Gulpies Privacy Policy
This policy explains what the mobile game Gulpies ("the game") does with information. The short version: Gulpies has no accounts and no server, and never asks who you are. Your progress stays on your phone. Purchases are handled by Google Play. If you choose to watch an optional reward video, it comes from Google AdMob, which collects device and usage information to show and measure ads, with your consent where the law requires it. The game also sends play statistics (for example, which levels are started and finished) to Google Analytics for Firebase, and a few events (install, first levels, purchases) to Meta so we can tell which of our Instagram and Facebook ads bring players. Neither gets your name or email. If you allow notifications, the game can remind you to play, at most twice a day (your phone makes these reminders, and nothing is sent to make them), and Google's Firebase Cloud Messaging can deliver our news to your phone.
What the game stores, and where
The game saves the following on your device, in storage only Gulpies can read:
- your progress: the levels you have played, your stars and your current level attempt;
- your lives and when the next one comes back, any unlimited-lives time, your Candy Jar, Sugar Streak and Gulp Pass progress, and the days you claimed the daily gift or bought the day's deal (worked out on your phone from its own clock and date);
- your settings: sound, music, vibration, Reduced motion and reminders;
- while you are away, the reminders planned for that break (when each one is due and what it says; see "Notifications");
- your in-game coins and power charges, which have no real-money value outside the game;
- counters that limit how many optional reward videos you can watch in a day;
- a record of your purchases (see "Purchases" below);
- your consent choice for ads and statistics, where it was asked (stored by Google's consent tool, see "Advertising");
- identifiers made by Google Analytics and Meta's software (see below), which stay with the app until you delete its data.
This information stays on your device. It isn't included in Android cloud backups, and we have no server that receives it.
Purchases
You can buy coins and item packs in the game, including bundles, the coins in the Candy Jar, the Gold Gulp Pass and the day's deal. Every purchase is made through Google Play's billing system, under Google's Privacy Policy and Google Play's terms. Google collects and processes your payment details (card, UPI or other payment method). Gulpies never sees them.
To deliver each purchase exactly once, even if the game closes in the middle of one, the game keeps on your phone:
- a one-way fingerprint of each purchase's token (not the token itself), the product bought, Google's order number and the time;
- which payments are still pending;
- a random install ID, made the first time you tap a price. It isn't your device ID or your Google account, and it isn't linked to your name or email.
When you buy something, the game sends Google Play a one-way fingerprint of that install ID with the purchase. Google uses it to help detect fraud. Google then tells the game whether the payment went through, and the game checks Google's signature on that answer before it adds anything.
The game includes Google's Play Billing Library, which talks to the Google Play Store app on your phone and may send Google its own diagnostic information about the purchase service. Google gives us the order records that every Play developer sees in Play Console (for example the product, price, country and order number), which we use only for accounting, refunds and support.
Advertising
Reward videos are optional. Gulpies shows short videos from Google AdMob only when you tap a gold reward button: to double the coins of a level you cleared for the first time (once per level), to refill your lives when you have none left, or for 100 coins in the shop (these two a limited number of times a day). Nothing plays by itself, and no ad appears between levels, on the loss screen or in the middle of play (you can choose the shop's video while a level is paused). If you close a video early, you simply don't get that reward.
What AdMob collects. To show, measure and protect ads, Google's AdMob software in the game collects:
- your IP address, which can be used to estimate your general location;
- how you interact with ads, for example that a video was shown, watched or tapped, and app launches;
- diagnostic information about how the ads software performs;
- device identifiers, including the Android advertising ID and the app set ID.
Who receives it. This information goes to Google, which uses it as an independent controller under Google's Privacy Policy. Google explains how it uses information from apps like ours in How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services and on its advertising page. All of it is sent encrypted. We never receive your identity: AdMob gives us only aggregated reports (for example, how many videos were shown in a country and what they earned).
Consent. In the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland (and anywhere else the law requires it), Gulpies asks for your choice with Google's consent tool (the User Messaging Platform, a consent management platform certified by Google) before any ad is requested. The question appears over the level map, never during a level. You can change your choice at any time in the game: Settings → Privacy choices. This option appears in the countries where Google's consent question is shown, and in the US states whose privacy laws give you a choice about Google's ads (there it opens Google's choice about personalised ads); elsewhere there is no consent choice to change in the game. If you decline personalised ads, Google may still show non-personalised or limited ads, which use the information above only for purposes such as frequency capping, measurement and fraud prevention.
Your controls.
- On your phone, Android Settings → Google → Ads (the wording varies by phone) lets you reset or delete your advertising ID. With a deleted ID, apps receive only zeros instead.
- Ads in Gulpies are limited to content rated PG or lower (suitable for general audiences with parental guidance), and Gulpies doesn't ask Google to treat its players as children.
- You never need to watch an ad to play every level. The game works fully offline, and without ads.
