Sowly privacy policy

Sowly: Mancala Board Game (package com.sempaq.sowly) has no accounts and no login. SempaQ does not collect your name, email, or any personal information, and we run no servers that store your data. Your statistics, coins, skins, saved games, and settings stay on your device.

Sowly is free and supported by ads from Google AdMob. Google may collect certain device and ad-related information to show and measure ads. That is described in detail below.

The following is stored only on your device (using AsyncStorage) and is never sent to us:

• Statistics, win streaks, and results per mode
• Your saved game in progress, so you can continue later
• Your coin balance and the cosmetic skins (boards, seeds, colours) you have unlocked or selected
• The adaptive AI difficulty level
• Settings (theme, language, sound, music, haptics)
• Your ad consent state and Sowly Pro unlock status (cached locally)

Sowly works offline. It does not need an internet connection to play, and it does not request location, contacts, camera, microphone, or storage permissions.

You earn coins by finishing games and can spend them on cosmetic skins. Coins and skins exist only inside the app on your device. Coins cannot be bought with money, have no monetary value, and cannot be transferred or exchanged. They are not linked to any account and are not stored on our servers.

Sowly allows Android Auto Backup. Depending on your device's backup settings, Android may back up Sowly's game data (coins, skins, statistics, and settings) to your Google account, so it can be restored when you reinstall Sowly or set up a new device.

This backup is created, encrypted, and managed by Google under the Google Privacy Policy. SempaQ cannot access, read, or delete it. You can turn backup off at any time in your device settings (Settings → Google → Backup, wording varies by device).

The free version shows three kinds of ads, all served by Google AdMob:

• Banner ad on screen during play.
• Interstitial (full-screen) ad shown occasionally after a finished game. It is limited in frequency.
• Rewarded ads, which are optional: for example to get an extra Hint or Undo, or to double the coins from a finished game. You can keep playing without watching them.

When ads are requested, Google and its partners may collect and process:

• Advertising ID (Android Advertising ID) and similar device identifiers
• Device and app information (device model, OS version, app version, language, approximate location derived from your IP address)
• Ad interactions (impressions, clicks, rewarded ad completions)
• Diagnostics and performance data (crashes, latency)

Depending on your consent and region, ads may be personalized or non-personalized. Non-personalized ads are not based on your past behavior but may still use limited data such as your general location and the content of the app. SempaQ does not receive this data. It is handled by Google under the Google Privacy Policy and How Google uses information from sites or apps that use its services.

You can reset or opt out of personalized advertising at any time in your Android settings (Settings → Privacy → Ads, wording varies by device).

If you are in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, Sowly shows a consent form powered by Google's User Messaging Platform (UMP) the first time you open the app, before ads are requested. You can accept or decline, and your choice determines whether ads are personalized.

Change your choice later: open Sowly → Settings → Privacy options (shown where consent is required, and for users in certain US states) to review or change your consent or privacy choice at any time.

If you live in a US state with a consumer privacy law (for example California), you can choose to opt out of having your data "sold or shared" for interest-based advertising.

How to opt out: open Sowly → Settings → Privacy options → choose Don't sell or share my data. There is no automatic pop-up; the option is available in Settings. Your choice is processed through Google's User Messaging Platform (UMP).

Ads will still be shown, but they will not be personalized based on data shared for that purpose. SempaQ itself does not sell personal data and does not collect personal data on any server. Questions? Email hello@sempaq.com.

Sowly Pro is a one-time purchase (non-consumable, no subscription) that removes ads, doubles coins, unlocks every board and seed skin, and gives unlimited Hint and Undo. Purchases are processed entirely by Google Play Billing. SempaQ never receives or stores your card or payment details. We only learn, through Google Play, whether this purchase is active on your Google account so the app can unlock the features.

Use Restore purchase in the app if you reinstall or switch devices. See the Google Privacy Policy and Google Play Terms of Service.

Sowly uses Google Play In-App Updates to let you know when a new version is available, and Google Play In-App Review to occasionally ask for a rating without leaving the app. Both are provided by Google Play on your device; any review you submit goes to Google Play under your Google account. SempaQ does not receive personal data from these features.

Sowly has no user accounts. It does not include Firebase Analytics, Crashlytics, or any other analytics or crash-reporting SDK of our own. SempaQ does not track how you play. The only third-party services that communicate over the network are Google AdMob (ads and consent), Google Play Billing (purchases), and Google Play In-App Updates and In-App Review.

We hold no personal data about you on our servers, so there is nothing for us to delete remotely. Data on your device is kept until you remove it:

• Reset statistics: use Reset Statistics in Sowly's Settings to erase wins, draws and streaks.
• Clear app data: Settings → Apps → Sowly → Storage → Clear Data deletes all statistics, coins, skins, saved games, and settings on the device.
• Uninstall: removing Sowly deletes all locally stored data.
• Android backup: a copy backed up by Android Auto Backup is managed in your Google account and device backup settings.

Data collected by Google through AdMob is retained according to Google's own policies. You can manage it in your Google Account data & privacy settings and the Google Privacy Policy. Purchase records are kept by Google Play.

Sowly is intended for users aged 13 and over and is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us information, contact us and we will help resolve it.

We may update this policy from time to time. Any change is reflected on this page with a new version number and effective date.

Questions about this policy? Email hello@sempaq.com or visit sempaq.com.