Word Climb Privacy Policy

Effective date: 16 October 2026

Word Climb is a word-ladder puzzle game made by an independent developer ("we", "us"). This policy explains what information the app handles, why, and the choices you have. If you have a question, email starladdergames@gmail.com.

The short version

• There are no accounts and no sign-in. We never ask for your name, email address or phone number.
• Your puzzles, stars, streaks and settings are saved only on your device. They are not sent to us.
• The app shows ads from Google AdMob. Google collects some device information to show and measure those ads, as described below.
• Optional purchases are paid through Google Play. We never see your card or payment details.
• We do not sell your personal information.

Information saved on your device

The app saves your game progress, star balance, power-ups, daily streak and results, and your settings (volume, haptics, colorblind mode, large text and reduce motion) in the app's private storage on your device. This information stays on your device and is not sent to us. You can erase it at any time with Settings > Reset Progress, or by uninstalling the app.

Advertising (Google AdMob)

Word Climb is free and shows ads: short ads between puzzles, and optional ads you can choose to watch for stars. The ads are served by Google AdMob, a service of Google LLC (Google Ireland Limited for users in the EEA, UK and Switzerland). To show ads, limit how often you see them, measure them and protect them from fraud, the Google Mobile Ads SDK in the app may collect:

• your device's advertising ID (on iPhone and iPad, only if you allow tracking);
• device and app information, such as the device model, operating system, app version, language and settings;
• your IP address, which may be used to estimate your general location (for example, your country or city);
• ad interaction data, such as which ads were shown and whether they were tapped;
• diagnostic data, such as crash and performance information from the ads SDK.

Google uses this information as described in "How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services" (https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites) and in the Google Privacy Policy (https://policies.google.com/privacy). We only receive aggregated reports from Google, such as how many ads were shown. We do not receive your advertising ID or the other information above in a form that identifies you.

Your ad choices

• EEA, UK and Switzerland: before any ads load, the app asks for your consent using Google's consent tool (the User Messaging Platform). You can review or change your choice at any time in Settings > Privacy Options. If you do not consent to personalised ads, Google may still show non-personalised ads, which use limited data (for example, for frequency capping and fraud prevention).
• Everywhere: you can reset your advertising ID or turn off ad personalisation in your device settings. On Android, open Settings > Privacy > Ads (or Settings > Google > Ads). On iPhone and iPad, open Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking.
• US state privacy laws: we do not sell personal information for money. Showing personalised ads through Google may count as "sharing" or "targeted advertising" under some state laws. You can opt out with the device settings above.

Purchases

Word Climb offers optional in-app purchases: star packs, Remove Ads and a one-time Starter Pack. You pay through Google Play (or the App Store on iPhone and iPad), under that store's terms and privacy policy. We never see or store your name, email address, card or other payment details.

To complete a purchase, the app uses Unity's In-App Purchasing library, which passes the order details (the item, the order ID and the store's purchase receipt) between the app and Google Play. The app keeps a short list of recent order IDs on your device so that a purchase is never added twice, and it saves what you bought (your stars, and whether you own Remove Ads or the Starter Pack) with your other game data on your device. Unity's library may send Unity limited technical diagnostics about the purchase system, such as error reports, under Unity's Privacy Policy (https://unity.com/legal/privacy-policy).

Remove Ads and the Starter Pack belong to your Google Play account. When the shop connects, the app asks Google Play what you own and restores them, for example after you reinstall the app or move to a new phone; you can also tap Restore Purchases in the shop. Stars and power-ups are kept only on your device, so they cannot be restored.

Sharing your results

When you tap Share, the app passes a short text summary of your result to your device's share sheet. You choose where it goes. We do not see it.

What the app does not collect

The app does not ask for access to your contacts, photos, camera, microphone or precise location. It contains no third-party analytics, social-media or crash-reporting SDKs. The only third-party SDKs are the Google ads SDK and Unity's purchasing library described above.

Children

Word Climb is a general-audience game. It is not directed at children under 13 (or the minimum age of digital consent where you live). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has used the app and want help with their information, email us and we will do what we can, including asking Google to act on its side.

Keeping and deleting data

Game data stays on your device until you reset your progress or uninstall the app. We do not keep a copy. Information collected by Google is kept under Google's own policies. Because we hold no personal information about you, there is nothing for us to delete on our side, but we are happy to help with any request: just email us.

Security

Game data is kept in the app's private storage, which other apps cannot read on a standard device. The Google ads SDK and Google Play billing send their data over encrypted connections.

Your rights

Depending on where you live (for example, under the GDPR, the UK GDPR or California law), you may have rights to access, correct or delete personal information, or to object to how it is used. Because the app does not send personal information to us, requests about advertising data are best made to Google (https://myaccount.google.com). We will also help with any request you send us.

International transfers

Google may process advertising data on servers in the United States and other countries, using the safeguards described in Google's policies.

Changes to this policy

If we change this policy, we will update the effective date above and publish the new version in the app and on the app's store listing. We will mention important changes in the app's update notes.

Contact

Email: starladdergames@gmail.com