Swarm Shock Privacy Policy
Swarm Shock ("the game") is made by PHM Enterprises LLC, doing business as phWare ("we", "us"). This policy explains what information the game uses and your choices about it.
The short version
- We don't collect your personal information.
- Your progress stays on your device and, if you use iCloud, in your own iCloud account so it follows you to a new device. We can't see it.
- The game sends anonymous gameplay statistics (like runs played, minutes survived and upgrades picked) through TelemetryDeck to help us improve it. No name, email, advertising ID or location, and it's never used for advertising or tracking.
- The game downloads a small settings file from phware.net to adjust game balance and events.
- The free version shows ads from Google AdMob, and Google may collect some device information to show and measure those ads. You can limit this.
- Purchases and Game Center are handled by Apple.
Information stored on your device and in your iCloud
Your ore, Hangar upgrades, Mining Fleet, best time, settings, an unfinished run you can resume, and simple gameplay counters (for example, how many runs you've played) are stored on your device. If you're signed in to iCloud, the game also keeps a copy in your own iCloud account (Apple's iCloud key-value storage), so your progress comes back if you reinstall the game or move to a new iPhone or iPad. That copy belongs to your Apple account: Apple stores it, and we can't see it. Your purchases are restored separately, with Restore Purchases.
Anonymous gameplay analytics
To learn what's fun and what's too hard, the game sends anonymous usage events, for example: the game was opened, a screen was opened, a run started, resumed or ended, the minute reached and what ended a run, the upgrades offered and picked, a boss appearing or destroyed, Hangar and Mining Fleet upgrades and ore collected, a reward video offered or watched, a purchase started or completed (which item, never payment details), and settings such as controls. Each event also carries the game's version and a random test-group number used to compare versions of the game's balance.
These events go through TelemetryDeck, a privacy-focused analytics service based in Germany. They don't include your name, email, Game Center nickname, advertising identifier or location. Instead of who you are, the game uses a random anonymous identifier created for this install, which TelemetryDeck scrambles (hashes) before it leaves your device. We only look at the results in aggregate (for example, "how many players reached minute 5"). This data is not used for advertising, not used to track you across apps or websites, not linked to your identity, and never sold. Learn more in TelemetryDeck's privacy policy.
Game settings file
When it starts, the game downloads a small settings file from our website, phware.net, so we can adjust game balance (such as how many enemies appear or how much ore a run pays) and run events like an ore bonus weekend without an app update. The game sends nothing about you to fetch it. Like any web request, our web host may briefly record your IP address in its standard server logs; we don't use it to identify you.
Advertising (Google AdMob)
The free version of the game shows ads from Google AdMob. To show, limit and measure ads, Google may collect information such as your device's advertising identifier (only if you allow tracking), your IP address and the approximate location derived from it, and information about how you interact with ads. This information is collected by Google, not by us, and is handled under Google's Privacy Policy. Learn more about how Google uses information from apps that use its services.
Your choices:
- Consent (in some regions): you may be shown Google's consent form when you first open the game. You can change your choices any time in the game's menu under Privacy Choices.
- Tracking: the game asks for permission to track through Apple's App Tracking Transparency. If you choose "Ask App Not to Track", your advertising identifier isn't shared and ads are not personalized with it. You can change this any time in iPhone Settings › Privacy & Security › Tracking.
- No ads: the one-time Remove Ads purchase (or Starter Pack Plus) turns off ads between runs.
In-app purchases
Purchases are processed by Apple. We never see your payment details. The game only learns which items you own so it can unlock them.
Game Center
If you're signed in to Game Center, your best times, kills and achievements are sent to Apple's Game Center so they can appear on leaderboards, along with your Game Center nickname. Apple's privacy policy covers that information. You can sign out of Game Center in iPhone Settings.
Children
The game isn't directed at children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided personal information through the game, contact us and we'll help remove it.
Data retention and deletion
You control your game data: deleting the game removes it from your device, and to remove the iCloud copy, go to Settings › [your name] › iCloud › Manage Account Storage (or Manage Storage) › Swarm Shock and delete its data. The anonymous analytics events can't be connected to you, so we can't single out one player's events; reinstalling the game starts a new random identifier. To ask Google about advertising data, use the options in Google's Privacy Policy linked above.
Changes to this policy
If the game starts using information in a new way, we'll update this page and the effective date above before that change ships.
Contact
Questions about privacy: support@phware.net