Who we are
Shakashaka is published by Wesam Al-Omari, trading as Zeltsa Studios, from Irbid, Jordan. Write to privacy@zeltsastudios.com about anything in this policy.
This policy explains what happens to information when you play Shakashaka, a logic puzzle game published by Wesam Al-Omari, trading as Zeltsa Studios (zeltsastudios.com). Wesam Al-Omari is responsible for (the “controller” of) the personal information described here. It covers the Android app (com.zeltsastudios.shakashaka). An iOS version is planned; this policy will be updated before it is released.
Shakashaka has no accounts and no sign-in, and it does not sync your game to a server.
Postal address: Wesam Al-Omari, c/o Yarmouk University, P.O. Box 566, Irbid 21163, Jordan.
For questions about privacy, your data, or a request from a parent, write to privacy@zeltsastudios.com. For help with the game itself, write to support@zeltsastudios.com.
What stays on your device
Your saved game stays on your phone, and we never receive it. If you use Android’s device backup, your phone may also back it up to your own Google account.
The game stores your puzzle progress, your coins, your settings and the year of birth you give in the age question on your device. The game does not upload or sync them, and we never receive them.
If Android’s device backup is on, your device may back this data up to your Google account and restore it when you reinstall the game or set up a new phone. That backup belongs to your Google account, and we do not receive it. You can manage it in your device’s backup settings.
The services described below record events such as starting or finishing a level. They do not receive a copy of your saved game.
Firebase Analytics
The game records how it is played, such as which levels are started and finished, so we can make it better. It does not collect your advertising ID.
Shakashaka uses Firebase Analytics, a Google service, to understand how the game is played so we can improve it.
What it collects:
- how you use the game, such as levels started and finished, progress through the tutorial, and time spent on each level;
- information about your device and its operating system;
- an app-instance ID, a random identifier for this installation of the game;
- an approximate location, worked out from your IP address.
Collection of the advertising ID by Firebase Analytics is turned off for every player.
Google processes this information under Google’s Privacy Policy. See also How Google uses information from sites or apps that use its services.
Firebase Crashlytics
If the game crashes, a crash report is sent so we can find and fix the problem.
Shakashaka uses Firebase Crashlytics, a Google service, to find and fix crashes.
When the game crashes, Crashlytics collects:
- a stack trace, which shows where in the game’s code the crash happened;
- the state of your device at the time of the crash;
- a crash-installation ID, a random identifier for this installation of the game.
Google processes this information under Google’s Privacy Policy. See also How Google uses information from sites or apps that use its services.
Google AdMob
The game shows ads to stay free. In the EEA and the UK, ads are personalised only if you agree. Elsewhere, adults may see personalised ads unless they opt out in their device settings. Children never see personalised ads.
Shakashaka uses Google AdMob to show ads: rewarded ads, which you choose to watch, and interstitial ads, which appear between parts of the game.
To show ads and measure them, AdMob collects:
- your device’s advertising ID (not for players who get child-directed treatment);
- your IP address;
- information about your device;
- how you interact with ads.
Personalised ads. Where the law requires consent for personalised ads, including in the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom, the game asks with Google’s consent form, and ads are personalised only if you agree. Elsewhere, adults may see personalised ads based on their advertising ID; to stop this, delete or reset the advertising ID in your device settings. Players who receive child-directed treatment are never shown the consent form and only see non-personalised ads (see the children’s section of this policy).
You can change your consent at any time in the game’s privacy options.
Google processes this information under Google’s Privacy Policy. See also How Google uses information from sites or apps that use its services.
Children
Children may play. Before any ads, the game asks for a year of birth. Players under 13, or under the age of digital consent where they live, only see non-personalised, family-appropriate ads, and their advertising ID is not collected. Parents can write to privacy@zeltsastudios.com.
Children under 13 may play Shakashaka.
The age question. Before any ads are shown, the game asks a neutral question: your year of birth. The answer is stored on the device (and in the device’s backup, if that is on), and we never receive it.
Child-directed treatment. If the year of birth shows a player is under 13, or under the age of digital consent where they live, the game treats them as a child:
- only non-personalised, family-appropriate ads are shown, using AdMob’s child-directed and under-age-of-consent settings;
- Google’s consent form is not shown to them;
- their advertising ID is not collected.
