Hearsay Hollow
Privacy Policy

1. Playing as a guest

You can play without giving us your name or email. If you choose "Play as guest", the game creates an anonymous account with Google Firebase Authentication. It is identified only by a random user ID; it contains no name, email address or photo. Your game progress (solved levels, stars and best scores, hints left and hints revealed, Daily Rumour results and streak, tutorial cards seen, and your sound, music and reminder settings) is kept on your device and backed up in Google Cloud Firestore under that random ID, together with the app version and the time of the last save. Only your device can access it. If you uninstall the game while playing as a guest, the backup cannot be restored on a new device; to keep your progress across devices, upgrade to a Google account in Settings > Account.

2. Signing in with Google (optional)

If you choose "Continue with Google", either on first launch or later from Settings > Account, we use Google Firebase Authentication to create your game account or to upgrade your guest account. Firebase Authentication receives your Google account ID, name, email address and profile photo link. Your game progress (the same items as in section 1) is saved in Google Cloud Firestore so it can be restored on another device. We never receive your Google password. We do not store your name, email address or photo in our game database. Only you can access your saved progress.

3. Notifications

If you turn on reminders (the game asks after the tutorial, and you can change it at any time in Settings > Reminders), the game can send you a push notification when a new Daily Rumour is ready and, occasionally, news about the game such as new levels. On Android 13 or later you are asked for the notification permission first; on older Android versions you can turn notifications off in the system settings. Notifications are delivered by Firebase Cloud Messaging, which uses a messaging token for your device. We do not store that token in our database, and we do not use notifications for advertising. Turning reminders off, or deleting your account, stops them.

4. Advertising

The game is free and shows ads provided by Google AdMob: a full-screen ad after each completed level (not during the first three tutorial levels), a banner at the bottom of the menu screens (never on a puzzle screen), and an optional ad you can choose to watch for one hint. Google may collect your device's advertising ID, IP address, approximate location, device information and how you interact with ads, to show, measure and (with your consent) personalise ads. If you are in the European Economic Area, the UK or Switzerland, the game asks for your consent before personalised ads are shown. If you are in a US state with a privacy law, you can opt out of personalised ads (see section 13). You can change your choice at any time in the game under Settings > Privacy & ad choices. If you do not consent or choose to opt out, you may still see non-personalised ads. You can also reset or delete your advertising ID in your Android settings. More information: Google’s partner-site privacy information

5. Purchases

The game offers two optional purchases through Google Play. Remove Ads is a monthly subscription that renews automatically until you cancel it; it removes the full-screen ads and the banners, and the optional hint ad stays available. The Hint Pack is a one-time purchase of 10 hints. Payment is handled entirely by Google Play. We do not receive your card or payment details. The game asks Google Play on your device whether your subscription is active, so it can switch ads off or on; hints you buy are added to your hints and saved with your progress.

6. Stars, hints and other in-game items

Stars are earned by playing. Hints are earned by playing (three at the start, one free every day and one for each optional ad you choose to watch) or bought in packs of 10. Stars and hints have no monetary value and cannot be exchanged, sold or transferred. The game has no other in-game currency.

7. Sharing your Daily Rumour result

If you tap Share, the game opens your phone's share menu with a short, spoiler-free text (your score and the shape of your route) that you can see before sending. The game does not send it anywhere itself, and we do not receive it.

8. What we do not do

We do not sell your personal information for money. Showing personalised ads through Google may count as "sharing" or "targeted advertising" under some US state laws; you can opt out at any time (section 13). We do not use analytics or crash-reporting tools beyond the Google services described above. The game has no public leaderboard and no chat. The game does not access your contacts, photos, camera, microphone or location.

9. Summary of data

• Random guest user ID: for your guest account and its cloud backup. Processed by Google Firebase. Only if you play as a guest.
• Google account ID, name, email, profile photo link: for sign-in. Processed by Google Firebase Authentication. Only if you sign in with Google.
• Game progress, settings, app version and save time: for saving and restoring your progress. Stored on your device and in Google Cloud Firestore.
• Device messaging token: for reminders. Processed by Firebase Cloud Messaging, not stored by us. Only if you turn reminders on.
• Advertising ID, IP address, device information, ad interactions: for showing and measuring ads. Processed by Google AdMob.
• Subscription and purchase status: for removing ads and adding hints. Processed by Google Play. Only if you buy something.

