NinePeak Studio respects your privacy and is committed to protecting the information processed when you use Sudoku: Brain Training (“Sudoku”, “the App”, “we”, “our”, or “us”).

This Privacy Policy explains what information may be collected or processed when you use the App, how that information is used, when it may be shared, how long it may be retained, and the choices available to you.

This Privacy Policy applies to the Android version of Sudoku: Brain Training and related online services provided through Nova Sudoku.

1. Information We Process

The information processed by the App depends on which features you use.

Account and Sign-In Information

You can use many parts of the App without connecting a Google account.

The App may create an anonymous Firebase user identifier so gameplay and cloud-related features can function without requiring you to provide a name or email address.

If you choose to connect a Google account, the App may receive information made available through Google authentication, such as:

• your email address;
• your display name;
• your Google profile photo, when available;
• a Google/Firebase account identifier.

Google sign-in services can provide basic profile information and email when those permissions are requested.

We use this information to associate your Sudoku progress and supported cloud features with your account.

Game and Progress Information

The App may process information related to your use of Sudoku, including:

• completed games;
• game scores;
• difficulty level;
• completion time;
• mistakes;
• hints used;
• Daily Challenge progress;
• event progress;
• achievements;
• statistics;
• streaks;
• leaderboard score and ranking;
• public leaderboard display name;
• game synchronization status.

Some information may be stored only on your device. If cloud features are enabled and available, supported progress may also be stored on our backend.

Local Device Data

The App stores certain information locally on your device, including:

• game settings;
• board theme preferences;
• notification preferences;
• cached puzzles;
• unfinished games;
• offline gameplay progress;
• pending synchronization operations.

Local data can generally be removed by clearing the App's storage or uninstalling the App.

Purchases

Sudoku may offer in-app purchases through Google Play, including products such as hint packs or advertising-related entitlements.

Payments are processed by Google Play. We do not receive your full credit card or bank account information.

The App and our backend may process purchase-related information such as:

• product identifier;
• purchase token;
• purchase status;
• transaction or order-related identifiers;
• whether a purchase has already been credited or consumed.

Purchase tokens may be sent to our backend and verified with Google Play to prevent duplicate credits, fraud, or unauthorized purchases. Google recommends server-side verification of Google Play purchase tokens for this purpose.

Advertising Information

Sudoku may display advertisements using Google AdMob, including rewarded advertisements that can provide in-game benefits such as hints.

Depending on your device, region, consent choices, and Google settings, Google Mobile Ads may process information such as:

• IP address;
• device or advertising identifiers;
• app interactions;
• ad views and interactions;
• diagnostic information;
• general device information.

Google states that its Mobile Ads SDK may automatically collect and share IP address, product interactions, diagnostic information, and device/account identifiers for advertising, analytics, and fraud-prevention purposes.

Where required, the App may display a consent or privacy-options interface before personalized advertising or related storage is used.

Rewarded Ad Verification

When you choose to watch an advertisement in exchange for an in-game reward, the App may create a reward claim associated with your current account.

The advertising provider and our backend may exchange identifiers necessary to verify that an eligible rewarded advertisement was completed before the reward is credited.

Device Integrity and Security Information

Sudoku uses security technologies designed to protect cloud services from unauthorized or modified applications.

These may include Firebase App Check and Google Play Integrity.

Depending on configuration, integrity-related information or tokens may be processed to determine whether requests to our backend originate from a legitimate instance of the App. Firebase documents that App Check can process integrity tokens from Play Integrity when Play Integrity is used as the attestation provider.

This information is used for security, fraud prevention, abuse prevention, and protection of online features.

Diagnostics and Analytics

Depending on the App build and configuration, Firebase or Google services may process technical information used to understand application performance, crashes, errors, or feature usage.

This can include:

• App version;
• device and operating-system information;
• crash diagnostics;
• performance information;
• installation identifiers;
• general usage events.

We use this information to maintain, troubleshoot, secure, and improve the App.

Notifications

Sudoku may provide local reminders, including daily Sudoku reminders based on the local time configured on your device.

Local reminder scheduling can operate on the device without requiring your gameplay data to be sent to our server.

If cloud messaging functionality is enabled, Firebase Cloud Messaging may generate an installation or registration identifier used to deliver notifications.

2. How We Use Information

We may use information processed through the App to:

• provide Sudoku puzzles and gameplay features;
• save and restore game progress;
• synchronize supported progress across devices;
• authenticate users;
• operate Daily Challenges and events;
• maintain statistics and achievements;
• display and maintain leaderboard rankings;
• provide hints and other in-game rewards;
• verify Google Play purchases;
• verify rewarded advertisements;
• prevent fraud, abuse, automated manipulation, or unauthorized access;
• provide advertising where enabled;
• remember your preferences;
• send requested notifications;
• diagnose technical problems;
• improve performance, reliability, and gameplay;
• respond to support requests;
• comply with applicable legal obligations.

