Privacy Policy
This policy explains what information Capeblast: Hero Auto Shooter (the "game") collects, why, who it is shared with, how long it is kept and how you can delete it. We wrote it to be readable by players and parents. If anything is unclear, contact us at sycamorehillstudios@outlook.com.
The short version
- You do not need an account, a name or an email to play. The game creates a random player ID for you. If you have a Google Play Games profile, the game also signs you in to Play Games for achievements and a cloud copy of your progress (see section 1).
- We ask your birth year (and, if you are near an age boundary, your birth month) once, to set up the game for your age. The year and month stay on your device. Only an age group (for example "under 13" or "adult") is used by our rules.
- We collect gameplay statistics linked to your random player ID (never your name), crash reports, and purchase records. We do not sell your information.
- Rewarded ads are optional and shown only when you choose to watch one. Players under 18 never get personalized ads. Children and players whose age is unknown get only child-appropriate ads, with no personalization.
- You can delete your data in the game (Settings > Account > Delete account) or on the web at our deletion page.
1. Information we collect
| What | Why | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Random identifiers: a player ID, an app installation ID, and a public player code (CB-XXXX-XXXX) | Keeping your progress, restoring purchases, preventing cheating and fraud | Created by the game. They are not linked to your name, phone number or device hardware IDs. |
| Age group, and the dates your age group changes | Applying age-appropriate rules (ads, purchases, names, notifications) | Your exact birth year and month stay on your device. Because the date when your age group changes can reveal the year and month you were born, we treat it as personal information and protect it like the rest of your data. |
| Country (from Google Play or your device settings) | Applying regional rules (for example, no paid random items where they are restricted), prices, and privacy choices | Country only. Our code never reads your precise location. |
| Gameplay and progress (runs, levels, upgrades, items, event progress, leaderboard results) and a copy of your saved game | Cloud save, events and leaderboards, balancing the game, preventing cheating | Linked to your random player ID. |
| Google Play Games, only if you are signed in to it: your Play Games player ID, gamer name and avatar, the achievements you unlock, and a Play Games copy of your saved game | Achievements, and continuing your game on another device | Stored by Google under Google's Privacy Policy; Google also collects analytics and diagnostics about the Play Games service. The game signs you in automatically when you have a Play Games profile; you can play without it and turn automatic sign-in off in the Play Games settings. Google decides whether Play Games is available for a child's account. You can delete this data from your Play Games profile. We never receive your email address. |
| Gameplay statistics and app interactions (for example which rooms are too hard, which shop screens were opened, ad starts and finishes, settings changes) | Improving the game; operating ads, purchases and the economy safely | Product statistics follow your choice in Settings > Privacy (and, in the EEA, UK and Switzerland, your consent). A small set of events needed to run the game safely (purchases, ad rewards, economy and security events) is always sent, including for children. |
| Purchase records (product, order ID, purchase token, time, price shown) | Delivering and restoring purchases, refunds, fraud prevention, tax and accounting | Payment details are entered only in Google Play. We never see your card or bank details. |
| Crash reports and diagnostics (error details, recent screens, app/OS/WebView version, device memory; device model only for players 13+ who allow it) | Finding and fixing crashes and performance problems | Sent whatever your statistics choice is, because the game cannot be kept working without them. |
| Support messages and an email address, if you choose to contact us | Answering you | Optional. Players under 13 cannot enter an email address in the game. |
We do not collect your precise location, contacts, photos, files, microphone, camera, messages, phone number, home address, browsing history or list of installed apps. The game never reads hardware identifiers such as IMEI, serial number or MAC address.
2. Advertising (Google AdMob)
The game offers optional rewarded ads (for example "watch an ad for a free gift"). Ads are provided by Google AdMob, and the ad software starts only when you choose to watch an ad. When it runs, Google may collect your device's advertising ID, app set ID, IP address (to estimate an approximate location) and ad interactions, as described in How Google uses information from sites or apps that use its services.
