Privacy Policyמדיניות פרטיות

1. Who we are

Synthblock (the "game") is an iPhone game made by Shahar Amir, an individual developer based in Israel ("we", "us"). We are responsible for the personal data described in this policy (the "controller" under the GDPR, and the controller of the information under Israel's Privacy Protection Law). Contact: shahramir3@gmail.com.

This policy covers the game and this website. It explains what information is handled, why, and the choices you have.

2. Information the game collects

We collect nothing ourselves. The game has no account or sign-in, and we don't run any server that receives information about you or how you play. The game contains no analytics software, doesn't access your device's advertising identifier, and doesn't track you across apps or websites. Our own code makes no network connections, and nothing you do in the game is sent to us.

Version 1.0 contains no advertising software, so its App Store privacy label says "Data Not Collected". From version 1.1, the game includes Google's Mobile Ads SDK for the optional rewarded ads. When an ad is requested or shown, Google receives information from your device as described in section 9, and the App Store privacy label lists the data Google's SDK declares.

3. Information stored on your device

Your best scores, gems, power-ups, unlocked and equipped cube skins, and settings (sound, haptics and Reduce effects) are saved only on your device and are never sent to us. Deleting the game deletes them. If your device is backed up to iCloud or a computer, the backup may include the game's data under Apple's terms, and restoring the backup brings it back. We can't see, recover or transfer them.

4. Features that stay on your device

Accessibility settings

Until you set the game's Reduce effects switch yourself, the game follows your iPhone's Reduce Motion and Dim Flashing Lights settings. It checks them on your device through iOS. The result is used only inside the game to choose its effects, and is never sent to us or anyone else. The game has no notifications or sharing.

Ratings and reviews

If you rate or review the game on the App Store, Apple handles it under its terms, and nothing is sent to us through the game. If you publish a review, we can see it and your App Store nickname, like anyone else, and may reply to it publicly. From version 1.1, the game may ask you to rate it with Apple's standard rating prompt, at most once per version, after you set a new best score. Rating is optional and gives nothing in the game.

5. In-app purchases

The game offers no in-app purchases and does not use Apple's purchase system. Gems can only be earned by playing (and, from version 1.1, from an optional bonus video, see section 9). A future version may offer optional purchases. If it does, we will update this policy first. Those purchases will be processed by Apple through the App Store using StoreKit. We will never receive your name, payment details or Apple Account. The game will only receive Apple's signed confirmation of which items you own, kept on your device, so it can unlock and restore them. Apple may provide us with aggregated, non-identifying sales reports. Apple's Privacy Policy applies to purchases.

6. Crash reports from Apple

If you have chosen on your device to share analytics with app developers (iOS Settings > Privacy & Security > Analytics & Improvements), Apple may share crash reports and usage statistics with us that do not identify you. Apple collects these, not the game, under Apple's privacy policy. We use them only to find and fix bugs. You can turn this off at any time in the same setting.

7. When you contact us

If you email us, we receive your email address, your message and anything you attach (for example a screenshot or your iPhone model). We use this only to answer you, help with your problem and improve the game. Our legal basis is your request and our legitimate interest in providing support. We keep support emails for as long as needed to handle your request and for up to 3 years afterward, in case you write again or a legal question comes up, and then delete them. You can ask us to delete your messages sooner. Our email is provided by Google (Gmail), which stores messages on its servers under the Google Privacy Policy. You are under no legal obligation to give us any information; if you don't, we may not be able to answer or help. Please don't send us sensitive information you don't need to share.

8. This website

This website uses no cookies, analytics or trackers, and loads nothing from third parties. It is hosted on GitHub Pages. GitHub may keep standard server logs, such as IP addresses, for security and to operate the service, under the GitHub Privacy Statement.

9. Ads (from version 1.1)

Version 1.0 shows no ads. From version 1.1, the game offers optional rewarded video ads: you tap a ▶ button to watch a short ad in exchange for an in-game bonus (one more revive in Power-ups mode once the free revive is used, the gems from a finished game doubled, or a free power-up in the Shop). No ad plays unless you tap, and the game never shows banners or ads that start on their own. The ads come from Google AdMob, a service of Google. We use no other ad network; if we add one, including through AdMob's mediation, we will name it in this policy before the version that uses it is released.

