Privacy policy

Who we are

Horoof Flash ("the game") is an Arabic word game for Android phones, published by EgyWebers ("we", "us"). This policy explains what information the game handles, why, and the choices you have. For any question about it, email egywebers@gmail.com.

1. What stays on your phone

The game saves your play on your phone so you can pick up where you left off:

• the levels you've cleared and the words you've found in the level you're playing;
• your gold coins, your daily wheel spins, and your time on each level;
• the name and country flag you choose for your profile, if you choose them;
• your sound and music settings.

None of this is sent to us unless you sign in (section 2). Uninstalling the game, or using Delete my data, removes it from your phone.

New levels. The game downloads new levels from this website (Google Firebase Hosting) when we publish them. The request carries nothing about you: not your account, not your progress, no identifier. As with any web request, the server sees your IP address in order to deliver the files. Downloaded levels are part of the game, not your data, so they stay after Delete my data.

New level alerts. When you've cleared every level, the game asks whether it may tell you when new ones arrive. If you agree, it checks for new levels a few times a day while it is closed, in the same way as above and sending nothing about you, and shows a notification on your phone when they're ready. Nothing new leaves your phone and no identifier is created. You can turn this off with the New level alerts switch in the game's settings, or in your phone's notification settings.

2. Your account and cloud save (optional)

Signing in is optional. If you tap Sign in with Google, we use Google Firebase Authentication to sign you in. Your Google account shares your email address, name and profile picture with Firebase, which keeps them as your sign-in record and gives the game an account identifier.

While you're signed in, the game shows your Google name and profile picture in your profile and on its home screen, unless you have chosen your own name in the game. It reads them from your phone's sign-in record and loads the picture from Google; it doesn't store either of them or send them anywhere else.

We then keep one online copy of your progress in Google Cloud Firestore, containing:

• your coins, the levels you've cleared, your best times and your wheel spin dates;
• your chosen name and country, and your sound and music settings;
• what's needed to keep your phones in step: a random identifier for each installation you've signed in on, a counter of its changes, and when the copy was updated.

We use this only to back up your progress, restore it, and keep it the same across your phones. Security rules allow only you, signed in, to read or change your copy.

3. Ads

The game shows three kinds of ad, all from Google AdMob: a banner along the bottom of the map; a full-screen ad now and then, when you go back to the map after finishing a level; and videos you choose to watch, for example for an extra spin of the lucky wheel or for free help in a level.

To show ads, measure them and prevent fraud, Google collects information such as your phone's advertising ID, your IP address, and information about your phone and the game. Where the law requires it, such as in the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom, Google asks for your consent before ads are shown, and respects your choice. In those regions you can change your choice at any time from the game's settings menu, under Ad privacy.

You can reset or delete your advertising ID at any time in your phone's settings (usually Settings → Privacy → Ads). To learn how Google uses this information, see how Google uses information from sites or apps that use its services.

4. Google Play Games achievements

If you're signed in to Google Play Games on your phone, the game reports your achievements to it, whether or not you've signed in to the game itself. To do that it shares facts about your play: how many levels you've cleared, whether you cleared one quickly, whether you've chosen a name or flag, whether you've spun the wheel, and whether you've signed in to save your progress.

Google Play Games handles this under Google's own privacy policy. Deleting your data in the game doesn't remove achievements you've unlocked; you can manage them in Play Games.

5. Challenge links

When you tap Challenge a friend, the game creates a link containing the level, your time, whether a hint helped, and your profile name. You choose who to send it to, and anyone who has the link can see that information.

If the person who opens it doesn't have the game, our web page sends them to Google Play and passes the challenge along, so the game can show it the first time it opens (this uses Google Play's install referrer). The page uses no cookies and doesn't save the challenge. As with any website, the servers that deliver our pages (Google Firebase Hosting) process technical information such as your IP address in order to deliver them.

6. What we don't do

• The game doesn't access your location, contacts, photos, camera or microphone.
• It contains no analytics or crash-reporting tools.
• We don't sell or rent your information, and we don't share it with anyone except the service providers below.

7. Who processes your information

We rely on Google as our service provider for sign-in (Firebase Authentication), cloud save (Cloud Firestore), our website (Firebase Hosting), ads (AdMob), achievements (Google Play Games) and distribution (Google Play). Their handling of data is described in Google's privacy policy and Firebase's privacy and security information. Your information may be processed on servers outside your country.

8. How long we keep it

• On your phone: until you delete your data in the game or uninstall it.
• Your online copy and sign-in record: until you delete your data in the game while signed in, or ask us to delete it.

9. Your choices and rights

• Play without an account. Nothing about your play leaves your phone, except as described for ads, achievements and challenge links.
• Sign out at any time from your Player profile.
• Delete everything from your Player profile with Delete my data. If you're signed in, this also deletes your online copy and your sign-in record. Your Google account itself is not affected. Step-by-step instructions, and how to ask us when you can't open the game, are on the delete your account page.
• Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct or delete your information, or to object to how it's used. Email us and we'll reply within 30 days.

10. Children

The game is intended for a general audience aged 13 and over, and is not directed at children under 13. We don't knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has signed in or shared information with us, contact us and we'll delete it.

11. Security

Information the game sends travels over encrypted connections, and access to your online copy is limited to you by security rules. No system is perfectly secure, but we work to protect your information and to keep what we hold to the minimum the game needs.

12. Changes to this policy

If we change this policy, we'll publish the new version here and update the date at the top. If a change significantly affects how your information is used, we'll make it clear on this page before it takes effect.

13. Contact

EgyWebers, publisher of Horoof Flash
Email: egywebers@gmail.com