The ads software needs these Android permissions, none of which shows a prompt: advertising ID, internet, network state, basic phone state (only the type of mobile network, on Android 13 and later; it can't read your phone number or calls), and two that Android's background-task scheduler (WorkManager) uses for Google's own background uploads: wake lock and foreground service.
Notifications
Gulpies can show you two kinds of notifications: reminders, which the game makes on your phone, and news, which we send from Google's Firebase console. Both stay off until you allow notifications: on Android 13 and later the game asks you once, after your first levels, and you can say no; on older Android versions notifications are allowed by default.
Reminders. While you are away, the game can remind you that the Gulpies are hungry: at most two a day, at about 12:30 and 19:30 on your phone's clock, never between 21:30 and 09:00, and never within four hours of leaving the game. After three days there is at most one a day, and after a week without play they stop until you play again. Each one says only what is true when it shows (for example that your lives are full, that today's gift is ready or what the next level brings) and never mentions prices or offers. Your phone makes and shows them: the game plans them when you leave it, and Android's own alarm service wakes the game to show each one at its time, so nothing is sent to us or anyone else to make them. They need no extra permission (no exact alarms, and nothing that starts when the phone starts), so one may come a little late, and restarting the phone cancels the planned ones until you next play. You can switch them off with the bell in the game's Settings, or in Android Settings → Apps → Gulpies → Notifications → Feeding reminders. Where statistics are allowed (see "Where you live"), Google Analytics records that the game was opened from a reminder, and which one.
News. Once notifications are allowed, the game registers your phone with Google's Firebase Cloud Messaging, which creates a messaging token and uses the Firebase installation ID so that Google can deliver our messages to it. Before that, no messaging token exists. We write the messages ourselves in Google's Firebase console, for example about new levels, events or gifts, and send them to all players or to broad groups (for example, players who haven't played for a few days). We can't see who you are, and a message never contains your personal information. Where statistics are allowed, Google Analytics also records that a notification arrived or was opened. Google processes this under Firebase's privacy information.
You can turn all notifications off at any time in Android Settings → Apps → Gulpies → Notifications. They use two Android permissions: notifications (Android 13 and later ask you first) and receive messages from Firebase Cloud Messaging (no prompt). Uninstalling the game deletes its messaging token and its planned reminders from your phone.
Play statistics (Google Analytics for Firebase)
What and why. To learn how many players come back after a day, a week and a month, and which levels are too hard, the game uses Google Analytics for Firebase. It records:
- that the app was opened, when a session starts and how long it is used (collected automatically by Google);
- level events: a level started, and how it ended (won, lost or left), with the level number, its world and difficulty tag, moves, stars, continues and powers used, and time played; and when a level shows a tip to use a power;
- power uses, continues, coins, power charges and unlimited-lives time earned, coins spent (the game's own coins and items, not money) and where they came from or went (for example a level, the daily gift, the Gulp Pass or refilling lives), reward videos watched, which button they came from and what they gave;
- that the game was opened from one of its reminders, and which one;
- purchases: which pack was bought and its local price and currency, and (from Google Play, once linked) the purchase amount;
- ad impressions reported by AdMob;
- your device's model, Android version, language, and an approximate country and region (Google derives it from the IP address, which Google Analytics doesn't store);
- Google Analytics' own app-instance ID, the Firebase installation ID and, where allowed, the advertising ID.
It never receives your name, email, contacts, precise location, the game's install ID or any purchase token, and the game sets no user ID of its own. Google's automatic screen tracking and the Android ID are switched off.
Who receives it. Google processes these statistics for us under the Google Analytics terms and Firebase's privacy information. We see them only as reports and counts (for example, "62% of players who started on Monday came back on Tuesday"). Because Gulpies links Google Analytics with Google AdMob and Google Play for revenue reports, and with Google Ads to measure which of our Google ads bring players who keep playing (no ad audiences are shared with Google Ads), Google also uses the linked data as described in How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services. Google signals are off.
How long. Event-level statistics are kept for 14 months and then deleted by Google; reports made from them contain only totals.
Meta (Facebook) app events
What and why. Gulpies advertises on Instagram, Facebook and Google (for Google, see "Google Analytics" above). To learn which Instagram and Facebook ads bring players who stay and play, the game uses Meta's app events software (the Facebook SDK, "core" part only: no Facebook login and no sharing). Where it is allowed (see "Where you live" below), it sends Meta:
- that the app was installed and opened;
- a few milestones: finishing the tutorial (level 4) and reaching level 10 and each world's boss level;
- purchases: the pack's identifier, its price and currency (never your payment details);
- ad impressions of reward videos, with the value AdMob reports;
- your device's model, Android version, language, time zone, the app version, your IP address, Meta's own anonymous app ID and, where allowed, the advertising ID.
Who receives it. Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd (in the EU) or Meta Platforms, Inc. (elsewhere) receives this under Meta's Privacy Policy and uses it to measure and improve ads, as an independent controller. If you have a Facebook or Instagram account, Meta may connect this activity to it; you can see and disconnect it in Meta's Accounts Center under "Your activity off Meta technologies" (how). We see only totals in Meta's ad reports. Meta keeps the information as its policy describes.
