Grid Wave Privacy Policy
Local data, leaderboard data & partner data
Ranks, ad delivery & analytics
Delete your profile, opt out of tracking, Ad Free +
On-Device
Never leaves your phone
The following is saved locally on your device and is never transmitted to us or any third party:
- Your personal best and level progress
- In-game currency (gems) and unlocked items
- Streaks, missions, and custom preferences
- Your Ad Free + purchase status
- Any players you have blocked
Leaderboard (Our Server)
Sent to us, deletable by you
Grid Wave ranks players, so runs are sent to our server. There is no login and we never learn your name or email:
- An anonymous player ID, created without a login
- The display name you choose, if you claim one
- Your score and run stats, plus a replay log
- Your country, taken from your device region setting
Google AdMob (Advertising)
Used for ad serving & metrics
Google AdMob collects limited device data to display ads. You can control or disable this tracking:
- Device identifiers (iOS IDFA)
- Coarse location (estimated from IP)
- Ad views and interactions
- App launches, taps, and diagnostics
Firebase Analytics (Gameplay)
Used to improve the game
We measure how the Game is played so we can fix what is broken. These events carry no name and no account:
- Runs started and ended, score and duration
- Levels completed or failed
- Buttons and offers you interact with
- A device identifier assigned by Google
Introduction
This Privacy Policy describes how information is collected, used, and shared when you play Grid Wave (the "Game"), a free puzzle game for iOS published by Viskara Innovations Private Limited ("we," "us," or "our"). We built Grid Wave to be simple and privacy-respecting: there is no sign-up, no password, and no email. We never ask for your real name and we have no way to learn it.
Grid Wave does have a leaderboard, and a leaderboard needs a server. So the Game signs you in anonymously in the background and sends your runs to us to be ranked. That anonymous profile is yours to name, rename, or delete outright from inside the Game. What we hold is a random ID, whatever display name you chose, and your scores. Nothing in it points back to you as a person.
The Game is free and supported by advertising. Some data is collected by our advertising partner (Google AdMob) to show and measure ads, and some by our analytics provider (Google Firebase Analytics) so we can see which levels people get stuck on and what is worth improving. This policy explains all three, and how you can control each one.
Information We Collect
Data Stored Only on Your Device
Most of the Game is just files on your phone. The following is saved locally on your iPhone and is never transmitted to us:
- •Your personal best, level progress, and daily streak
- •In-game currency (gems) and unlocked items
- •Missions and preferences (sound, haptics, theme)
- •Whether you purchased Ad Free +
- •Any players you have blocked, which only ever hides them for you
Data Sent to Our Leaderboard
Grid Wave ranks players against each other, so it does have a first-party backend (Google Firebase, operated by us). On first launch the Game signs you in anonymously: no email, no password, no personal detail of any kind. It then sends the following:
- •Anonymous Player ID: A random identifier created for your install so your runs add up to one profile. It is not derived from your device, your Apple ID, or anything about you
- •Display Name: Only if you choose to claim one. It is public on the leaderboard by design, so pick a name you are happy for strangers to see. Names are filtered and can be reported by other players
- •Scores and Run Stats: Score, mode, duration, pieces placed, lines cleared, peak multiplier, and full clears for each run
- •Replay Log: The moves of the run, so a score can be re-checked rather than taken on trust. This is our anti-cheat measure and it describes the board, not you
- •Country: Read from your device region setting so we can show a country board. It is not GPS, and it is not looked up from your IP address. You can change it in the Game
A secret that proves the profile is yours is kept in your device's Keychain and mirrored to your own iCloud account, so your rank follows you to a new phone without a login. That copy lives in your iCloud, not ours, and the Game can also show you a recovery code to move the profile by hand. This is the only thing resembling a credential the Game has. Deleting your profile from Ranks > Delete profile erases it from your device, your iCloud, and our server.
Data Collected by Our Advertising Partner
To display and measure ads, Google AdMob may collect the following through the Game. This data is used for third-party advertising and analytics, may be linked to your device, and may be used to track you across other companies' apps and websites (see "Advertising and Your Choices" below):
- •Device Identifiers: Advertising identifiers such as the iOS Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA)
- •Coarse Location: Approximate location estimated from your IP address (not precise GPS)
- •Advertising Data: The ads shown to you and your interactions with them
- •Product Interaction: Events such as app launches, taps, and ad video views
Data Collected by Our Analytics Provider
We use Google Firebase Analytics to understand how Grid Wave is actually played, so we can fix difficulty spikes and see what people enjoy. This data is about the Game, not about you: it is not sold, and it is not used to build an advertising profile of you.
