Afterhours Studio
Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how Afterhours Studio (“we”, “us”) handles information in connection with the mobile games and applications we publish (each, the “Game”). It applies to all games published by Afterhours Studio on Google Play, unless a specific Game links to a different policy.
For the purposes of data protection law, Afterhours Studio is the data controller for the information described below. By installing and playing a Game you agree to the handling of information set out in this policy. If you do not agree with it, please do not install our Games.
Summary
- We do not ask you to create an account with us, and we do not ask for your name, email address, phone number or payment details.
- Some of our Games offer an optional Google Play Games sign-in, with cloud save to your own Google account. It is never required, and the Game works without it.
- Our Games display advertising, offer optional in-app purchases, and use crash and usage analytics. Advertising, purchases and crash reporting are provided by Google.
- Usage analytics also go to Playmetry, an analytics server we run ourselves. It receives the same kinds of technical and usage data, and no one else has access to it.
- Those services automatically collect technical identifiers and usage data, described in detail below.
- We do not sell your personal information for money. Advertising identifiers are made available to Google for personalised advertising, which some US state laws treat as “sharing”. You can opt out at any time, as described below.
Information collected
Most of the data below is collected automatically by third-party software development kits (SDKs) embedded in our Games. We also run our own analytics server, described under Playmetry, which receives the same kinds of technical and usage data. None of it asks you to type anything in, and none of it identifies you by name.
Google AdMob (advertising)
| Data | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Advertising ID (a resettable device identifier) | Serving and measuring ads, limiting repeated ads, fraud prevention |
| Device information (model, operating system version, language, screen size, network type) | Delivering ads that render correctly |
| Approximate location, derived from IP address (typically country or region level) | Showing region-appropriate ads and complying with local law |
| Ad interaction events (impressions, clicks) | Measuring ad performance and calculating revenue |
Google Firebase Analytics (usage analytics)
| Data | Purpose |
|---|---|
| App instance identifier | Distinguishing one installation from another |
| In-game events (levels started and completed, screens viewed, session length, first open) | Understanding which parts of the Game are used, and improving them |
| Device and app information (model, OS version, app version, language, country) | Diagnosing problems specific to a device or region |
| In-app purchase events (item purchased, price, currency, time) | Understanding which items players buy, and pricing them fairly |
Google Firebase Crashlytics (stability)
| Data | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Crash reports (stack traces, exception type, the moment the crash occurred) | Finding and fixing crashes |
| Crashlytics installation identifier | Grouping multiple crashes from the same installation |
| Device state at the time of the crash (model, OS version, available memory and storage, orientation) | Reproducing the conditions that caused the crash |
Google Play Games (sign-in and cloud save)
Some of our Games offer an optional Google Play Games sign-in. It is never required: you can decline it, or simply not use it, and the Game plays the same way without it. If you have signed in before, the Game may sign you in again silently on the next launch, using the account you already approved. You can sign out at any time, as described in Your choices.
| Data | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Play Games player ID (an identifier for your Play Games profile, specific to our Games) | Recognising you as the signed-in player, and matching you with your cloud save |
| Play Games gamer tag (the display name you chose for Play Games) | Showing who is signed in, on the Game screen |
| Saved game data (progress, levels and areas unlocked, in-game currencies and items, settings) | Backing up your progress, and restoring it on a new device or after reinstalling |
The player ID and the gamer tag stay on your device and are only used to show, inside the Game, who is signed in. We do not send them to Firebase Analytics or to Crashlytics, and they do not appear in crash reports: those services use their own identifiers, which are not linked to your Google account.
While you are signed in, the Game uploads your saved game data to the Google Play Games Saved Games service, into storage that belongs to your own Google account. This happens when you leave the Game running in the background, and every few minutes while you play. We cannot read, change or delete that data: it is held by Google under your account, and the Game reads it back only on a device where you are signed in. When you sign in on a device that already holds local progress, the Game compares the two saves and asks you which one to keep before anything is overwritten.
Google Play Billing (in-app purchases)
Purchases inside our Games are processed entirely by Google Play. Your card or other payment details are handled by Google and are never shared with us.
| Data | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Purchase confirmation from Google Play (item purchased, order ID, purchase time, purchase status) | Delivering the item you bought, and restoring it if you reinstall the Game |
Purchase records are kept by Google Play under the Google Payments Privacy Notice. Refunds are handled under the Google Play refund policy; see our Terms of Use.
