GRIND BREAKER Privacy Policy

1. Data Controller

The controller responsible for data processing in connection with the GRIND BREAKER app for iPhone and Android (the “App”) is:

Johannes Schmidt
Tech-Schmidt
Riesengebirgstraße 36
93073 Neutraubling, Germany
Email: grindbreaker@tech-schmidt.de

2. Overview

GRIND BREAKER is a free arcade game funded by advertising. We are committed to data minimisation: we run no server of our own, require no sign-up and create no user account. Your game progress stays on your device. Personal data is essentially only processed by the integrated advertising service Google AdMob (see section 4).

3. Locally Stored Data

Your level progress, high scores, unlocked achievements, levels you create or import and settings (such as sound and vibration) are stored exclusively in your device’s sandboxed app storage. This data is not transmitted to us or to any third party. Uninstalling the app removes it completely.

4. Advertising (Google AdMob)

To fund the app we integrate Google AdMob, an advertising service provided by Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland (“Google”). AdMob displays full-screen ads (roughly every two levels) as well as optional rewarded videos that you can choose to watch for an extra life.

For this purpose the Google Mobile Ads SDK processes device data. This may include in particular: the advertising identifier (on iOS the “Identifier for Advertisers”/IDFA, on Android Google’s Advertising ID), the IP address, device and operating-system information, a coarse location derived from the IP address, data about your interaction with ads, and technical diagnostic data from the SDK (such as crash and performance data). This data is used to deliver and measure ads and, if you consent, to personalise them.

Legal basis: Processing for personalised advertising is based on your consent under Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR, which you give via the consent dialog described in section 5. If you do not consent, only non-personalised (contextual) ads are shown; the legal basis for this is our legitimate interest in funding the app under Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR.

Google processes part of this data as an independent controller. For more information, see the Google Privacy Policy and “How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services”.

5. Consent to Advertising (Google Consent Dialog and App Tracking Transparency)

In the European Economic Area, the UK and Switzerland, the app shows you a consent dialog on first launch through a Google-certified consent management platform (Google User Messaging Platform). There you decide whether your data may be processed to personalise advertising. This consent is the legal basis under Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR. You can change or withdraw it at any time: in the app under Settings → “Privacy options”.

On iOS the app additionally asks, via Apple’s App Tracking Transparency dialog, whether you consent to tracking. Only if you choose “Allow” is your advertising identifier (IDFA) used for personalised advertising. Otherwise you receive only non-personalised ads.

You can change your ATT choice at any time on iOS under Settings → “Privacy & Security” → “Tracking” (globally or per app).

Android has no comparable tracking prompt at system level. There you can reset or delete your device’s Advertising ID at any time in the Android settings (depending on the device under “Google” → “Ads” or “Privacy” → “Ads”). Once deleted, no Advertising ID is available to apps any more, and ads are no longer personalised based on it.

For users in certain US states (such as California), we additionally offer the option to opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal data for personalised advertising (“Do Not Sell or Share”). Unlike consent in the EEA, no dialog appears at launch for this; you make this choice at any time via the same entry point in the app under Settings → “Privacy options”.

6. In-App Purchases

The app offers one-time in-app purchases: “Remove Ads” and the level editor. Payment is processed exclusively through Apple’s App Store (iPhone) or Google Play (Android). We do not receive any payment or credit-card data, only the confirmation provided by the respective store as to whether the purchase was made. Apple’s Privacy Policy or Google’s Privacy Policy applies to the payment.

7. No Third-Party Analytics or Tracking Services

Apart from the Google AdMob advertising service named in section 4, we integrate no other third-party services. In particular, no separate analytics, statistics or crash-reporting services are used.

8. Transfers to Third Countries

As part of ad delivery by Google, data may also be transferred to and processed in the USA. Google bases such transfers on the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses and on the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. For details, see the Google Privacy Policy linked above.

9. Children’s Privacy

The app is not specifically directed at children and carries a 4+ age rating on the App Store. It contains no objectionable content. On iPhone, personalised advertising is only shown after explicit consent in the tracking dialog; in the EEA, the UK and Switzerland it additionally requires your consent in the consent dialog (section 5) on both platforms.

10. Your Rights

Under the GDPR you have, in particular, the following rights:

• Access to the data stored about you (Art. 15 GDPR)
• Rectification of inaccurate data (Art. 16 GDPR)
• Erasure (Art. 17 GDPR)
• Restriction of processing (Art. 18 GDPR)
• Objection to processing (Art. 21 GDPR)
• Data portability (Art. 20 GDPR)
• Withdrawal of consent with effect for the future

An informal message to the address in section 1 is enough to exercise these rights. Since we do not store any personal data on our own servers and the advertising-related data is processed by Google, requests to access or erase that data are directed to Google directly (see the Google links in section 4); we are happy to help you with this. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority.

11. Data Deletion and Withdrawal

You remove local data by uninstalling the app. You can withdraw your consent to personalised advertising at any time via the Google consent dialog: in the app under Settings → “Privacy options” (see section 5). You change your tracking consent (IDFA) additionally in iOS Settings, where you can also reset your advertising identifier. On Android you reset or delete your Advertising ID in the Android settings (see section 5).

12. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We update this privacy policy when the app or the legal situation changes. The current version published here always applies.

13. Contact

For privacy questions, contact us at grindbreaker@tech-schmidt.de.