Privacy Policy

1. Information we handle

Playing and local storage

We store puzzle attempts, selected emoji, results, streaks, statistics, preferences, and challenge history in your browser or app storage. A random guest identifier lets our servers recognize guest daily and archive sessions. Guest play is not completely offline or anonymous to our servers: guesses, puzzle dates, results, and that identifier are sent to the API to run and resume games and enforce play limits. Clearing browser data or uninstalling the app can remove local history and access to guest sessions.

Optional accounts

If you sign in with Apple or Google, we receive an account identifier, your email address (which may be an Apple private relay address), and authentication information needed to provide your account. We do not receive your Apple or Google password. We use your account identifier to save and synchronize game history. Guest history is imported only when you choose to import it; signing in with different providers does not automatically merge accounts.

Challenges

When you create a shareable challenge, we store its hint, emoji answer and choices, challenge code, and a hashed ownership credential used to control deletion. Joined challenges and results may also be kept on players’ devices. Anyone who has a challenge code or link can access that challenge, so do not put confidential or sensitive personal information in its hint. Deleting a challenge stops new joins; it does not remove copies already saved by people who joined.

Public profiles and puzzles

Where Public mode is available, your nickname, biography, published puzzle hints, hashtags, and follower count are visible to other players, including visitors who are not signed in. Your email address and sign-in identifier are not displayed on your public profile. We store your follows, per-creator notification preferences, blocks, reports, and Public puzzle attempts to provide these features. Public notifications currently appear inside the app; following a creator does not by itself enable device or browser push notifications. Do not include private information in your profile or publications. You can edit your profile, delete your publications, unfollow creators, and change notification preferences.

Device features

If you enable Game Center on iOS, the app uses Game Center player identifiers and reports relevant scores and achievements to Apple. These features are governed by Apple’s settings and privacy policy. Reminder preferences and scheduled reminders are handled on your device. Camera access is optional and used to scan challenge QR codes; our QR-scanning feature does not upload camera images or video to us. You can change camera and notification permissions in device settings.

Technical information and support

Our hosting and authentication providers process information needed to deliver and protect the service, such as IP addresses, request times, browser or device information, request identifiers, and error or security events. If you contact support, we receive the email address, message, attachments, and other information you choose to send. Please do not send passwords, payment-card details, or authentication codes.

2. How we use information

• Deliver puzzles, validate guesses, save results, and provide challenge sharing.
• Authenticate accounts, back up progress, and sync it across devices.
• Provide optional reminders and gaming-service features.
• Respond to support and privacy requests.
• Maintain reliability, investigate errors, prevent fraud or misuse, and meet legal obligations.
• When purchases are available, verify transactions and provide purchased access.

Purchase and advertising SDKs operate in versions where those features are enabled, as described below; we do not include a separate general-purpose behavioral analytics SDK. Puzzle creation may use AI services with puzzle content; our generation process does not send your account or individual gameplay records to those services.

Where applicable data-protection law requires a legal basis, we process information to provide the service you request, for legitimate interests such as security and reliability, to meet legal obligations, or with your consent for optional processing that requires it. You may withdraw consent without affecting earlier lawful processing.

3. Purchases and advertising

One-time unlock through RevenueCat

We use RevenueCat to manage the one-time Emozle+ unlock in versions where purchases are enabled. Purchase availability varies by platform and version. RevenueCat and the relevant app store or payment provider will process purchase receipts or tokens, product and transaction identifiers, purchase and refund status, an app user identifier, and related app, device, locale, and transaction information needed to verify purchases, restore access, measure purchases, and prevent fraud. An account-linked identifier may connect your purchase to your Emozle account. We do not receive your full payment-card number through an app-store purchase. Read RevenueCat’s Privacy Policy and the policy of the store or payment provider shown at checkout.