Playmetry (our own analytics)
Playmetry is an analytics server that we run ourselves. It is not a third-party service: the data goes to our own machine and is not passed on to anyone. It uses an identifier generated on your device the first time you open the Game, which is not your Advertising ID and is not linked to any account.
| Data | Purpose |
|---|---|
| A random identifier created on your device at first launch, and the install time | Counting players and separating one device from another, without naming anyone |
| Device model, device class, operating system version, language, locale and time zone | Knowing which devices and languages to support and test |
| App version, store build or test build | Telling releases apart when comparing behaviour |
| Sessions, session length, levels reached, tutorial steps, in-game currency earned and spent | Seeing where the game is too hard, too slow or confusing |
| In-app purchase and advertising revenue events | Understanding whether the game pays for itself |
| Error reports from the Game | Finding and fixing faults |
The same server returns remote configuration values to the Game, such as timings and prices that we can adjust without a new release.
How the information is used
- To display advertising, which is how our Games are funded.
- To measure whether advertising works and to detect invalid or fraudulent traffic.
- To understand how our Games are played, so we can balance difficulty and improve them.
- To identify, reproduce and fix crashes and performance problems.
- To save your progress to your own Google account and restore it later, where you have signed in to Google Play Games.
We do not use this data to build a profile of you as an individual, and we do not attempt to identify you by name.
Legal bases
Where the GDPR or UK GDPR applies, we rely on the following legal bases:
| Purpose | Legal basis |
|---|---|
| Personalised advertising | Your consent, collected through the consent request shown in the Game |
| Non-personalised advertising, which funds the free Game | Our legitimate interest in offering the Game without charge |
| Crash reporting and fixing | Our legitimate interest in keeping the Game stable |
| Usage analytics | Our legitimate interest in understanding and improving the Game |
| Fraud and invalid traffic prevention | Our legitimate interest, and that of advertisers, in preventing abuse |
| Delivering and restoring in-app purchases | Performance of the contract for the item you bought |
| Google Play Games sign-in, and saving your progress to your Google account | Your consent, given by choosing to sign in, which you may withdraw by signing out |
| Responding to legal requests | Compliance with a legal obligation |
Sharing
Data collected by the SDKs listed above is transmitted to Google LLC. Data collected by Playmetry is not shared with anyone: it stays on our own server.
- Firebase Analytics and Crashlytics process data on our behalf, as our service provider.
- AdMob also uses data for its own advertising purposes, including serving personalised ads across its network where you have consented to that.
- Google Play Games, where you sign in, provides your player ID and gamer tag to the Game and holds your saved game data in your own Google account. We do not have access to that storage, and we do not pass your player ID or gamer tag to anyone.
Google handling of this data is governed by the Google Privacy Policy. See also how Google uses information from sites or apps that use its services.
Beyond this, we do not share data with any third party, except in the following cases:
- Legal process. Where we believe in good faith that disclosure is required by law, by a court order, subpoena or other legal process, or by a request from a competent authority.
- Safety and fraud prevention. Where disclosure is necessary to investigate suspected fraud or abuse, to enforce our terms, or to protect the rights, property or safety of our players, of us, or of the public.
- Business transfer. If Afterhours Studio is merged, acquired, or sells a Game or its assets, information may be transferred to the acquiring party. It will remain subject to this policy, and we will announce the change on this page beforehand where it is practical to do so.
International transfers
Google processes and stores the data described above on servers located in the United States and in other countries, which may have data protection laws that differ from those of your own country. Where data originating in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or Switzerland is transferred outside those territories, the transfer relies on the safeguards Google puts in place for its own services, including the European Commission Standard Contractual Clauses and, where applicable, the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework. Details are set out in Google’s privacy and compliance documentation.
Your choices
- Reset or delete your Advertising ID. On Android:
Settings › Privacy › Ads. Deleting the Advertising ID stops personalised advertising on your device across all apps. - Opt out of personalised ads. The same Android settings screen offers this option. You will still see ads, but they will not be based on your interests.
- Consent in the EEA, the UK and Switzerland. Where required, our Games show a consent request before any advertising identifier is used for personalisation, via the Google User Messaging Platform. You may change or withdraw your choice from the Game settings or privacy screen.