We do not directly sell your personal information for money.

3. Information Shared With Service Providers

We use third-party service providers to operate certain features of Sudoku.

These may include:

Google Firebase and Google Cloud

Used for services such as:

• Firebase Authentication;
• cloud data storage;
• backend services;
• application integrity verification;
• Remote Config;
• analytics or diagnostics where enabled;
• cloud messaging where enabled.

Firebase describes its privacy and security practices, including encryption protections and retention practices for individual Firebase services.

Google Sign-In

Used when you voluntarily choose to connect your Google account.

Google Play

Used for:

• application distribution;
• in-app purchases;
• purchase verification;
• Play Integrity.

Google AdMob

Used to provide advertising and rewarded advertising.

Google User Messaging Platform

May be used to collect and manage advertising consent choices where required.

We may also disclose information when required by law, legal process, or a valid request from a government or law-enforcement authority.

We may share information when reasonably necessary to protect the rights, security, integrity, or safety of the App, our users, our services, or others.

4. Leaderboards

If you participate in leaderboard functionality, certain information is intentionally made visible to other players.

Public leaderboard information may include:

• your selected display name;
• profile image when applicable;
• ranking;
• total score;
• gameplay statistics associated with ranking.

We do not intentionally display your email address or internal Firebase account identifier on the public leaderboard.

You should avoid using sensitive personal information in your public player name.

5. Offline and Local-Only Use

Some Sudoku functionality can operate without an active internet connection.

When you are temporarily offline, supported gameplay operations may be stored locally and synchronized later when a connection becomes available.

In certain situations where device or application integrity cannot be verified, the App may operate in a local-only mode. Information created in local-only mode may remain only on that device and may not be uploaded to cloud services.

6. Data Retention

We retain cloud account information and associated gameplay data for as long as reasonably necessary to provide the App and related account services, unless you request deletion or a longer retention period is required for legitimate purposes.

Certain purchase-related audit information may need to be retained for purposes such as:

• fraud prevention;
• duplicate-purchase prevention;
• payment reconciliation;
• legal or accounting obligations.

Where appropriate, identifying account information may be removed or replaced with a non-direct identifier while necessary audit information is retained.

Local information stored on your device remains until it is deleted by the App, cleared through Android settings, or removed when the App is uninstalled.

Third-party providers may apply their own retention periods to information they process.

7. Account Deletion and Data Deletion

Signing out of Sudoku does not delete your cloud account or cloud data.

To request deletion of your Sudoku cloud account and associated personal data, users must have access to both:

• an account-deletion option from within the App; and
• an external account-deletion request page.

Google Play requires apps that allow account creation to provide an account-deletion path both inside the app and through an external web resource.

When a valid account-deletion request is completed, we will delete or disassociate account-related information that is not required to be retained for legitimate reasons such as fraud prevention, security, purchase reconciliation, or legal obligations.

Any data that must be retained will be limited to what is reasonably necessary for that purpose.

8. Your Choices

Depending on the functionality available to you, you may:

• play without connecting a Google account;
• connect or disconnect a Google account;
• manage advertising privacy choices;
• disable notifications through the App or Android settings;
• reset or manage advertising identifiers through Android settings;
• clear locally stored App data;
• uninstall the App;
• request deletion of your cloud account and associated data;
• contact us with privacy questions or requests.

9. Data Security

We use reasonable administrative and technical safeguards designed to protect information processed through Sudoku.

Data transmitted between the App and supported cloud services is generally sent using encrypted network connections.

Firebase also states that its services use encryption in transit and that several Firebase services encrypt customer data at rest.

No electronic storage or transmission system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

10. Children

Sudoku: Brain Training is a general puzzle game and is not designed as a medical, educational-treatment, or child-directed service.

If you are not legally permitted to consent to the processing of personal information in your jurisdiction, you should use the App only with the involvement of a parent or legal guardian where required.

11. International Processing

Our service providers may process information in countries other than the country in which you live.

Where applicable, data is handled according to the privacy and security obligations of the relevant service provider and applicable law.

12. Third-Party Services and Policies

Third-party services used by Sudoku operate under their own terms and privacy policies.

These services may include Google Play, Firebase, Google Cloud, Google Identity, Google AdMob, Google User Messaging Platform, and Play Integrity.

Your use of those services may also be subject to the privacy settings and policies associated with your Google account and device.

13. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect:

• changes to the App;
• new features;
• changes in service providers;
• legal or regulatory requirements;
• changes in our privacy practices.

When we update this Privacy Policy, we will revise the “Last updated” date shown at the top of this page.

14. Contact Us

If you have questions, privacy requests, or account-deletion questions, please contact:

Developer

NinePeak Studio

App

Sudoku: Brain Training

Website

novasudoku.com

Email

sudokunova@gmail.com