- •Gameplay Events: Runs started and ended, score, duration, lines cleared, levels completed or failed
- •Product Interaction: Which buttons, offers, and screens you use, and whether you watched a rewarded ad or made a purchase
- •Device Identifier: An identifier assigned by Google to your app install, plus basic device and country information
Analytics is kept deliberately separate from the leaderboard. We never send your display name or any score tied to a person into analytics, and the Game never asks for your real name or email at all. Analytics events are numbers attached to an anonymous install.
Diagnostics
To keep the Game stable, limited diagnostic information may be collected by Google's SDKs. We do not run a separate crash-reporting service, and we never tie diagnostics to your identity:
- •Error and Stability Data: Signals about failures inside Google’s advertising and analytics SDKs, used to keep them working
- •Performance Data: Metrics such as launch time and responsiveness, used to improve the Game
How This Information Is Used
We and our partners use the collected information to:
Rank Players
Place your runs on the daily, weekly, and all-time boards, and show your league standing
Keep Scores Honest
Re-check submitted runs against their replay logs so fake scores can be removed from the boards
Show Ads
Display interstitial and rewarded ads that keep the Game free
Measure Ads
Understand which ads were shown and interacted with, and prevent ad fraud
Personalize Ads
Show more relevant ads, only if you allow tracking
Improve the Game
See which levels are too hard, which features go unused, and where players get stuck, then fix it
Advertising and Your Choices
Grid Wave uses Google AdMob to serve ads and Google Firebase Analytics to measure gameplay. Google's handling of data is governed by its own policies:
App Tracking Transparency (iOS)
When you first play, iOS asks whether you allow the Game to track you across other companies' apps and websites. If you allow it, you may see personalized ads. If you decline, you will still see ads, but they will be non-personalized. You can change this at any time in Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking on your device.
Consent in the EU, UK, and similar regions
Where required, we present a consent form (via Google's User Messaging Platform) before serving ads, and honor your choices.
Ad Free +
You can turn ads off entirely with a one-time in-app purchase. Once purchased, no ads are shown to you at all. To be clear about what it does not do: it is not a privacy product. The gameplay analytics and the leaderboard described above still run, because they are how we keep improving the Game and how ranking works.
Your leaderboard profile
You are never required to claim a display name. Play without one and you still get a rank, just an unnamed one. If you do claim a name it is public, and you can rename it or delete the entire profile and its scores from Ranks > Delete profile. Other players can be reported to us, or blocked so their name never appears on your boards again.
In-App Purchases
Grid Wave offers a one-time "Ad Free +" purchase processed entirely by Apple through the App Store. Apple handles the transaction and verifies it on your device. We do not receive or store your name, card number, or payment details. We only learn, on your own device, whether the purchase is active so we can turn off ads and unlock its perks.
Children's Privacy
Grid Wave is a general-audience game and is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided information through the Game, please contact us and we will address it.
Data Retention
- •On-Device Data: Stays on your device until you delete the app; removing the app deletes it
- •Leaderboard Data: Your anonymous profile, display name, and scores are kept while the boards run, so that a rank you earned is still there tomorrow. Delete the profile in the Game and we remove it and its scores from the boards
- •Replay Logs: Kept alongside their score so a run can be re-verified later. They are deleted with the profile
- •Advertising and Analytics Partners: Google retains data it collects, for ads and for analytics, according to its own retention policies linked above
Your Rights
Depending on where you live (for example under GDPR or CCPA), you may have rights to access, correct, or delete personal data, and to opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information for targeted advertising. Most of these you can exercise yourself, without asking us:
- •Delete your leaderboard profile, display name, scores, and replay logs from Ranks > Delete profile inside the Game. This is immediate and needs no email to us
- •Rename your display name, or never claim one in the first place and stay unnamed
- •Opt out of personalized ads by declining tracking in the iOS prompt, or in Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking
- •Turn off all ads with the one-time Ad Free + purchase
- •Stop collection by deleting the app, which also erases everything stored locally. Note that this alone does not delete a leaderboard profile you already created, so delete the profile first if that is what you want
- •Ask us to delete the analytics data associated with your install by emailing us, and we will request its deletion from Google
- •Exercise rights over data held by Google via Google's privacy tools linked above
For any request or question about your rights, contact us at the address below.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post the updated policy at this URL and update the "Effective Date" above. Your continued use of Grid Wave after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or your data, get in touch with us:
business@viskara.co