Privacy policy
TangBloc is a tangram game. You can play it without creating an account and without giving your name or email address. This page explains what data is processed when you use the app, why, who it is shared with, and how to exercise your rights.
1. Data controller
Michel Hakim, publisher of TangBloc, acting in a personal capacity.
Contact: izifeu@gmail.com
2. At a glance
- No account to create; no name, email or password requested.
- Your progress and settings (Sounds, Vibrations) stay on your device.
- A technical anonymous identifier is created to run the shop and verify purchases.
- Ads appear between some levels unless you have bought “No ads”; you can also choose to watch an ad to get a hint. Ads may be personalized if you agree; on iPhone, the advertising identifier is only used if you allow tracking.
- If you installed TangBloc after one of our ads, a service provider measures which campaign you came from, with your consent where required.
- With your consent where required, Google Analytics for Firebase measures the game’s audience (number of players, countries, play time), without your name or the advertising identifier.
- Payment is processed by Google Play or the App Store: TangBloc never sees your banking details.
3. Data processed and purposes
3.1 Data kept only on your device
Progress in levels and packs, the game in progress, Sounds and Vibrations settings, whether the tutorial has been shown, and a copy of the catalog, of downloaded packs and of the ad frequency settings. This data is not sent to our servers. It is erased if you uninstall the app or clear its data in your phone’s settings. TangBloc does not back it up online; if Android backup is turned on on your phone, Google may include it in your account backup, depending on your settings.
3.2 Anonymous identifier
On first launch, the app opens an anonymous session with Google Firebase. It thereby obtains a random identifier, with no name or email. This identifier is used to:
- load the shop catalog;
- link your purchases to your installation and verify, on the server side, that a purchase is confirmed before a pack is downloaded;
- protect the service against abuse.
During these exchanges, Firebase also receives technical data (IP address, device type and software versions, installation identifiers) needed for its operation and security.
3.3 Purchases
Packs, piece themes and “No ads” are one-time purchases. When you view prices, buy or restore a purchase, the app communicates with RevenueCat, our purchase management provider, and with Google Play or the App Store. The following are processed: the anonymous identifier, the product purchased, the proof of purchase sent by the store, its status, and technical data (platform, version, store country to display the local price). The payment itself, your payment methods and your Google or Apple account remain managed by the store, under its own privacy policy.
3.4 Ads (Google AdMob)
TangBloc shows two kinds of ads provided by Google AdMob:
- Between levels: a full-screen ad may appear when you tap “Next level” after solving a shape, never during a game. The one-time “No ads” purchase removes these ads, as well as hint ads.
- For a hint: during a game, you can choose to watch an ad to get a hint. You are never required to: the game remains fully playable without hints. After buying “No ads”, hints are given without an ad.
In both cases:
- The Google AdMob advertising service is only started when a first ad is prepared: the first time you ask for a hint, or shortly before the first ad between levels.
- Ads may be personalized, meaning chosen based on your activity on other apps and websites: where consent is required, only if you accept it in the form described in section 4; elsewhere, by default unless you opt out. On iPhone, the device’s advertising identifier is only read if you allow TangBloc to track your activity in Apple’s prompt (see section 4); otherwise, ads are chosen without this identifier.
- Google nevertheless processes certain data to serve the ad, measure it, limit how often it is repeated and fight fraud: IP address (which makes it possible to approximately locate the country or region), interactions with the ad, diagnostic information, the device’s advertising identifier.
3.5 What we do not collect
No name, email, phone number, contacts, photos, files, microphone, camera or precise location. TangBloc uses no crash reporting; the only active measurements are campaign measurement (3.6) and audience measurement (3.7).
3.6 Measuring our ad campaigns (Adjust)
To find out which ads bring in new players, the app sends Adjust GmbH, our measurement provider: the device’s advertising identifier, the install referrer provided by Google Play on Android, the device type, the operating system version and the IP address. On iPhone, the advertising identifier is only sent if you allow tracking; otherwise, Adjust receives instead the identifier specific to our apps on that device (IDFV), which remains linked to your install’s data. Apple may also provide, through SKAdNetwork, aggregated campaign measurement without any individual identifier. It also reports two game milestones: first tutorial completed and level completed, as well as the revenue from each ad shown in TangBloc (amount and currency reported by AdMob, with the version of the ad frequency setting). On Android, Adjust also receives your purchases (product, amount, currency) through RevenueCat. Adjust tells the ad network that ran the campaign, for example AppLovin, that an install, a milestone or revenue came from it; the network uses this to measure and improve its campaigns. This data is not used to choose the ads shown in TangBloc.
Where consent is required, this measurement only starts after you agree, in the consent form, to the purposes “Store and/or access information on a device” and “Measure advertising performance”. If you withdraw this consent in Settings, it stops. Elsewhere, it starts on first launch.
3.7 Audience measurement (Google Analytics for Firebase)
To find out how many people play, in which countries, for how long and how far they progress, the app uses Google Analytics for Firebase, Google’s audience measurement service. It receives: a random identifier specific to your install, the masked IP address (from which Google derives the approximate country and city), the device type, the language, the operating system and app versions, app opens and their duration, two game milestones (first tutorial completed, level completed), your in-app purchases (product and price) and the ads shown with their revenue. It receives neither the device’s advertising identifier nor your name. These statistics can also be viewed in our AdMob account to follow ad revenue; they are not used to choose the ads shown or to track you across other apps.
This measurement follows the same consent as campaign measurement (3.6): where consent is required, it only starts after you agree to the same purposes and stops if you withdraw that consent in Settings; elsewhere, it starts on first launch. On iPhone, it also waits for your answer to Apple’s tracking prompt, whatever that answer is.
