1. Introduction & Core Principles
This Privacy Policy explains what theBlocks ("we", "us", or "our") collects, why, and what you can do about it. It is written to be read, not to be survived.
theBlocks is a single-player tactile puzzle game for iOS and Android. It has no app account or way to contact other players. It can connect to your existing Apple Game Center or Google Play Games profile for achievements and leaderboards.
2. What Stays on Your Device (Local Only)
Your puzzle progress is saved in local storage (AsyncStorage). The following data stays on your device; if you use platform game services, total stars and achievements are also submitted to that platform:
| Data Category | Stored Locally | Cloud Copy Exists? |
|---|---|---|
| Game Progress | Levels cleared, stars earned, and optimal move counts across all 22 chapters. | No puzzle save; total stars and achievements may be shared with game services. |
| Virtual Balance & Shop | Coin balance and items purchased in the game shop. | No (Device only) |
| Personal Preferences | Selected visual theme (e.g. Midnight, Daylight, Ember), sound effects, music, and haptic feedback toggles. | No (Device only) |
| Daily Challenge | Daily puzzle completion history and your active streak counter. | No (Device only) |
3. What Leaves Your Device
When connected to the internet, the App interacts with standard, trusted mobile infrastructure for advertising, in-app purchases, and platform game services:
A. Advertising (Google AdMob)
theBlocks serves ads using Google AdMob. To deliver ads, AdMob may collect:
- An advertising identifier (IDFA on iOS, Google Advertising ID on Android).
- Approximate location derived from your IP address (country or regional level, never a street address or GPS coordinate).
- Device technical details: hardware model, operating system version, and device language.
- Interactions with served advertisements (impressions, clicks).
On iOS: The app presents Apple's App Tracking Transparency (ATT) prompt asking for your permission before any tracking identifier is used. If you decline, ads will still appear, but they will not be personalized.
In the European Economic Area (EEA), UK, and Switzerland: A certified User Messaging Platform (UMP) consent form appears before ads load, as required under GDPR. Your consent choice is stored and can be updated at any time in the game under Settings → Privacy options.
Google's privacy policies and data practices are detailed at: https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.
B. In-App Purchases (Apple & Google)
In-app purchases (such as Remove Ads, Unlock All, or coin packs) are processed entirely by Apple (App Store) or Google (Google Play Billing). We never see, collect, or store your credit card number, billing address, or financial credentials. The platform store only confirms whether a transaction was completed successfully so the app can grant the entitlement.
C. Game Center and Google Play Games
If you are signed in to platform game services, the app can authenticate your existing profile and submit achievements and total-star scores. The platform may display your profile name and scores on its leaderboards. Your profile and leaderboard data are handled by Apple or Google under their privacy policies. Resetting local puzzle progress does not delete the platform's leaderboard or achievement history.
D. Gameplay Balancing Analytics
The app contains gameplay event hooks for level starts, completions, abandons, move counts, and hint use. No external analytics provider is configured in this version.
These hooks do not transmit analytics to us. If an external analytics provider is introduced, this policy and the app's disclosures will be updated.
E. Crash Diagnostics
The app records errors in development and has an error-reporting hook. No external crash-reporting provider is configured in this version, so these diagnostics are not transmitted to us.
4. What Is Never Collected
To be explicit, theBlocks does not collect, and has no code or capabilities to collect:
- Your email address, phone number, or mailing address; platform game profile names are described above
- Your contacts, photo library, camera, or microphone
- Precise GPS location data
- Health, biometric, or personal financial information
- Text typed on your device
The Android build explicitly strips and blocks permissions that common third-party libraries might otherwise request:
android.permission.RECORD_AUDIO— Blockedandroid.permission.MODIFY_AUDIO_SETTINGS— Blockedandroid.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE— Blockedandroid.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE— Blocked
5. Children's Privacy
theBlocks is designed for a general audience (ages 13 and older). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 (or under 16 in the EEA). If you believe a child has provided personal information to third-party services through the game, please contact us immediately, and we will take appropriate measures to address it.
6. Your Choices & Data Rights
You have complete control over how the app runs and what data is used:
| Goal | Action |
|---|---|
| Stop personalized ads |
iOS: Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking → disable theBlocks. Android: Settings → Google → Ads → Reset or delete advertising ID. |
| Change GDPR ad consent | In-game Settings → Privacy options (available in EEA/UK/Switzerland). |
| Remove all ads permanently | Purchase Remove Ads in the in-game shop. |
| Reset game progress | In-game Settings → Reset progress (retains verified store purchases). |
| Delete all app data | Simply uninstall the app from your device. Since there is no cloud database or server account, all local data is immediately deleted. |
Under GDPR, UK GDPR, and California CCPA/CPRA, you have rights to access, rectify, or erase personal information. Because the game holds no accounts or personal identifiers, requests concerning advertising identifiers can be directly managed through your device's system settings as shown above.
7. Policy Changes
If our privacy practices change in a manner that affects what data is collected or how it is handled, this document will be updated with a new revision date at the top of this page.
8. Contact Information
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to make an inquiry regarding your data, please contact:
Email: omgawandeofficial9834899149@gmail.com
Please use this address for privacy inquiries and bug reports; a real person reads and responds to it.