Glowtide Privacy Policy

This privacy policy explains what information the mobile game Glowtide (the "game") uses, who receives it, and the choices you have. The game is published by Total Dogwater Entertainment ("we", "us"). This policy covers the game on Android and iPhone, and the messages you send to our support email.

1. Who we are

Total Dogwater Entertainment makes and publishes the game and is responsible for the information we handle as described in this policy. Under European and UK data protection law, we are the "controller" of that information.

• Email: totaldogwateryt@gmail.com
• Website: www.totaldogwatergaming.com
• Contact page: www.totaldogwatergaming.com/contact

Google and Apple run their own services, such as Google AdMob, Google Play and the App Store, under their own privacy policies. We link to those policies below.

2. Information saved on your device

The game saves the following on your device so it can remember your game between sessions. It stays on your device, the game does not send it to us, and we can't see it:

• Settings: whether sound is muted.
• Progress: your reef (the corals and creatures you have earned), your best score and total points, how many games you have played, your daily gift streak, daily goals, achievements and daily challenge score, and whether you have seen the first-time guide.
• Purchases and rewinds: whether you own Remove Ads or the Starter bundle, how many rewinds you have, and a record of which purchases have already been delivered, so nothing is delivered twice.
• Ad counters and privacy choice: how many ads you have been shown today and when, so the game doesn't show too many, and your answer to Google's consent message, where it is shown, so it doesn't ask you every time. Google's ad software may also keep your choices and a few technical values on your device (see section 4).

The game is built with the Unity engine, which also keeps a few technical values on the device for its own operation. We have turned off Unity's optional analytics and hardware statistics services, and the game has no analytics or crash-reporting software.

Your device's own backup feature (such as Android backup or iCloud Backup) may copy this saved data as part of your device backup, under your Google or Apple account settings. We don't have access to those backups.

3. Information we collect ourselves

We don't run servers, player accounts or analytics for this game. The only personal information we receive directly is what you send when you email us: your email address, your name if you include it, your message, any screenshots or files you attach, and any details you choose to share, such as your device model or an order number. We use it only to answer you, fix problems, and handle refund or privacy requests. Our support email uses Gmail, so Google stores these messages for us.

The game does not ask for your name, age, email address, contacts, photos, camera, microphone or precise location.

4. Ads (Google AdMob)

The game is free to play and shows ads to help pay for it. A small banner ad shows at the bottom of the screen while you play, and is hidden while the Shop, creature book or Daily screen is open. A full-screen ad can play between games, but never during a game, never in your first few games, and not more than once every few minutes. Optional reward ads play only when you tap them, to earn a free rewind or to take back the move that ended a game.

What Google's ad software collects

When the game requests or shows an ad, Google's software inside the game automatically collects:

• Device identifiers. On Android: the advertising ID. On iPhone: the advertising identifier (IDFA), only if you allow tracking in Apple's prompt, plus identifiers that work only within the app.
• IP address, which is used to estimate your general location, such as your country.
• Interactions with ads, such as the ads you see, tap or close, and video views.
• Diagnostics and performance, such as crashes, how quickly ads load and energy use.
• Device and app information, such as device make and model, operating system version, language and the app's name and version.
• Your ad privacy choices, so Google and its partners can respect them.

Google sends this information using encryption in transit.

How Google uses it

To show and choose ads, measure how ads perform, limit how often you see the same ad, detect fraud and keep ads secure, and maintain and improve Google's services. If personalized ads are allowed, Google and the advertisers it works with may also use it to show ads based on your interests, including your activity in other apps. If they are not, ads are chosen from context, such as the game itself and your general location.

Google is responsible (a "controller") for the information it collects through its ad services. Google gives us only summary reports, such as how many ads were shown and what they earned by country. We don't receive your advertising ID or other personal information from Google.

Learn more: How Google uses information from sites or apps that use its services and the Google Privacy Policy.

Your choices for ads

• In the game: in Europe (the EEA), the UK and Switzerland, the first time you open the game it shows Google's consent message before any ad is requested. You can accept, decline or manage your options; the game works the same either way. You can change your answer at any time in Shop > Privacy options, which appears in the game wherever that message applies.
• Outside those regions: the game doesn't show its own question. You can limit personalization in your device's ad settings (below) and in Google's My Ad Center.
• US states with consumer privacy laws: you can opt out of personalized ads and of the "sale" or "sharing" of your personal information through the device settings below, and by emailing us (see section 9).
• iPhone: the game shows Apple's App Tracking Transparency prompt. If you tap Ask App Not to Track, the game can't use your advertising identifier. You can change this at any time in Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking. Allowing tracking is never required, and it doesn't unlock anything or earn rewards.
• Android: you can reset or delete your advertising ID, or opt out of ads personalization, in Settings > Privacy > Ads (on some devices, Settings > Google > Ads).

If you don't allow personalized ads, you will still see ads, but they will be less personalized.

Remove Ads

If you buy Remove Ads (or the Starter bundle, which includes it), the game stops showing the banner and the full-screen ads between games. Optional reward ads stay available if you choose to watch them, so Google's ad software still runs in the game.

5. In-app purchases

You can buy packs of rewinds (a rewind takes back your last move), a one-time Starter bundle (Remove Ads plus 25 rewinds), and Remove Ads, through Google Play on Android or the App Store on iPhone.