• What Google collects. When an ad is requested (the game fetches ads in the background after launch so a ▶ is ready, even if you never tap one) or shown, the Google Mobile Ads SDK collects your IP address (from which an approximate location is estimated), device and app information (such as device model, operating system, language and app version), device identifiers that are limited to the app or developer (not the advertising identifier, see below), information about the ads you see and how you interact with them (such as views, taps and whether you finished an ad), and crash and performance diagnostics.
• Why. To show ads, decide which ads to show, limit how often an ad is shown, measure ad performance, prevent fraud and abuse, and, only where you have agreed or the law allows, show personalized ads based on your interests.
• Who decides. Google uses this information under its own policies. See How Google uses information from sites or apps that use its services and the Google Privacy Policy. Google may work with other ad partners, which are listed in the consent form where required.
• Consent in Europe. If you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or Switzerland, the game shows Google's consent form (Google's User Messaging Platform) before any ad is requested, and personalized ads are shown only if you agree. You can change your choice at any time from PRIVACY CHOICES on the game's menu.
• App Tracking Transparency. The game doesn't show Apple's App Tracking Transparency prompt, so it never accesses your device's advertising identifier, and the ads you see are not based on tracking you across other companies' apps and websites. If a future version asks for permission to track, it will do so only through Apple's prompt, and you can change your choice any time in iOS Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking.
• California and other US states. Showing personalized ads may count as "sharing" personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising under California law, and similar activity is regulated in other US states. Where those laws apply, the game shows Google's opt-out message, and you can opt out from PRIVACY CHOICES on the game's menu. Google then limits how it uses the information (restricted data processing).
• Children. The game is not directed at children (section 13), and we don't knowingly request personalized ads for children.
• How to avoid ads. Ads only play when you tap to watch one, so you can simply not tap. The whole game can be played without watching any ad. Not tapping means you never watch an ad, but while the game is open and online it still requests ads in the background (see "What Google collects"); playing offline avoids those requests too.

10. Service providers and third parties

• Apple (App Store, opt-in crash reports, the rating prompt from version 1.1, and StoreKit if a future version offers purchases): Apple Privacy Policy.
• GitHub (hosts this website): GitHub Privacy Statement.
• Google (our email provider; and AdMob, for the optional ads from version 1.1): Google Privacy Policy.

Apple, GitHub and, for ads, Google decide independently how they handle information under their own terms and privacy policies, and we are not responsible for those independent practices. When we use Gmail for support, your email is transferred to Google for that purpose. We don't sell or rent personal information, and we don't share it except as described in this policy or where the law requires it (for example a valid legal order).

11. International transfers

We are based in Israel, which the European Commission recognizes as providing an adequate level of data protection. The services named above may store and process information in the United States and other countries. Your support emails are stored by Google, and may be processed in the United States. Google and GitHub state that they transfer personal data internationally under recognized safeguards, such as the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (with its UK and Swiss extensions) or the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses, as described in their privacy policies.

12. Data retention

The game sends us nothing, so we hold no game data about you. Information on your device stays until you delete the game. Support emails are kept as described in section 7. Information held by Apple, GitHub or Google is kept under their own policies.

13. Children

Synthblock is rated 4+ on the App Store but is not directed at children under 13 and is not in the App Store's Kids category. We don't knowingly collect personal information from children. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has sent us personal information, for example by email, contact us and we will delete it.

14. Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights over your personal data, including the right to access it, correct it, delete it, restrict or object to its use, receive a copy of it, and withdraw consent at any time (without affecting what was done before). These rights come from laws such as the GDPR in the European Union, the UK GDPR, Israel's Privacy Protection Law 5741-1981 (including the right to review and correct information held about you), and the California Consumer Privacy Act.

We don't make decisions about you based solely on automated processing, including profiling.

California. We ourselves collect only the identifiers and content of communications you give us when you contact us (your email address and messages), used for support as described in section 7. We do not sell personal information. From version 1.1, Google receives the information described in section 9 when ads are requested or shown, which may count as "sharing" for personalized ads under California law; you can opt out as described there. We don't use or disclose sensitive personal information. You may use an authorized agent to make a request. You won't be discriminated against for exercising your rights. This website doesn't track you, so there is nothing there for Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control signals to turn off. In the game, use PRIVACY CHOICES on the menu; we honor these signals where the law requires.

In practice, the only personal data we may hold is your email correspondence with us. To exercise a right, email us; we may need to confirm the request comes from you, and we will reply within the time the law requires. To delete everything the game stores on your device, delete the game. You also have the right to complain to a data protection authority, for example your local EU or UK authority or Israel's Privacy Protection Authority, though we'd appreciate the chance to help first.

15. Security

We keep what we handle to a minimum, which is the best protection. Your game data stays on your device, protected by iOS. Still, no method of storage or transmission is completely secure, and we can't guarantee absolute security. Please keep your device and Apple Account secure.

16. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time, for example when we add a feature such as ads or purchases, when a service we use changes, or when the law changes. We will post the new version on this page with a new effective date. If a change is material, for example if the game starts collecting new kinds of data, we will also give notice in the game or on this page before the change takes effect, and ask for your consent where the law requires it. Where the law allows, continuing to use the game after a change takes effect means you accept the updated policy. Changes don't apply retroactively to information collected before them without your consent where it is required.

17. Contact

Questions or requests about privacy: shahramir3@gmail.com (Shahar Amir, Israel).

See also our Terms of Use. This policy is available in English and Hebrew; if the versions conflict, the English version prevails to the extent permitted by law.