10. Legal bases (EEA and UK) and retention

We process account, progress and notification data to provide the game and the features you asked for (performance of a contract), personalised advertising on the basis of your consent, and non-personalised advertising, security and fraud prevention on the basis of our legitimate interests. Your account and cloud progress are kept until you delete your account. Progress on your device stays until you uninstall the game, clear its data or use Settings > Reset progress. Google's retention of advertising data is described in Google’s privacy policy.

Where your data is stored: your cloud progress is stored by Google Cloud Firestore in the European Union (multi-region "eur3": Belgium and the Netherlands). Firebase Authentication and Firebase Cloud Messaging are global Google services and may process data in the United States and other countries. The game is available worldwide; if you play from outside the EU (for example in the United States), your data is transferred to the EU and to Google's servers to provide the game. Where data leaves the EEA, we rely on appropriate safeguards such as the EU Standard Contractual Clauses and the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (Google LLC is certified).

11. Deleting your account and data

In the game, open Settings > Account > Delete account. This works for Google and guest accounts and permanently deletes your account and your cloud progress, and resets the game on your device. You can also request deletion at https://infinitygaming.online/games/hearsay-hollow/delete-account or by emailing i.a2zsolutions@gmail.com (for a guest account, include the Player ID shown in Settings > Account). The Remove Ads subscription belongs to your Google Play account and is not cancelled by deleting your game account: cancel it in Google Play > Payments & subscriptions.

12. Your rights (EEA and UK)

You have the right to access, correct, delete or export your data, to object to or restrict processing, and to withdraw consent at any time. Contact us at i.a2zsolutions@gmail.com. You may also complain to your data protection authority; in Ireland this is the Data Protection Commission (www.dataprotection.ie).

13. Your US privacy rights

This section applies to residents of California and other US states with consumer privacy laws (including Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, Texas and Oregon).

Information we collect (in the last 12 months), using the categories in California law:

• Identifiers: Google account ID, name and email address, profile photo link (only if you sign in); device advertising ID and IP address (for ads); Firebase user ID (also used for guest accounts).
• Internet or network activity: how you interact with ads.
• Approximate geolocation: derived from your IP address, for ads. We do not collect precise location.
• Commercial information: whether you have an active Remove Ads subscription, and the hint packs you bought.
• Game data: your progress and statistics.

We do not collect sensitive personal information as defined by these laws. We collect this information from you, your device and Google, for the purposes in sections 1 to 5, and disclose it only to our service providers (Google Firebase, Google AdMob, Google Play) for those purposes.

Sale, sharing and targeted advertising. We do not sell personal information for money. Allowing Google AdMob to show personalised ads may be considered "sharing" personal information or "targeted advertising". To opt out, open the game and tap Settings > Privacy & ad choices, or email i.a2zsolutions@gmail.com with the subject “Do Not Sell or Share”. You can also turn off ad personalisation in your Android settings (Settings > Google > Ads). We do not knowingly sell or share the personal information of anyone under 16.

Your rights. You may have the right to:

• know and access the personal information we hold about you
• correct it
• delete it
• receive a copy in a portable format
• opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information and of targeted advertising
• not be treated differently for using these rights (the game works the same if you opt out, although ads may be less relevant)

How to make a request. Email i.a2zsolutions@gmail.com or use Settings > Account > Delete account in the game. We may need to confirm your identity, for example by asking you to email us from the address of your Google account. An authorised agent may make a request for you with your written permission. We respond within 45 days.

Appeals. If we decline your request, you can appeal by replying to our decision with the subject “Appeal”. We will answer within 60 days. If you are not satisfied, you may contact your state Attorney General.

14. Children

The game is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has given us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

15. Changes

We may update this policy. We will change the "Last updated" date and, for significant changes, tell you in the game.

16. Contact

Iconix Solutions (Infinity Gaming), Waterford, Ireland, i.a2zsolutions@gmail.com