Where you live: consent and choices for statistics and Meta
- European Economic Area, United Kingdom and Switzerland: nothing is sent to Google Analytics until you answer Google's consent question, and only if you allow storing and accessing information on your device and also allow Google as a partner (if you switch Google off in that question's list of partners, nothing is sent); your choices for ads decide what Google may use for advertising. Meta receives nothing from the game in these countries. You can change your choice at any time in Settings → Privacy choices; statistics stop at once if you withdraw it.
- Everywhere else (including India and the Philippines): Google's consent question isn't required, so the statistics and Meta's events start after the opening screens. Nothing is sent while the opening screens play. To limit them, delete or reset your advertising ID in your phone's settings (Android Settings → Google → Ads), after which Google Analytics and Meta receive only zeros instead of that ID; uninstalling the game stops everything.
- Every time the game starts: statistics are switched off as the app opens and stay off until your answer (or the fact that no answer is needed) has been checked again after the opening screens. So nothing is sent while they play, even if you allowed statistics before, and if your earlier consent has expired or Google needs to ask again, nothing is sent until you answer.
- India: Nyxon Alpha Private Limited is responsible for this processing under India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act. You can ask about it, or complain, at nyxonalpha@gmail.com.
These two services add one Android permission that shows no prompt: install referrer, which tells the game (and the services above) which store page or ad the install came from.
What the game does not do
- It asks for no account, name, email, phone number or photo.
- It has no crash-reporting or social service, no login and no server of its own. The statistics and ad-measurement services it uses (Google Analytics for Firebase and Meta's app events) are described above, together with Google's AdMob and Play Billing software.
- It doesn't request your location, contacts, camera, microphone or files.
- It never shows an ad you didn't ask for: no pop-up ads, no ads between levels, no ads interrupting play.
The game's Android permissions are vibration (optional haptic feedback, which you can switch off in the game's settings), the ones Google Play Billing needs (Google Play billing, internet, network state), the ones Google AdMob needs (listed under "Advertising"), install referrer (for the statistics and Meta) and the two for notifications (see "Notifications"). Only notifications shows a permission prompt, on Android 13 and later.
Children
Gulpies is intended for players aged 13 and over and is not directed to children under 13. We don't knowingly collect personal information from children under 13, and the game asks no one for a name, email or any other personal details. Reward videos are optional, every ad is limited to content rated PG or lower, and Gulpies doesn't ask Google to treat its players as children. If you believe a child under 13 is using Gulpies and information about them was collected, write to us at nyxonalpha@gmail.com and we will help, for example by explaining how to clear the game's data and delete the phone's advertising ID. Purchases go through Google Play, where parents can require approval for purchases with Google Play's parental controls or Google Family Link.
Google Play
You download Gulpies through Google Play, which processes information such as your Google account, your device, your installation and your purchases under Google's Privacy Policy. If you have chosen to share usage and diagnostics data with Google, Google Play may give us aggregated statistics (for example, install counts) and crash reports (for example, the phone model, Android version and the point in the game where it stopped). We use these only to find and fix problems. They don't identify you to us.
When a newer version of Gulpies is on Google Play, the game can offer to download it while you play and install it when you leave the game. It does this with Google's Play In-App Updates library, which asks the Google Play Store app on your phone whether an update is available and how big it is. For that, Google receives your device's details, the game's version and its installed parts, sent encrypted and deleted after a fixed time (Google's description). We receive none of it.
Deleting your data
Your progress, purchase record and consent choice are on your phone. To delete them, uninstall Gulpies, or clear the app's storage in Android Settings → Apps → Gulpies → Storage. We keep no copy, so we can't restore lost progress. A one-time pack you bought (the Starter) is restored from Google Play if you install the game again. Google keeps its own purchase records under Google's policy; you can see them in the Google Play app under Payments & subscriptions → Budget & history. Information AdMob collected is held by Google under Google's Privacy Policy; you can reset or delete your advertising ID in your phone's settings, and manage Google's use of your data at myaccount.google.com. Play statistics are pseudonymous (tied to the app-instance ID, not to you) and are deleted by Google after 14 months. Uninstalling or clearing the app's storage also resets the Google Analytics and Meta identifiers on the phone, so later statistics can't be linked to earlier ones, and removes the notification token and the planned reminders, so no more notifications can reach the phone. Information Meta received is held under Meta's policy; see "Your activity off Meta technologies" in Meta's Accounts Center.
Changes to this policy
If a future version adds crash reporting, cloud save, accounts, other statistics services or other kinds of advertising, or changes what is sent to Google Analytics or Meta, we will update this policy before that version is released and change the "Effective date" above. Google Play's Data safety section for Gulpies will change at the same time.
Contact
Questions about privacy, ads or a purchase: nyxonalpha@gmail.com.