Pop The Color
Privacy Policy
Pop The Color ("the app") is a puzzle game you can play fully offline. It has one optional online feature, online ranks. Online ranks are optional and off until you turn them on. In short: if you never turn them on, nothing leaves your device. If you turn them on, the app sends only what is listed below.
Optional online ranks
The first time you open a ranks view, the app asks whether you want to turn online ranks on. You can also turn them on or off at any time in Settings → Online ranks. While they are off, nothing is sent.
When they are on, the app sends:
- An anonymous player ID, created through Google Firebase Anonymous Authentication the first time it is needed. It is not linked to your name, email address, phone number, or Google or Apple account.
- Your generated name (for example "Snowy Panda 61"). Names are built from fixed word lists in the game; nothing you type is ever sent.
- Your results on each level: the number of moves, which tiles you popped and which gravity turns you made, in which order and when (counted from your first move), your paused time, completion time and stars, and your totals across levels. When you turn ranks on, your best results so far are sent too.
Why: to show ranks (fewest moves, then fastest time) and to check that results were really played. Every result is checked automatically, and the developer may review and remove results that could not have been played.
Who sees it: other players see your generated name, your number of moves and your time on the ranks. The order and timing of your moves are stored privately and are not shown to other players. Your anonymous player ID is not shown in the app.
Where and how long: the data is stored in Google Cloud Firestore (Firebase), in the asia-south1 region (Mumbai, India). Google processes it on the developer's behalf under the Firebase terms. It is sent over an encrypted connection (HTTPS). Like any internet service, Google's servers receive your device's IP address when the app connects; the app itself does not store it. The data is kept until you delete it.
Deleting it: Settings → Delete my leaderboard data removes your results, your name and your anonymous player ID from online ranks and turns online ranks off. Your progress on the device stays. Turning online ranks off stops sending but does not delete what was already sent. If you uninstall the app without deleting your data first, the developer has no way to tell which anonymous entries were yours.
For players in the EU, EEA and UK: the legal basis is your consent, which you give by turning online ranks on and can withdraw at any time by turning them off or deleting your data.
Information stored only on your device
- Game progress and records: unlocked levels, stars, best move counts and best times, and per-level play statistics (attempts, completions, play time and moves played) shown in My Records.
- Settings: your music, sound, haptics and online ranks settings.
- Your generated name and a local player ID: a name made from the game's word lists (which you can change in Settings) and a random ID created on first launch. The local player ID is never sent.
This information is kept in the app's private storage and is deleted when you uninstall the app (or, on Android, clear its data). On Android it is not included in cloud backups. On iPhone it is included in your own iCloud or computer backup like other app data; the developer has no access to it.
What the app never collects
The app contains no advertising, no analytics and no crash-reporting services, and it does not track you. It does not use the advertising ID, your location, your contacts, your photos, your camera, your microphone or any other device sensor.
Permissions
On Android the app requests only the Internet permission, which is used solely for optional online ranks. Haptics use the system's standard touch feedback, which needs no permission, and can be turned off in Settings. On iPhone the app asks for no permissions.
Children
The app is not directed at children under 13 and does not knowingly collect information from children.
Changes
If the app starts handling other information, this policy will be updated before that version is released, and the app's store listing will describe what is shared.
Contact
Questions about this policy or your data: aara.apps.support@gmail.com