Family-friendly ads for everyone. For all players, whatever their age, ads are limited to a family-friendly content rating.
No knowing collection. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children beyond what the services named in this policy process under these settings.
Analytics and crash reports. Firebase Analytics and Firebase Crashlytics, described above, work the same way for every player, including children. Advertising-ID collection is turned off for everyone.
Parents. If you are a parent or guardian and have a question, or want information about your child deleted, write to privacy@zeltsastudios.com.
Relevant laws. This section is written with these laws in mind:
- the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) in the United States;
- the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union, including its provisions for children;
- the UK GDPR and the UK Age Appropriate Design Code in the United Kingdom.
Why we may use this information
We rely on your consent for personalised ads where the law requires it, and on our legitimate interest in keeping the game working and free for everything else.
Under the GDPR and the UK GDPR, we rely on:
- your consent for personalised ads where the law requires it, including in the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom. You can withdraw it at any time in the game’s privacy options;
- our legitimate interests in understanding how the game is played, fixing crashes and showing ads that keep the game free, for Firebase Analytics, Firebase Crashlytics and non-personalised ads. You can object to this (see “Your rights”).
Transfers outside your country
Google may process this information outside your country, including outside the EU and the UK, under legal safeguards.
Google processes information for these services in countries other than your own, including outside the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom. For these transfers Google relies on safeguards such as the European Commission’s standard contractual clauses. See Google’s Privacy Policy.
No selling or sharing
We do not sell your personal information for money. Some US state laws may count personalised ads as “sharing”, and you can opt out of them.
We do not sell personal information about anyone who plays Shakashaka for money.
Information leaves your device only through the Google services described in this policy (Firebase Analytics, Firebase Crashlytics and Google AdMob), for the purposes stated there. We do not share it with anyone else.
Where players outside the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom see personalised ads, some US state laws, such as California’s, may treat this as “sharing” personal information for advertising. You can opt out by deleting or resetting your advertising ID in your device settings.
Your choices
You can change your ad consent in the game’s privacy options, and stop personalised ads by resetting or deleting your advertising ID in your phone’s settings.
- Ad consent. Where the law requires consent for personalised ads, the game asks with Google’s consent form. You can change your answer at any time in the game’s privacy options.
- Personalised ads elsewhere. Outside the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom, adults may see personalised ads by default. To stop them, delete or reset your advertising ID in your device settings.
- Advertising ID. On Android you can reset or delete your advertising ID in your device settings.
Your rights
You can ask to see, correct or delete your data, or object to how it is used. Write to privacy@zeltsastudios.com. Because we hold no account data, some requests are handled through Google’s own tools.
Depending on where you live, laws such as the GDPR (EU), the UK GDPR and the CCPA (California) give you rights over your personal information, including the right to:
- access the information held about you;
- correct it;
- delete it;
- object to how it is used.
To make a request, write to privacy@zeltsastudios.com. We answer within one month.
If you are not satisfied with our answer, you can complain to your local data protection authority, such as the Information Commissioner’s Office in the United Kingdom or the supervisory authority in your EU country.
We do not hold accounts, names or email addresses for players, so we have no player profile to look up. The information the services above collect is processed by Google. Requests about that information are also handled through Google’s own tools, described in Google’s Privacy Policy.
How long data is kept
Your saved game stays on your phone, and in your Google backup if you use one, until you delete it. Data the Google services process is kept under Google’s retention rules.
Your saved game is kept on your device until you uninstall the game, and in your Google account’s device backup for as long as that backup keeps it.
Information processed by Firebase Analytics, Firebase Crashlytics and Google AdMob is kept for the periods set by Google. See Google’s Privacy Policy and How Google uses information from sites or apps that use its services.
Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, the new version is posted on this page with a new revision and date.
When we change this policy, we post the new version on this page with a new revision letter and effective date. Earlier revisions are listed at the end of this page.
Contact
Privacy questions go to privacy@zeltsastudios.com. Help with the game goes to support@zeltsastudios.com.
- Privacy, data and parent requests: privacy@zeltsastudios.com
- Help with the game: support@zeltsastudios.com