Advertising

In versions where enabled, optional rewarded advertisements let you unlock additional Archive plays. We use Google AdMob for rewarded ads in the iOS and Android apps; the website does not use this native advertising SDK. When enabled, Google’s Mobile Ads and User Messaging Platform SDKs process information such as IP addresses, device and advertising identifiers where permitted, app/device information, diagnostic data, consent choices, and ad interaction data. The app requests non-personalized ads and gathers required consent before initializing or loading ads. You can revisit available choices under Settings → Ad privacy choices. Consent and tracking permissions do not guarantee an ad is available. Read Google’s advertising privacy information. Our server receives Google-signed reward confirmations containing an opaque reward token, ad unit, timestamp, and transaction identifier; we associate these with your selected Archive puzzle and guest or signed-in account to grant one extra play and prevent duplicate rewards. We do not put your email or Emozle account identifier in the token sent to Google. Verified rewards can be recovered for the selected puzzle after reopening the app. Where required, advertising identifiers, personalized advertising, or cross-app tracking will depend on your consent and device privacy settings. Publishing this policy does not itself enable ads or tracking.

4. Service providers and sharing

We use Amazon Web Services for hosting, authentication, databases, and operational services; Apple and Google for the sign-in options you choose; and Apple for Game Center when used. Email providers process support correspondence. RevenueCat and applicable payment providers will process purchase data when the purchase feature is enabled. Google AdMob and its consent platform process advertising and consent information when you use rewarded ads in a version where they are enabled. These providers receive information needed for their respective services and may also act under their own policies.

We do not currently sell your personal information or share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. We may disclose information when required by law, to protect people or the service, or as part of a business transfer with appropriate protections. Challenge information is shared when someone uses its link or code. External hint links, including qrwp/Wikipedia, open third-party services governed by their own policies.

5. Storage, security, and retention

Our primary backend is hosted in the United States. Information may be processed in other countries where our providers operate. Where required, international transfers must use applicable safeguards, such as approved contractual protections. We use HTTPS for service requests, access controls, encryption provided by our cloud services, and secure native storage for sign-in credentials. No service or device is completely secure.

Local data remains until you remove it or the browser or operating system clears it. Server-side gameplay and account records are kept while needed to operate your games and account, unless you request deletion or a legal or security reason requires retention. Our application/API log groups currently have a 30-day retention setting, and database recovery backups can retain earlier records for up to 35 days after they leave the live database. Provider-controlled records and support correspondence can have different retention periods based on support, security, or legal needs. We do not intentionally keep personal information longer than necessary for those purposes.

6. Your choices and deletion requests

You can play as a guest, sign out, change app preferences, revoke device permissions, and clear local browser/app data. Signing out does not delete an account or server history. The old website’s progress page reads legacy results locally and does not migrate those totals into the new app.

In app versions with Settings → Account → Delete account, you can delete your Emozle account after signing in again. This removes live cloud progress, your public profile and publications, follow relationships, and account-owned challenges, clears account data on that device, and returns you to guest play. Account deletion does not remove copies already saved on another device, third-party gaming or store records, or backup copies before their retention period ends. We retain a minimal random account identifier to prevent deleted sessions from recreating data. Apple users are also shown how to remove the remaining Sign in with Apple connection.

To request deletion of your Emozle account and associated cloud progress by email, email support@emozle.com with the subject “Emozle account deletion.” Use the email associated with your account where possible, including your Apple relay address if applicable. We may ask for reasonable proof of account control; never send a password. You may also request deletion of identifiable guest records or challenges; retain the relevant guest/challenge information on your device so we can help identify them. We will explain any records we must retain for legal, fraud-prevention, or security reasons and handle requests within the time required by applicable law. Copies already shared with other players, app-store transaction records, and Apple/Google accounts are managed separately.

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, or receive a copy of your personal information; restrict or object to certain processing; withdraw consent; or appeal a decision about your request. Contact the same support address to exercise these rights. We will not discriminate against you for exercising rights protected by law. You may also complain to your local data-protection authority. Essential app/browser storage is used for gameplay, preferences, and sign-in; advertising storage and SDK processing, where enabled, depend on the applicable consent and device privacy settings.

7. Children and young people

Children need the involvement of a parent or guardian where required by applicable law. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 without any parental authorization required by law. Account, cloud-sync, and purchase features should not be used by a child who needs parental authorization unless the necessary authorization has been arranged. If we learn that personal information was collected without required authorization, we will take appropriate steps to remove it. If you believe a child has provided personal information without required parental authorization, contact us so we can investigate and remove it where appropriate. If you are below the age at which you can consent to online data processing where you live, involve a parent or guardian before using account or purchase features.

8. Changes to this policy

We will update the date above when this policy changes and provide additional notice or obtain consent when required. Planned features described here may not be available on every platform. We will update disclosures before introducing materially different data practices.