This privacy policy explains how the LightUp puzzle game (Android package com.smronju.lightup) handles your information. LightUp is developed and published by Mohammad Shoriful Islam Ronju, an independent developer (“I”, “me”).
In short: your game progress and settings are stored on your phone. LightUp has no server and no account of its own. The game uses Google Play Games Services for achievements and leaderboards, Google AdMob to show ads, Google Analytics for Firebase to understand how the game is played, and Google Play to sell the optional Remove Ads purchase; those Google services collect some data as described below. I only ever see anonymous, combined reports from them.
1. Information stored on your device
LightUp saves the following locally in the app’s private storage:
- Game progress: your current level, solved levels, best moves and star ratings per level, achievement progress, daily puzzle results, daily streak and best daily times, and whether you have seen the tutorial.
- Coins: your coin balance, your daily login reward progress, how many ads you have watched for coins today, the hints you bought and the themes you unlocked.
- Settings: haptics, sound volume, color theme, tile skin, whether the background sparks are on, and whether the daily reminder is on and at what time.
- Purchase status: whether you own Remove Ads, so the game can hide ads straight away, even offline.
This information is used only to run the game. I do not collect, transmit, sell or share it.
2. Google Play Games Services
LightUp uses Google Play Games Services for sign-in, achievements and leaderboards. When you open the game, it tries to sign you in to Play Games automatically using your Google Play Games profile. You can also sign in from the Achievements screen, and you can play without signing in.
When you are signed in, Google receives and stores your achievement unlocks and leaderboard scores (furthest level, daily puzzle time, perfect levels and total stars). Your Play Games display name, avatar and scores are visible to other players on the public leaderboards. If you open the friends leaderboard, Google will ask for your permission before LightUp can show your Play Games friends’ scores. You control your Play Games profile visibility and friends settings in the Google Play Games app.
This data is handled by Google under Google’s Privacy Policy. I can see aggregate achievement and leaderboard statistics in the Google Play Console, but I do not receive your email address or other Google account details.
3. Advertising (Google AdMob)
LightUp is free and shows ads from Google AdMob: a banner at the top of the screen, and a full-screen (interstitial) ad between levels. Full-screen ads never appear before level 5 or during daily puzzles, and are limited in how often they appear. You can also choose to watch a rewarded video ad for extra hints, for coins (up to 5 a day) or to keep your daily reward streak; these only play when you tap to watch one. You can turn all ads off with the Remove Ads purchase (see section 4).
To serve, measure and limit ads and to prevent fraud, Google may collect information from your device such as your advertising ID, IP address, device and app information, and how you interact with ads. Depending on your settings and location, ads may be personalized. This data goes directly to Google and is handled under Google’s Privacy Policy; see also how Google uses information from apps that use its services.
Your choices: if you are in the European Economic Area, the UK or another region where consent is required, LightUp shows Google’s consent form before personalized ads are served. You can change your choice at any time from Settings → Ad Privacy Options. You can also reset or delete your advertising ID, or opt out of personalized ads, in your device’s Google / privacy settings.
4. In-app purchase (Remove Ads)
LightUp offers one optional, one-time purchase, Remove Ads, which turns off all ads in the game. The purchase is made through Google Play Billing: Google Play handles the payment and your payment details, under the Google Payments Privacy Notice. LightUp never sees your card or bank details.
The game only learns from Google Play whether you own Remove Ads, and saves that on your phone. Google Play also lets the game restore the purchase if you reinstall it or move to a new phone with the same Google account. In the Google Play Console I can see order records for purchases (such as an order number, the date, the price and the country), but not your name, email address or payment details. Refunds are handled through Google Play.
5. Analytics (Google Analytics for Firebase)
LightUp uses Google Analytics for Firebase to understand how the game is played, so I can improve levels that are too hard, balance coin rewards and prices, and get the timing of ads right. It records:
- Gameplay events: when a level or daily puzzle is started and finished, with the level number, moves, time, stars and whether a hint was used; and the in-game coins you earn and spend, with the amount, where they came from (daily reward, daily puzzle or a rewarded ad) and what they bought (a hint or a theme). Coins have no real-money value and can’t be bought.
- Usage collected automatically by the SDK: app opens, sessions, screens viewed, app version, device model and Android version, in-app purchases (product and price) and ad impressions.
- Identifiers and location: an app instance ID created by Firebase, your advertising ID, and an approximate location (country/region) derived from your IP address. Your precise location is never collected.
This data goes to Google and is handled under Google’s Privacy Policy and the Firebase privacy information. I only see aggregated reports in the Firebase and AdMob consoles, not information that identifies you. The optional settings for sharing this data with Google for its own purposes (product improvement, benchmarking, support and sales access) are turned off for LightUp. Analytics also runs for players who bought Remove Ads.
Your choices: resetting or deleting your advertising ID in your device settings stops it from being linked to past activity, and clearing LightUp’s storage or reinstalling the game creates a new app instance ID.
6. Device permissions
| Permission | Why LightUp uses it |
|---|---|
| Internet | Used by Google Play Games Services, Google AdMob and Google Analytics for Firebase. |
| Vibrate | For haptic feedback when you rotate tiles and complete levels. You can turn haptics off in Settings. |
| Notifications | For the daily puzzle reminder (on by default at 10:00 AM; you can change the time or turn it off in Settings). On Android 13 and later the game asks for this once, on first launch; if you decline, the reminder is turned off. Reminders are scheduled and shown on your device. |
| Google Play billing | Lets you buy Remove Ads through Google Play. |
LightUp does not access your device’s location (GPS), camera, microphone, contacts or files.
7. Sharing your daily result
After a daily puzzle you can share a short text summary (puzzle number, stars, taps, time and streak) through your device’s share menu. Nothing is shared unless you choose to, and the app you share to is responsible for what you send.
8. Android backup
If Android backup is turned on for your device, Android may automatically include LightUp’s saved progress and settings in your device backup to your Google account so it can be restored on a new phone. This backup is managed by Google, not by me, and you can turn it off in your device’s system settings.
9. What LightUp does not do
- No accounts of its own and no developer-run servers.
- No crash-reporting SDKs.
- No precise location.
- No sale of personal information.
10. Keeping and deleting your data
- On your device: uninstalling LightUp, or clearing its storage in Android settings, deletes your saved progress and settings.
- Play Games data: you can delete your achievements and leaderboard data for LightUp, or your whole Play Games profile, from the Google Play Games app or your Google Account.
- Ad data: you can reset or delete your advertising ID in your device settings.
- Analytics data: Google keeps detailed analytics events for a limited time (at most 14 months) and then deletes them automatically. Clearing LightUp’s storage resets your app instance ID; to delete analytics data tied to it, contact me and I will ask Google to delete it.
- Purchases: your Remove Ads purchase and order history are kept by Google Play with your Google account, so it can be restored on reinstall.
I do not run a server, so apart from analytics data held by Google there is nothing for me to delete on my side, but you are welcome to contact me with any request.
11. Children’s privacy
LightUp is not directed at children under 13, and I do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided personal information through the game, please contact me.
12. Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, I will update it on this page and change the effective date above. Significant changes will also be noted in the game’s release notes.
13. Contact
If you have any questions about this policy or your data, email smronju@gmail.com.