• Payments: the store you buy from handles the payment. We never receive your card number, bank details or billing address. See the Google Privacy Policy and the Apple Privacy Policy.
• Purchase records: after a purchase, the store tells the game what you bought, with a transaction number and the time, so the game can deliver it and restore Remove Ads later. The game checks this on your device. We don't run a server that receives or keeps it.
• Purchase software: the game connects to the stores through Unity's In-App Purchasing library. For the version we use, Unity states that the library does not collect personal data from players.
• Sales reports: Google and Apple send us sales and earnings reports so we can be paid and keep tax records. These include the item, price, date, order number and the buyer's country, and Google's reports can also include city, state and postal code. If you contact us about a Google Play purchase, Google lets us look up the order by its order number or by your Google account's email address. We use this only to help you.

6. How we use information, and our legal bases

We use information only for the purposes in this policy. For players in the EEA, the UK and Switzerland, these are our legal bases:

• Answering support emails and handling requests: our legitimate interest in helping players, or to perform our agreement with you when the request is about a purchase.
• Delivering purchases and handling refunds: to perform our agreement with you.
• Personalized ads, and storing or reading ad information on your device: your consent, which you can withdraw at any time in Shop > Privacy options (shown where Google's consent message applies).
• Non-personalized ads, ad measurement and fraud prevention: our legitimate interest in funding a free game and keeping ads safe, relying on your consent where the law requires it for storing or reading information on your device.
• Financial and tax records: our legal obligations.

7. Sharing

We don't sell your personal information for money, and we don't give it to data brokers. Information is shared only:

• with Google, for ads (see section 4);
• with Google Play or Apple, when you make a purchase (see section 5);
• with Google, as our email provider;
• when the law requires it, or to protect the rights and safety of players, us or others;
• with a new owner if the game is sold or transferred, who must follow this policy or tell you about changes.

We share information only with third parties that give it the same or equal protection as this policy: Google (for ads and as our email provider) and Google Play or Apple (for purchases), each under its own privacy policy and data protection terms.

Under some US state laws, letting Google use ad data for personalized ads may count as a "sale" or "sharing" of personal information, or as "targeted advertising". You can opt out at any time using the choices in section 4.

8. Keeping and deleting information

• Game data on your device stays there until you delete the game or clear its storage. On Android: Settings > Apps > Glowtide > Storage & cache > Clear storage, or uninstall the game. On iPhone: touch and hold the game's icon, tap Remove App, then Delete App. This permanently erases your reef, score and rewinds. We can't bring them back, because we never had a copy. Remove Ads and the Starter bundle can be restored from the store after you reinstall.
• Support emails are kept as long as we need them to help you and to keep a basic record of requests, then deleted. Ask us and we will delete them sooner, unless the law requires us to keep them.
• Ad data is kept and deleted by Google under the Google Privacy Policy. To break the link between past ad data and your device, reset or delete your advertising ID on Android, or turn off tracking on iPhone. To ask Google about the data it holds, use Google's data and privacy controls.
• Sales reports are kept for as long as tax and accounting laws require.

9. Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to: know what personal information we have about you and get a copy; correct it; delete it; object to or restrict how we use it; withdraw your consent at any time (this doesn't affect use before you withdrew it); opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information and of targeted advertising; and complain to a data protection authority.

Because the game has no accounts or player database, the only personal information we usually hold about you is your support emails. For ad data, use the choices in section 4, or use Google's data and privacy controls.

How to make a request

Email totaldogwateryt@gmail.com from the address you want us to search for, and tell us what you would like. We may ask for information to confirm that the request is yours. We will answer within 30 days, or sooner where local law requires it. Where local law allows, you can use an authorized agent. We will never treat you differently or charge you for using your rights.

If we decline your request, you can appeal by replying to our answer with the word "Appeal". We will respond within the time the law requires. If you are still not satisfied, you can contact your state attorney general.

Complaints in Europe

You can complain to your local data protection authority: in the EEA, see the list of national authorities; in the UK, the Information Commissioner's Office; in Switzerland, the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner.

10. Children

The game is not directed to children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. The game has no chat, accounts or sign-up, and it doesn't ask for age. If you are under the age of digital consent where you live (up to 16 in some European countries), ask a parent or guardian before agreeing to personalized ads. The game tells Google it is not directed to children and that its players are not under the age of consent.

If you believe a child under 13 has sent us personal information, for example in an email, contact us and we will delete it. Parents can also reset or delete the device's advertising ID and turn off tracking, as explained in section 4.

11. Security

The game has no accounts or servers that could leak player data. Google's ad software encrypts the data it sends. Information saved on your device is protected by your device's own security, such as its screen lock. No method of storage or transmission is completely secure, which is one reason we keep the information we hold to a minimum.

12. International transfers

We and our service providers, such as Google, may process information in the United States and in other countries whose data protection laws may differ from yours. Google describes the legal safeguards it uses for these transfers in the Google Privacy Policy.

13. Changes to this policy

If we change the game in a way that changes how information is used, for example by adding a new ad partner, we will update this policy and the effective date at the top. For significant changes, we will also let you know in the game or in the store's update notes.

14. Contact us

Questions or requests about privacy: email totaldogwateryt@gmail.com with "Privacy" in the subject line.