Privacy

Data used by the beta

• Account identity: Firebase account identifier, sign-in provider, email address, verification state, and public player handle.
• Game and social data: scores, words submitted to authoritative game services, matches, progression, profile selections, friends, challenges, blocks, and presence. When you search for another player, the handle query is sent to the protected search service to return matching public profiles; Bowl With Words does not write that query to a player record or app database.
• Support and safety data: your submitted description and only the diagnostic fields shown in the in-app preview; immutable contextual evidence for player/content reports; case messages, status, and audit history.
• Reliability data: Firebase Crashlytics receives automatic beta/release crash and ANR reports plus three fixed terminal gameplay-authority signals. Firebase Sessions also receives app and device metadata, including when the app enters the foreground, to support Crashlytics session-quality reporting. The app does not set a Crashlytics user ID or add player words, messages, support content, account IDs, match IDs, tokens, or arbitrary logs.
• Optional supporter purchase data: Google Play processes the payment method and transaction. Bowl With Words sends the selected product and purchase token to its protected backend for verification. The backend retains a one-way token hash, Google Play order and purchase state details, whether the transaction is a test, acknowledgement status, verification timestamps, and the resulting account entitlement. Bowl With Words does not receive or store your full card or bank details.
• Notifications: challenge alerts are enabled by default. After sign-in, Firebase Messaging creates or returns a Cloud Messaging token. While alerts are enabled, Bowl With Words sends that token and an app-generated installation identifier to its protected backend to deliver and secure challenge alerts. Disabling alerts deactivates that server delivery registration.

Providers and purpose

Google Play processes an optional House Supporter purchase and supplies purchase status for verification, acknowledgement, restoration, fraud prevention, and account entitlement. Google Firebase and Google Cloud provide authentication, database, callable backend, App Check, notifications, hosting, session-quality, and crash/ANR infrastructure. These service providers may process IP address, app/device metadata, installation identifiers, and integrity tokens for authentication, request delivery, abuse prevention, and service security. Data is used to operate accounts and games, protect integrity and safety, respond to support cases, and diagnose failures. The game and current website use no advertising service or behavioral advertising measurement.

Retention and beta resets

Operational game/profile and Bowl With Words purchase-verification data remains while the beta account is active unless account deletion or a necessary migration/reset applies. The account-deletion workflow removes the private supporter-purchase audit and account-bound token-hash claim; Google Play may retain its transaction records under Google’s policies and legal obligations. Technical support diagnostics are scheduled for earlier deletion than ordinary case records; ordinary support authority is scheduled for 12 months after closure, safety evidence for 24 months, and audits last, subject to a documented hold. Real beta accounts and history are intended to carry into public launch. A later defect or legal requirement may require a migration or reset, with advance notice whenever practical.

Your controls

You can disable challenge notifications, restore a verified House Supporter purchase, block players, submit a support case, appeal a moderation action, and use the authenticated account-deletion route when its controlled admission is available. Google Play owns payment-method controls and applicable purchase or refund requests. Email alone never proves account ownership or authorizes deletion.

Contact

For privacy questions, use the in-app Support Center or email privacy@bowlwithwords.com. Do not email passwords, verification codes, or authentication tokens.