Privacy Policy
Plain language about what our website and games collect, why, and the choices you have.
In short
- Our games run on your device. Settings, local high scores and progress stay on your phone, tablet or computer.
- An online leaderboard, in games that have one (currently Brick Buster), is the one thing that talks to us. It sends the name you type, your score, the level reached, how long the game lasted, and a scrambled (hashed) device identifier that cannot be turned back into your device.
- Our free games show ads through Google AdMob unless you buy “Remove Ads”. Google may use your device’s advertising identifier to pick ads; on iOS and in Europe you are asked first. No analytics trackers, no accounts, no selling of data.
- You can ask us to remove anything by emailing games.apd@gmail.com.
1. Who we are
APD Games is the games label of APD Consulting Inc., based in New Jersey, United States (“APD Games”, “we”, “us”). We publish mobile games for iPhone, iPad and Android, such as Brick Buster and Defender 1, and we run this website, apd-games.com. This policy covers all of our games; where a feature exists only in some of them, we say so. We are the data controller for the information described here.
2. What we collect
We collect as little as the product needs. The table lists every source.
| Where | What | Why |
|---|---|---|
| This website | Standard web server logs kept by our hosting provider: IP address, browser type, pages requested, date and time. Your language choice is saved in your browser’s local storage and never sent to us. We do not use tracking cookies. | Keeping the site running and secure; showing the site in your language. |
| Playing our games | Nothing leaves your device. Settings, sound preferences, local high scores and the name you last typed are stored on the device only. | The game needs them to work. |
| Online leaderboard (games that have one, currently Brick Buster) | When a game ends, the app sends to our server: the player name you typed (up to 10 characters), your score, the level reached, the duration of the game in seconds, the app version and platform, and a hashed device identifier. The server also stores a hashed form of your IP address. Hashing is one-way: neither value can be reversed to identify you or your device. Your name and score are shown publicly to every player who opens the World tab. | Running a shared high-score table; stopping cheating and abuse. |
| Advertising in our free games | The free version shows a full-screen ad after some games and offers an optional “watch an ad to continue”. The ads are served by Google AdMob, which receives your device’s advertising identifier (IDFA / Android Advertising ID), IP address, device model and app usage signals to select, deliver and measure ads, under Google’s advertising policies. On iOS the system asks you with the App Tracking Transparency prompt before any identifier is shared; in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland a consent form asks you first, and you can decline personalised ads. Buying Remove Ads (a one-time purchase handled by Apple or Google) stops the full-screen ads. | Paying for the free version of the game. |
| Emails you send us | Your email address and whatever you write, including screenshots or device details you choose to include. | Answering you and fixing bugs. |
| App stores | Downloads and purchases are handled by Apple and Google under their own privacy policies. We receive only aggregate statistics from them, never your identity. | Distribution. |
Only our free, ad-supported games contain advertising software; none of our games contains analytics software or asks you to create an account.
3. How we use it
- To operate the online leaderboards and show rankings (performance of the service you asked for).
- To detect and remove cheated or abusive entries, using the game duration, the hashed device identifier and the hashed IP address (our legitimate interest in a fair leaderboard).
- To show ads in our free games and to offer an optional rewarded ad (our legitimate interest in funding the game; personalised ads only with your consent where the law requires it).
- To answer your support requests (your consent, by writing to us).
- To keep the website and server secure (our legitimate interest).
- To comply with the law when we are required to.
We do not sell personal information, we do not profile players, and we do not use your data for advertising.
4. Who we share it with
- Our web hosting provider, which stores the website, the leaderboard database and server logs on our behalf in the United States.
- Google AdMob, which serves the ads in our free games and acts as an independent controller for the data it collects to do so; you can control personalised ads in your device’s privacy settings and through the consent form in the game.
- Other players, who see the leaderboard names and scores inside the game and, in the future, possibly on this website.
- Authorities, only when a valid legal request obliges us to.
- A successor, if APD Games were ever sold or merged; this policy would continue to apply to the data transferred.
5. Where it is stored
Our servers are located in the United States. If you play from another country, including the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, Switzerland or Brazil, the small amount of leaderboard data described above is transferred to and stored in the United States. We protect it as described in this policy regardless of where you are.
6. How long we keep it
- Leaderboard entries stay as long as the leaderboard exists, so that rankings remain meaningful, unless you ask us to remove yours.
- Game-start tokens used to prevent forged scores are deleted after two days.
- Server logs are kept by the hosting provider for a limited period, typically a few months, for security purposes.
- Support emails are kept for as long as needed to resolve your request and for a reasonable time afterwards.
7. Your rights and choices
Wherever you live, you can ask us to see, correct or delete the information we hold about you, or to object to how we use it. To remove a leaderboard entry, email us the player name, the approximate score and date, and we will take it down. Because the leaderboard identifies you only by a hashed device value, we may ask you to confirm the request from the device that posted the score.
You can also avoid the leaderboard entirely: if you are not connected to the internet when a game ends, nothing is sent, and you may choose any name you like, including a nickname.
European Economic Area, United Kingdom and Switzerland
You have the rights of access, rectification, erasure, restriction, portability and objection under the GDPR and equivalent laws, and the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority, the UK ICO or the Swiss FDPIC.
Brazil
Under the LGPD you have the rights of confirmation, access, correction, anonymisation, deletion and information about sharing, and you may petition the ANPD. We answer requests in Portuguese as well as English.
California
Under the CCPA/CPRA you may request the categories and specific pieces of personal information we hold, request deletion, and you will not be discriminated against for doing so. We do not sell or share personal information for cross-context behavioural advertising. California Civil Code §1798.83 (“Shine the Light”) requests can be sent to the address below.
8. Children
Our games are suitable for all ages and are not directed specifically at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children beyond the player name a child may type into the leaderboard, which is why the game accepts any nickname and never asks for a real name, email or age. Parents and guardians who believe a child has posted identifying information can email us and we will remove it promptly.
9. Security
All traffic between the games, this website and our server uses HTTPS. Device identifiers and IP addresses are hashed before storage. Leaderboard submissions are signed and checked for plausibility before they are accepted, database access uses parameterised queries, and configuration files are not reachable from the web. No system is perfectly secure, but we keep the data we hold to a minimum so that there is little to lose.
10. Do Not Track
This website does not track visitors across sites, so a browser’s Do Not Track signal changes nothing here. In our games, use the App Tracking Transparency prompt (iOS), the “Opt out of Ads Personalisation” setting (Android) or the in-game consent form to limit personalised ads.
11. Changes to this policy
When we change this policy we update the effective date at the top. For material changes affecting the games, for example a new online feature, we will also mention it in the game’s update notes. Earlier versions are available on request.
12. Contact
APD Games (APD Consulting Inc.)12 Abbey Road, Jackson, NJ 08527, United States
games.apd@gmail.com
Questions about a specific game? The Support page lists all the ways to reach us.