4. Ad consent
Where required by regulations (notably in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland), a consent form provided by Google (“User Messaging Platform”) is shown to you when you first launch the app, or the first time you ask for a hint if it could not be shown earlier. To find out whether this form is required, the app checks with Google at startup. Until you have answered this form where it is required, no ad is loaded: the ad-based hint remains unavailable and no ad appears between levels. If you decline, Google may still serve limited, non-personalized ads, as its policies allow. Ads between levels never open this form.
You can change or withdraw your choice at any time: on the home screen, open Settings, then Ad privacy. This button appears when Google indicates that these options apply in your region. In U.S. states whose laws provide for it, it also lets you opt out of the sale or sharing of your data for advertising.
On iPhone, Google collects at launch the choices that apply to you and may then show you Apple’s prompt asking whether TangBloc may track your activity, sometimes preceded by an explanation message. While the tracking status remains undetermined, neither measurement by Adjust nor audience measurement starts. If you decline, the advertising identifier is read neither by ads nor by Adjust. You can change your mind in the iPhone’s settings (Privacy & Security > Tracking).
On Android, you can also reset or delete the advertising ID in your phone’s settings (Google > Ads, or Privacy > Ads depending on the version).
5. Legal bases (GDPR)
| Processing | Legal basis |
|---|---|
| Local game data and settings | No transmission; necessary for the service you are using |
| Anonymous identifier, catalog, security | Legitimate interest in providing a reliable shop and protecting it against abuse (Art. 6(1)(f)) |
| Purchase, delivery and restoration of packs, themes and “No ads” | Performance of the purchase contract (Art. 6(1)(b)) |
| Advertising and access to the advertising identifier, where consent is required | Consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR and Article 82 of the French Data Protection Act, “loi Informatique et Libertés”), which can be withdrawn at any time |
| Campaign measurement (Adjust), where consent is required | Consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR and Article 82 of the French Data Protection Act), which can be withdrawn at any time |
| Audience measurement (Google Analytics for Firebase), where consent is required | Consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR and Article 82 of the French Data Protection Act), which can be withdrawn at any time |
6. Service providers and third parties
We only share your data with the services needed for the game:
- Google Firebase (Authentication, Cloud Firestore, Cloud Functions, Google Analytics) — catalog hosting, anonymous identifier, purchase verification, audience measurement. Firebase privacy.
- RevenueCat — management of purchases and of access rights (packs, themes, “No ads”). RevenueCat privacy policy.
- Google AdMob and its consent platform (UMP) — ads between levels and rewarded ads. How Google uses information from sites or apps that use its services and Google Privacy Policy.
- Adjust (Adjust GmbH, Berlin) — measurement of where installs come from and of ad revenue, on Android and iPhone, and of purchases on Android. Adjust privacy policy.
- Ad networks that run our campaigns (AppLovin) — receive from Adjust the information that an install, a milestone or revenue came from their ad. AppLovin privacy policy.
- Google Play and, where applicable, Apple’s App Store — app distribution and payment. Google, Apple.
These companies may process data outside the European Union, notably in the United States. These transfers rely on the safeguards they provide: the European Commission’s adequacy decision for companies certified under the EU–U.S. Data Privacy Framework, or standard contractual clauses.
7. Retention period
- Local data: until the app is uninstalled or its data is cleared.
- Anonymous identifier: as long as it is used by the app, or until you request its deletion. No automatic deletion is scheduled at this time. After an uninstall, the app creates a new identifier; the old one is no longer linked to your device.
- Purchase history at RevenueCat: as long as it is needed to give you access to your purchases and to allow them to be restored, or until you request its deletion. Your purchases remain recorded in your Google Play or Apple account under their own rules.
- Server technical logs: limited period set by the host, Google Cloud.
- Advertising data: under the Google rules listed above.
- Measurement data at Adjust: at most 13 months after your last consent, then user-level data is deleted (setting of our Adjust account).
- Audience measurement data at Google Analytics: 14 months after your last use for data linked to your install (setting of our Analytics property); only aggregated statistical reports are kept beyond that.
8. Your rights
You have the right of access, rectification, erasure, restriction of processing, objection and data portability, as well as the right to withdraw your consent and to set instructions on what happens to your data after your death. Write to izifeu@gmail.com. We respond within one month.
Requesting deletion of your data
There is no delete button in the app: TangBloc does not create an account in your name. To erase the data kept on our services:
- for local data, uninstall the app or clear its data in your phone’s settings;
- for the anonymous identifier and purchase history, write to izifeu@gmail.com. If you made a purchase, include your Google Play order number (it starts with “GPA.”) or your Apple receipt reference: this is what allows us to find your data, since the anonymous identifier is not displayed in the app. Without a purchase, the identifier is not linked to any information that could identify you.
Deletion does not refund a purchase and does not remove it from your Google Play or Apple account: a later restore may unlock your purchases again.
Complaints
If you believe your rights are not being respected, you can file a complaint with the CNIL (the French data protection authority): www.cnil.fr/fr/plaintes, or with the data protection authority of your country.
9. Minors
TangBloc is intended for teenagers aged 13 and over and for adults; it is not intended for children under 13. The game does not ask for any identity information. In France, a minor under 15 cannot consent alone to processing based on consent: before accepting ads, they must obtain the agreement of a person holding parental authority. Hint ads remain optional; the “No ads” purchase removes all ads, hint ads included. A parent who believes their child has sent us data can contact us to have it deleted.
10. Security
Exchanges between the app and the services described above are encrypted (HTTPS). Our database access rules prevent a player from reading another player’s data; purchases are verified on the server side.
11. Changes
This policy may change, for example if a new feature or a new service provider is added. The date of the last update appears at the top of the page; check it from time to time.