Privacy Policy — Tetrahue
Last updated: 10 May 2026
Who we are
Tetrahue (“the app”) is developed and operated by Refractor Games (“we”, “us”, “the developer”), an indie game developer based in the United Kingdom.
Under UK GDPR, Refractor Games is the data controller for any data the app handles. Data we describe as “processed by Google” or “processed by Apple” below is controlled by those platforms as separate data controllers; we do not access or hold copies of it.
This policy explains what data the app handles, why, and what rights you have over it.
What we store on your device
The app keeps the following on your device only, in standard Android / iOS shared-preferences storage. We never upload any of it to a server we operate:
- Game settings: sound on/off, haptics on/off, audio volume, Spectrum theme on/off (premium feature)
- Tutorial state: whether you’ve seen the in-game tutorial
- Game progress and stats: high score, total games played, cells cleared, line clears, region clears, biggest cascade chain, largest region
- Game-over counter: a small integer used to time when interstitial ads appear (every 2 game overs)
- Premium flag: whether you’ve purchased the Premium Unlock
This data lives on your device until you reset it (in-app Settings → Reset All Progress) or uninstall the app.
iCloud Key-Value Save (iOS only)
On iOS only, a small subset of the data above is also stored in your iCloud Key-Value Store so it persists if you reinstall the app or move to a new iPhone signed into the same Apple ID:
- Premium Unlock flag
- High score
Total iCloud footprint is under 1 KB. The data is held in your iCloud account, not in any cloud account that we operate. You can review or delete it via iOS Settings → [your name] → iCloud → Manage Account Storage → Tetrahue, or by signing out of iCloud altogether. Apple is the data controller for iCloud Key-Value Storage, under Apple’s privacy policy.
Android has no equivalent cloud save in this version of the app — Android relies on Auto Backup at the OS level, which we do not configure or read.
Data handled by third parties
Google AdMob (advertising — both Android and iOS)
We use Google AdMob to show interstitial and rewarded video ads. To serve those ads, AdMob may collect:
- Your device’s advertising identifier (Google Advertising ID on Android, IDFA on iOS — and only after you grant permission via the iOS App Tracking Transparency prompt)
- Device info — model, operating system version, language, country
- Approximate location derived from your IP address (country-level only; not precise GPS)
- Ad interaction events — impressions, clicks, completion of rewarded video
This data is processed by Google as a separate data controller, under Google’s privacy policy. We never see this data ourselves.
Google Play Billing (in-app purchases on Android)
If you buy the £2.99 Premium Unlock on Android, the transaction is handled by Google Play Billing under Google Play’s terms. Your payment card details go to Google, never to us. We only receive a confirmation that you own the purchase, which we use to unlock the premium features.
Apple StoreKit (in-app purchases on iOS)
If you buy the equivalent Premium Unlock on iOS, the transaction is handled by Apple StoreKit under the Apple Media Services Terms. Your payment card details go to Apple, never to us. We receive a transaction receipt that we verify via Apple’s verifyReceipt endpoint, called from a Firebase Cloud Function we operate, to confirm the purchase before unlocking premium features. The receipt contains the product ID, transaction date, and transaction ID — it does not contain your name, email, or payment details.
Diagnostics shared with the platform stores
If your device is opted in to sharing diagnostics:
- Google Play Console (Android) — Google may collect anonymous crash logs and ANR (App Not Responding) reports from the app, which appear in our Play Console. Opt out at the OS level via Android Settings → Google → Diagnostics.
- Apple App Store / Xcode Organizer (iOS) — Apple may collect anonymous crash logs and aggregate metrics from the app, which appear in our App Store Connect. Opt out at the OS level via iOS Settings → Privacy & Security → Analytics & Improvements → Share with App Developers.
We use these only to fix bugs and improve stability. The data is anonymised by the platform before we see it.
Lawful basis for processing (UK GDPR Article 6)
| Data | Purpose | Lawful basis |
|---|---|---|
| Local device storage (settings, progress, stats, premium flag) | Operating the game | Legitimate interests — the data never leaves your device |
| iCloud Key-Value Save (iOS) | Cross-device sync of premium flag and high score | Legitimate interests — the data stays within your own iCloud account |
| AdMob advertising data | Serving ads to support the free game | Legitimate interests for non-personalised ads; Consent for personalised ads (handled by AdMob’s UMP / iOS ATT prompt) |
| Google Play Billing data / Apple StoreKit data | Processing your purchase of Premium Unlock | Performance of a contract (you bought it) |
| Crash diagnostics | Fixing bugs | Legitimate interests — the data is anonymised by the platform before we see it |
You can withdraw consent for personalised ads at any time using the Android / iOS settings described in Your choices below. Withdrawing consent doesn’t affect the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal.
What we don’t do
- We don’t collect your name, email, phone number, address, or any personal info from inside the app
- We don’t track you across other apps or websites (beyond what AdMob does for ad serving, and only when you allow it via the iOS ATT prompt or Android UMP)
- We don’t sell or share your data with third parties beyond Google’s and Apple’s ad / billing networks
- We don’t use analytics SDKs (Firebase Analytics, Adjust, Singular, GameAnalytics, etc.)
