Privacy Policy
Word Wars has no servers, no accounts and no analytics. Nothing you do in the game is sent to us, because there is nowhere for it to be sent.
This page explains what that means in practice, and what the outside services the game uses — Apple, Google and Epic Games — do with your data.
What we collect
Nothing, in the game. The app makes no network requests to us. It has no backend, no sign-up, no analytics and no crash reporting of ours. The only traffic it sends goes to the services described below, and only when you use the feature that needs them. We do not know who you are, whether you play, or how you did.
The one thing we collect anywhere is an email address, and only if you give it to us on our website to be told when the Android version is out. See The Android notify list.
What is stored on your device
Your progress is saved locally on your phone. That includes your level and match record, your settings, which cosmetics you have unlocked and equipped, your daily results and streak, and whether you have bought the Premium pack.
How you type. The on-screen keyboard adjusts itself to your thumbs. When the game accepts a word you typed, it notes how far each tap landed from the centre of the key it was meant for, and keeps a running average for each thumb. That is two pairs of numbers, stored with your settings. It is not a record of what you typed, and it never leaves the device except inside your own cloud save.
If you are signed in to Game Center, a copy of that same progress is also kept in your own iCloud account, so that it survives a lost or replaced phone. This is described under Cloud saves below.
Deleting the app deletes the copy on your phone. If a cloud save has been made, that copy remains in your iCloud account until you remove it.
Cloud saves
If you are signed in to Game Center, the game keeps a backup of your progress using Apple's Game Center saved games feature. The backup is stored in your iCloud account, under your Apple Account. We have no server and no copy of it — we cannot read it, and we could not retrieve it for you if you asked.
What is backed up is exactly what is listed above: your level and match record, settings, cosmetics, daily results and streak, and your Premium pack entitlement. It contains no name, no email address, no contacts and no location. The only name attached to it is the one your Apple Account already carries, which is held by Apple and not by us.
Signing in to a different Apple Account on the same device does not move your progress between accounts — each account has its own save.
Your choices. Do not sign in to Game Center, and no cloud save is ever made; the game is fully playable without it. To delete a save that already exists, use iOS Settings → your name → iCloud → Manage Account Storage, or turn off iCloud Drive for Game Center. Storage and deletion are handled by Apple under Apple's Privacy Policy.
Advertising — Google AdMob
The free version shows an occasional full-screen advert between matches, served by Google AdMob. To do that, Google's software collects data from your device. Typically this includes:
- a device identifier, used to select and measure adverts;
- advertising interaction data — that an advert was shown, or tapped;
- diagnostic data such as crashes and performance.
This is collected by Google, not by us. We never see it, and we receive no personal information from Google — only anonymous, aggregated totals of how many adverts were shown.
Google's handling of this data is governed by Google's Privacy Policy. How Google uses data from apps that use its services is described at policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.
Online versus — Epic Online Services
Versus matches against other people — Quick Match, invites and room codes — run on Epic Online Services, a free service from Epic Games. It is what lets iPhone and Android players play each other. Nothing is sent to Epic until you start a versus match; single-player modes never touch it.
When you do, the game signs in to Epic anonymously. There is no Epic account, no email and no password. Epic receives:
- a random identifier created for this device when you start a match, which is replaced each time you open the game, so it cannot follow you from one session to the next;
- your device's model and operating system, which Epic uses for that sign-in;
- your IP address, as any internet service does;
- the room you open or join, and the match moves passed between you and your opponent while you play.
Matches are routed through Epic's relay servers rather than directly between phones, so your opponent never sees your IP address, and you never see theirs. Your opponent sees the name your Game Center account shows, if you are signed in to Game Center on an iPhone; otherwise you appear as “Opponent”.
Invite links. Inviting a friend creates a five-character room code and a link containing it. The link is sent by you, through whatever app you choose, and contains nothing but that code. The page it opens is a plain page on this site; it records nothing. Its button can copy the code to your clipboard so you can paste it into the game.
The clipboard. The game reads your clipboard only when you press Paste on the room-code screen, and only to look for a room code in what is there. Nothing else from the clipboard is kept, and it is never read without that press. On iPhone, iOS asks your permission the first time.
Epic's handling of this data is governed by the Epic Games Privacy Policy. We do not receive any of it: we have no access to Epic's records of who played whom.
We do not track you across apps
Word Wars does not ask for permission to track you, because it does not track you. It shows no App Tracking Transparency prompt, and adverts are requested without cross-app tracking. The app is also configured so that adverts are rated no higher than the game's own age rating.
Apple services
Game Center is used for the daily and survival leaderboards, achievements, and the cloud save described above. If you are signed in, a score you submit appears on the leaderboard under the display name your Game Center account shows, and that same name is what an opponent sees in a versus match. Game Center is Apple's service and your data there is handled under Apple's Privacy Policy. You can play every single-player mode without signing in.
Purchases are handled entirely by Apple. We never see your payment details, name or address — only whether this device is entitled to the Premium pack.
The Android notify list
The Android version is not out yet. The page at damondjr.github.io/play lets you leave an email address to be told when it is. This is separate from the game: the app never asks for, or sends, an email address.
If you sign up, we receive your email address and when you signed up, tagged as being for Android. It is stored by Buttondown, the email service we use for the list, which may also record technical details of the signup such as your IP address. We use your address to send you a confirmation email and one email when the Android version is available. We do not sell it, share it with anyone else, or use it for advertising.
Every email we send includes an unsubscribe link, and unsubscribing removes you from the list. You can also write to us (see Contact below) and we will delete your address.
Children
Word Wars is not directed at children and is not in Apple's Kids Category. The game is rated for ages 13 and over, and its advertising is configured as not directed to children. The game does not knowingly collect information from anyone, including children, and the Android notify list is not aimed at them either.
Your choices
- Adverts. iOS Settings → Privacy & Security → Apple Advertising lets you limit ad personalisation system-wide. Buying the Premium pack removes the advert break from this game entirely.
- Game Center. Sign out in iOS Settings, or simply do not use the leaderboard.
- Epic Online Services. Do not play versus against other people — nothing is sent to Epic otherwise. CPU matches do not use it.
- Everything else. Deleting the app removes all local data.
Your rights
Under the GDPR, the CCPA and similar laws you may request access to, or deletion of, personal data held about you. The only personal data we hold is an email address, if you signed up to the Android notify list; write to us and we will return or erase it. Requests about advertising data should be directed to Google, and about versus matches to Epic Games, using the links above.
Changes
If this policy changes, the updated version will be posted here with a new date. Material changes will also be noted in the app's release notes.
Contact
Questions about this policy, or about the game: damondjr95@icloud.com