- Under 13, or age unknown: requests are marked child-directed (COPPA) with a G rating and no personalization.
- 13 to 15: marked as under the age of consent, PG rating, no personalization.
- 16 and 17: PG rating, no personalization.
- Adults: PG rating. In the EEA, UK and Switzerland, and in US states with privacy laws, Google's consent message asks your choice about personalized ads. You can change it any time in Settings > Privacy.
Buying "No Ads" or VIP removes ads: ad rewards are granted instantly.
3. Purchases
In-app purchases are processed by Google Play under Google's terms. We receive a purchase record so we can deliver and restore your items. Some items contain random rewards; their exact odds are always shown before you buy. Paid random items are not offered to players under 13, to players whose age is unknown, or in regions that restrict them. Parents can require approval for purchases in Google Play's parental controls.
4. Children
The game is designed for a general audience, including children. When a player tells us they are under 13 (or does not answer), we: show only child-appropriate, non-personalized ads; never offer paid random items; use generated player names only; hide email and free-text fields; and collect only what is needed to run the game (progress, purchases, crash reports and the safety events listed above). We do not knowingly collect a child's name, email address or other contact details. A parent or guardian can ask us to review or delete their child's information by using the deletion page or emailing sycamorehillstudios@outlook.com, and can correct an age entered by mistake by contacting us.
5. Who we share information with
We do not sell your personal information and do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. We use these service providers, who process data on our behalf:
- Google Play (payments, purchase verification, app distribution).
- Google AdMob and its User Messaging Platform (rewarded ads and consent messages, as described above).
- Google Play Games Services (sign-in, achievements and Play Games saved games, if you are signed in to Play Games).
- Microsoft Azure (our servers and storage, located in the United States).
We may also disclose information if required by law, to protect players or our rights, or as part of a merger or sale of the game (in which case this policy continues to apply).
6. How long we keep information
- Gameplay statistics and app interaction events: up to 90 days in identifiable form, then deleted or kept only as aggregated totals.
- Crash reports: up to 90 days.
- Your saved game and account: until you delete it, or after 36 months without any activity.
- Purchase records: up to 10 years, for tax, accounting and chargeback evidence. When you delete your account they are detached from your player ID (replaced by a one-way hash) and kept only for those purposes.
- Our servers never store IP addresses: security and rate-limit records keep only a one-way hash that changes every day, for up to 14 days.
7. Your choices and rights
- Statistics: turn off "Share gameplay stats" in Settings > Privacy.
- Ads: change your ad choices in Settings > Privacy, reset or delete your advertising ID in your device settings, or buy No Ads.
- Notifications: all reminders are local to your device and off until you allow them; turn them off in Settings or in Android settings.
- Delete: Settings > Account > Delete account (you have 7 days to change your mind), or the web deletion page.
- Access, correction, portability, objection: email sycamorehillstudios@outlook.com with your player code (Settings > Account). We answer within 30 days.
Depending on where you live (for example the EEA, UK, Switzerland, Brazil, or US states such as California), you may have additional rights, including the right to complain to your data protection authority. In the EEA and UK our legal bases are: performance of our contract with you (running the game, saves, purchases), legitimate interests (security, fraud prevention, crash reports, safety events, improving the game), consent (personalized ads and product statistics where consent is required), and legal obligations (tax records).
8. International transfers
Our servers are in the United States. Where the law requires it, transfers are covered by appropriate safeguards such as the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses.
9. Security
All data is sent over encrypted connections (HTTPS). Requests are signed so they cannot be forged, and access to our servers is restricted. No system is perfectly secure, but we work to protect your information.
10. Changes
If we change this policy we will update the effective date above, and for important changes we will tell you in the game and, where required, ask for your consent again.
11. Contact
Sycamore Hill Studios LLC
6315 Sycamore Hl, Indianapolis, IN 46220-4330, United States
Email: sycamorehillstudios@outlook.com