Privacy Policy — Tetrahue
Last updated: 3 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” below is controlled by Google as a separate data controller; 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:
- 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. It is not synced to any server, account, or cloud.
Data handled by third parties
Google AdMob (advertising)
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)
If you buy the £2.99 Premium Unlock, 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.
Google Play Console diagnostics
If your device is opted in to sharing diagnostics with Google Play, Google may collect anonymous crash logs and ANR (App Not Responding) reports from the app, which appear in our Play Console. We use these only to fix bugs and improve stability. You can opt out at the OS level via Android Settings → Google → Diagnostics.
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 |
| 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 | Processing your purchase of Premium Unlock | Performance of a contract (you bought it) |
| Crash diagnostics | Fixing bugs | Legitimate interests — the data is anonymised by Google 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)
- We don’t sell or share your data with third parties beyond Google’s ad and 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 don’t have user accounts, cloud saves, leaderboards, or social features
- We don’t access your photos, contacts, calendar, microphone, camera, or files
International data transfers
The Google services we use (AdMob, Play Billing, Play Console) are 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 for details.
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:
- Use Android Settings → Google → Ads to reset or delete the device’s advertising identifier
- Contact Google directly to exercise data-rights options under their privacy policy
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, payment info, etc.), most rights requests should be sent directly to Google via Google’s privacy support. 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, or iOS Settings → Privacy → Tracking
- Opt out of personalised ads: same menus, toggle “Opt out of Ads Personalisation”
- iOS App Tracking Transparency: when prompted on first launch, choose “Ask App Not to Track” to disable IDFA-based tracking
- Delete local game data: in-app Settings → Reset All Progress, or uninstall the app
- Opt out of Play Console diagnostics: Android Settings → Google → Diagnostics
Data retention
- Local data: lives on your device until you reset it via in-app settings or uninstall the app. We never see it.
- Data held by Google: retained per Google’s data retention 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 holds (advertising ID, payment info, crash diagnostics), please contact Google directly via Google’s privacy support — we can’t action requests for data we don’t hold.