- Industry opt-out tools. These are operated by third parties, not by us: Network Advertising Initiative, Digital Advertising Alliance, Your Online Choices (EU), and Google Ads Settings.
- Google Play Games sign-in. Signing in is optional. You can decline it when a Game offers it, and you can sign out from the Game at any time. Once you sign out, the Game stops uploading your progress and continues from the save held on your device.
- Uninstall. Removing the Game stops all further collection.
If you opt out of personalised advertising you will still see ads in our Games, but they will not be selected on the basis of your activity in other apps or websites.
Data deletion requests
Our Games do not have user accounts, so there is no account to delete. To request deletion of data associated with your device, email h1dr0n@icloud.com with:
- the name of the Game,
- your Advertising ID, or the approximate date and time you played, and
- your device model and Android version.
We will acknowledge the request within 30 days. We delete the matching Playmetry records on our own server ourselves, and forward the rest to Google for deletion of the associated records. You can delete your Advertising ID yourself at any time from Android settings, which takes effect immediately.
If you have used the Google Play Games sign-in, your cloud save is held in your own Google
account and we can neither read nor delete it, so we cannot do this part for you. To remove it,
sign out in the Game, then delete that Game’s saved data from your Google account: open the
Google Play Games app, go to Settings › Delete Play Games account & data,
choose to delete individual game data, and select the Game. Deleting the cloud save does not
remove the progress stored on your device; uninstalling the Game does that.
Children
Our Games are intended for players aged 13 and over, and are not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13, or under the equivalent minimum age in your country. In the European Economic Area the age at which a person can consent on their own behalf is between 13 and 16, depending on the country; we do not knowingly process the data of a person below that age without the consent of a parent or guardian. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, contact us and we will delete it.
Retention
Apart from Playmetry, we do not store this data on our own systems. The rest is held by Google and deleted on the following schedule:
| Data | Retention |
|---|---|
| Firebase Analytics event and user-level data | Up to 14 months, then deleted automatically. Aggregated reports that do not identify any device may be kept longer. |
| Firebase Crashlytics crash reports | 90 days |
| AdMob advertising data | According to the Google retention policy |
| Google Play Games saved game data | Held in your Google account until you delete it, as described under Data deletion requests |
| Playmetry analytics on our own server | Kept while the Game is supported, and deleted on request |
| Emails you send us | As long as needed to answer you, and no longer than 24 months |
Security
All data described here is transmitted over encrypted connections (HTTPS/TLS). Because we do not host this data on our own infrastructure, it is stored on Google systems and protected by Google security measures.
Your rights
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, delete or restrict the processing of your personal data, to receive a copy of it, to object to processing, and to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. To exercise any of these rights, use the contact address below. We will not treat you differently for doing so.
Where consent is the legal basis (personalised advertising), you may withdraw it at any time. Where our legitimate interest is the basis (crash reporting, analytics, fraud prevention), you may object.
We do not make decisions about you that produce legal or similarly significant effects based solely on automated processing.
United States
Residents of California and of other US states with comprehensive privacy laws may have the right to know what personal information is collected, to request its deletion or correction, and to opt out of its “sale” or “sharing” for targeted advertising.
We do not sell personal information for money. In the past 12 months, the categories “identifiers” (advertising ID), “internet or other electronic network activity” (in-game and ad interactions) and “geolocation data” (approximate, from IP address) have been made available to Google for personalised advertising, which may count as “sharing” under California law. To opt out, delete your Advertising ID or turn off ad personalisation in Android settings, as described in Your choices. Because our Games are mobile apps, a browser-based Global Privacy Control signal does not reach them; the device setting is the equivalent control.
Third-party links
Advertisements shown in our Games lead to websites and applications operated by other companies. We do not control those destinations and are not responsible for their content or for how they handle your information. Once you leave a Game by tapping an ad, the privacy policy of that advertiser applies, not this one.
This website
This website is a set of static pages. It sets no cookies, runs no analytics and no tracking scripts, and collects nothing about you. There is no general agreement on how a “Do Not Track” browser signal should be interpreted, and because we collect nothing here, we do not respond to it.
Changes
We may update this policy when our Games change or when the law requires it. The “Last updated” date at the top of the page will change. Substantial changes will be announced in the Game or in its Google Play listing.
Contact
Afterhours Studio
Email: h1dr0n@icloud.com