- We don’t use crash-reporting SDKs (Sentry, Crashlytics, etc.) — we rely on the platform stores’ built-in diagnostics
- We don’t have user accounts, leaderboards, or social features
- We don’t access your photos, contacts, calendar, microphone, camera, or files
(Note: iCloud Key-Value Save on iOS is not a “user account” we operate — it’s a small Apple-controlled persistence layer scoped to your own iCloud, under your control via iOS Settings.)
International data transfers
The third-party services we use are operated globally:
- Google services (AdMob, Play Billing, Play Console) — operated by Google LLC in the United States and Google Ireland Limited in the EEA. Data those services collect may be transferred outside the UK / EEA, including to the United States. Google has signed the EU-US and UK-US Data Privacy Frameworks and uses Standard Contractual Clauses to provide an adequate level of data protection for those transfers. See Google’s data transfer disclosures.
- Apple services (StoreKit, iCloud Key-Value Storage, App Store Connect diagnostics) — operated by Apple Inc. in the United States and Apple Distribution International Limited in Ireland. Apple has signed the EU-US and UK-US Data Privacy Frameworks for the same reason. See Apple’s privacy policy.
We ourselves do not transfer any data outside your device.
Children’s privacy
Tetrahue is not directed at children under 13 and we do not knowingly process data from children. Because we hold no personal data ourselves, there is nothing for us to delete on our end. If you have a concern about ad data linked to a child’s device:
- Android: use Settings → Google → Ads to reset or delete the device’s advertising identifier
- iOS: use Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking to disable cross-app tracking, and Settings → Privacy & Security → Apple Advertising to opt out of Apple’s personalised ads
- Contact Google or Apple directly to exercise platform-level data-rights options under their respective privacy policies
Your data rights (UK GDPR)
You have the following rights over personal data that relates to you:
- Right of access — ask what data is being held about you
- Right to rectification — ask for inaccurate data to be corrected
- Right to erasure (“right to be forgotten”) — ask for data to be deleted
- Right to restrict processing — ask us to stop using the data while we resolve a dispute
- Right to data portability — ask for a machine-readable copy of the data
- Right to object — object to processing based on legitimate interests
- Right to withdraw consent — for any processing based on consent (e.g. personalised ads)
Practical note: because the only personal data the app’s ecosystem holds is held by Google (advertising ID, Play payment info, Play diagnostics) or Apple (IDFA when ATT-granted, StoreKit payment info, iCloud KV save, App Store diagnostics), most rights requests should be sent directly to those platforms:
- Google: Google’s privacy support
- Apple: Apple’s data and privacy portal
If you contact us about data we don’t hold, we will tell you so and direct you to the right party.
Your choices
- Reset advertising ID:
- Android: Settings → Google → Ads → Reset advertising ID
- iOS: Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking (toggle off “Allow Apps to Request to Track” to revoke IDFA across all apps)
- Opt out of personalised ads:
- Android: same Ads menu, toggle “Opt out of Ads Personalisation”
- iOS: respond “Ask App Not to Track” when the ATT prompt appears, or revoke later via the Tracking settings above
- iOS App Tracking Transparency: when prompted on first launch, choose “Ask App Not to Track” to disable IDFA-based tracking. The game continues to work fully without it; you’ll see less relevant ads.
- Delete local game data: in-app Settings → Reset All Progress, or uninstall the app
- Delete iCloud Key-Value Save (iOS): Settings → [your name] → iCloud → Manage Account Storage → Tetrahue → Delete Data, or sign out of iCloud entirely
- Opt out of Android Play Console diagnostics: Settings → Google → Diagnostics
- Opt out of Apple App Store diagnostics: Settings → Privacy & Security → Analytics & Improvements → Share with App Developers
Data retention
- Local data: lives on your device until you reset it via in-app settings or uninstall the app. We never see it.
- iCloud Key-Value Save (iOS): lives in your iCloud account until you delete it via iOS Settings or sign out of iCloud. We never see it.
- Data held by Google: retained per Google’s data retention policy.
- Data held by Apple: retained per Apple’s privacy policy.
Right to complain (UK)
If you believe your data rights have been violated by anything we do, you can lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO):
- Website: ico.org.uk/concerns
- Helpline: 0303 123 1113
You can also use the EU equivalent (your country’s supervisory authority) if you’re in the EEA.
Changes to this policy
If we change this policy materially we’ll update the “Last updated” date at the top and, for substantial changes, post a notice in the app. Continued use after changes constitutes acceptance.
Contact
General questions: refractor.games@protonmail.com — we aim to respond within 7 days.
For data-rights requests about data Google or Apple holds (advertising ID, payment info, crash diagnostics, iCloud save data), please contact those platforms directly:
- Google: Google’s privacy support
- Apple: Apple’s data and privacy portal
We can’t action requests for data we don’t hold.