Downdraft privacy policy
The short version
The game has no accounts and no sign-in. Your scores and settings stay on your device. Three things leave it: anonymous play statistics (which missions get flown and where players stop; no name, no device or advertising id; you can turn them off in Options), and, in the Android app only, what Google's advertising and Google Play need. Each is described below.
Anonymous play statistics
So the game can be made better, it counts what happens in play and sends the counts to a statistics server run for the game (stats.nimblemyth.ca, on Cloudflare). There is no account, and nothing in a count says who you are.
What is sent. Every count carries these: a random install number made on your first launch (it is not your device id, advertising id or any store id, and it means nothing outside the game), the platform (web, Android, Steam, GOG or iOS), the game version, a random number for the current play session, the seconds since the install number was made, and the days since you last played. The country is worked out by the server from your connection; the game does not ask your device where it is. The counts themselves are:
session_start: the game was opened.first_rescue: your first prisoner got home, with the seconds it took (secs) and whether you played the training first (training).mission_end: a mission ended, with the mission (mission), the tour (tour), the difficulty (difficulty), whether it was completed, failed or ended the run (result), how many prisoners you rescued (rescued), how long it took (secs), the medal (medal) and whether you had used a continue (continued).game_over: your last chopper was lost, with the mission (mission), what destroyed it, in a word such as crash or missile (cause), and whether you had already used a continue (retried).daily_end: you finished a daily sortie, with its number (daily), its rule of the day (modifier), your score (score), the time (secs) and whether you shared it (shared).share: you shared a result, with what kind (kind) and by what route (channel); nothing you shared is sent.deep_link_open: you opened the game from a shared link, with what kind of link (kind) and whether the game was new to you (fresh).ad_shown(Android app): an ad was shown, which kind (kind) and how many missions you had completed in the session (missions).purchase(Android app): you bought something, by the name of the item only (sku), never a receipt, token or payment detail.unlock: you unlocked something in the game, by its name (item).settings: your difficulty (difficulty), which assists you have on (assists) and whether you asked for notifications (notifications).
What is never sent. No name, no player name, no email, no IP address stored with the counts, no device or advertising id, no location, no controller or key presses, nothing recorded frame by frame, and no text you typed.
How long. The server keeps the counts for about 90 days and the service then deletes them. They are used in totals and averages, never to look at one person.
How to turn it off. Options, ANONYMOUS PLAY STATISTICS: OFF. When it is off nothing is recorded at all, and anything not yet sent is thrown away. Turning it on again starts a new play session. Where the law asks for your consent first (the EEA, the UK and some other places), the game asks once, on a card of its own, and records nothing until you say yes; this is separate from the ad consent below. The game plays the same with the statistics off, and the same with no connection at all.
What the game keeps on your device
- Your high-score table (the player names, scores, missions reached), your options and your key bindings.
- The random install number and the statistics not yet sent, kept in the same storage.
- That you bought "remove ads", if you did (Android app).
These are stored in your browser's or app's own storage. The developer never receives the table, options or bindings; the statistics above are the only thing the game sends. Clearing the site's data, or uninstalling the app, deletes them.
The web version
The game is served by Cloudflare, which keeps the ordinary logs of a web host (your IP address and the pages requested) to run and protect the service. The game sets no cookies and loads no ads or third-party scripts (other than the statistics above, which are the game's own), other than the Bangers web font from Google Fonts, which Google serves to your device (the Android app loads it too, when it is online).
The Android app: ads
The free version of the Android app shows ads through Google AdMob: a short ad between some missions, and an optional ad you can watch to continue after losing your last chopper. To show and measure ads, Google and its ad partners may collect your device's advertising ID, IP address, and information about the device and how you interact with ads. We do not receive this, and we do not combine it with anything else.
- Consent. Where the law requires it (the EEA, the UK and some other places), the app asks for your consent with Google's consent form before it requests any ad. You can change your choice at any time under Options, PRIVACY OPTIONS. If you refuse, no ads are shown to you.
- Ad content. The app asks for ads suitable for teens at most.
- Your device controls. You can reset or delete your advertising ID, and opt out of ad personalisation, in your Android settings.
- More from Google. How Google uses data from sites and apps that use its services and AdMob's data disclosure.
The Android app: the purchase
REMOVE ADS is a one-time purchase handled entirely by Google Play. We never see your payment details. The app learns only whether Google Play says you own it, so that the ads stay off, also after a reinstall. Someone who buys it is not shown ads, and is not asked for ad consent.
Children
Downdraft is not designed for children under 13, and is not directed to them. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. The anonymous play statistics above hold no personal information from anyone.
Retention and deletion
The developer holds no personal data about you: the play statistics are anonymous, are kept for about 90 days, and cannot be traced back to you, so there is nothing to retrieve. You can stop them in Options, and deleting the site's data or the app deletes your install number. What is on your device is yours to clear, as above. Data held by Google (advertising, Google Play) is governed by Google's own policies and the controls in your Google account and Android settings.
Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, the new version is published here with a new effective date, and the game's changelog says so.
Contact
Questions about this policy: write to the developer at the contact email shown on Downdraft's Google Play page.