating your daily score, or announcements), the app gets an FCM registration token. We store this token on our server together with your player account and app language. You can turn notifications off at any time in your Android notification settings. The token is deleted when you delete your account.
How Google handles this data: firebase.google.com/support/privacy and Google's privacy policy: policies.google.com/privacy.
How we use data
Only to run the game: keep your progress, show leaderboards, leagues and friends, send notifications, verify purchases, prevent cheating and abuse, and fix problems. Other players can see your player name, avatar and game results on leaderboards, in leagues and in friends lists.
We do not sell your personal data. We share it only with service providers that help us run the game: Google (AdMob, Firebase, Google Play and Google Sign-In) and our hosting provider Contabo.
Where data is stored
Our servers are in the European Union (Contabo, Germany). Data handled by Google services (ads, Firebase, Google Play, Google Sign-In) is processed by Google, which may also process it outside the EU under its own safeguards.
How long we keep it
We keep your data until you delete your account. After deletion, data may remain in server logs and backups for up to 14 days and is then gone. Crash reports and analytics data are kept by Google according to Firebase's retention rules (see the links above).
Your rights
- Access and correction: you can see and change your name and avatar in your Profile. You can email us for a copy of your data.
- Deletion: in the app go to Profile → "Delete my account". This permanently deletes your account and all data on our server. If you no longer have the app, email messtgames@gmail.com with your player name. More: huelock.messtgames.com/delete-account.
- If you are in the EU/UK you can also complain to your data protection authority.
Children
Hue Lock is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 13. If you believe a child has given us data, contact us and we will delete it.
Changes
If we change this policy we will update this page and the effective date. Significant changes will also be announced in the app.
Contact
Messt Games · messtgames@gmail.com