In short
- Word Bomb has no account, no sign in and no server of our own. We do not receive your game data.
- The player names you type, your game setup and your settings are stored only on your device. Words typed in the optional Check words mode are checked on your device and are not stored or sent anywhere.
- The app shows ads using Google's ad SDK (Google AdMob). Google collects certain data, such as your IP address and advertising ID, to show ads, measure them and prevent fraud. This is described below.
- Where the law requires consent (for example in the EEA, the UK and Switzerland), you are asked before personalized ads are used, and you can change your choice at any time in Settings, Privacy choices.
- An optional one time purchase removes ads between games. Payment is handled entirely by Google Play.
1. Who we are
Word Bomb: Pass the Phone (“the app”, “we”, “us”) is published by manextapps. This policy explains how the Android app handles information. For questions, see Contact.
2. About the app
Word Bomb is an offline party game for one phone and 2 to 12 players in the same room. Players pass the phone around while a bomb with a hidden, random fuse ticks; the player holding it must say a word that contains the letters on screen, or something that fits a category, before passing it on. Whoever holds the phone when the bomb goes off loses a heart. It includes letter combo, category and hot potato modes, team play, category packs, an optional typed word check against an offline dictionary, and settings. Everything is played on your device, and the word lists are built into the app. An internet connection is used only for ads, for the ad consent form, for the optional purchase, and when you choose to open a link such as this policy. The game itself works without one.
3. Data we collect
We, the developer, do not operate a server for this app and do not collect, receive or store personal data about you. The app has no account or sign in, no analytics or crash reporting tools of our own, and does not use Firebase.
Ads in the app are provided by Google, which collects some data directly through its software development kit (SDK). That is explained in section 5. The optional purchase is processed by Google Play, see section 8.
If you email us, we will receive your email address and whatever you choose to write. We use it only to reply and keep it only as long as needed for that purpose.
4. Data stored on your device
The app saves the following information locally on your device so the game works. It is not sent to us.
- Your last game setup, so the next party starts quickly: the player names you typed, teams, game mode, difficulty, chosen category packs, hearts per player and fuse length. Use any names or nicknames you like.
- How many games you have finished and which category packs are unlocked.
- Counters used to pace ads (for example, how many games you finished since the last full screen ad, and when the last ad was shown).
- Settings: sound, vibration, calm mode, the word language, and whether ads were removed by a purchase.
In the optional Check words mode, the word you type is compared with a dictionary that is built into the app. This happens entirely on your device. Typed words are kept in memory only until the round ends, so the same word cannot be used twice, and are never saved or sent.
Google's ad, consent and billing libraries also store some information on your device, such as your consent choices, so that they work correctly.
5. Advertising and Google's ad SDK
The app uses the Google Mobile Ads SDK (Google AdMob) to show ads and Google's User Messaging Platform (UMP) to request ad consent where required. The app shows:
- Rewarded ads, only when you choose to watch one to unlock a category pack early. If no ad is available, the pack unlocks anyway. Every pack also unlocks for free after a few games. You never have to watch an ad to keep playing.
- Full screen (interstitial) ads, only between games, when you leave the winner screen: never during a round, never in your first session, at most once every two finished games and at least four minutes apart. These stop after the remove ads purchase.
What Google's ad SDK collects
According to Google's data disclosure for the Google Mobile Ads SDK, the SDK automatically collects and shares the following data:
| Data | Description |
|---|---|
| IP address | Your device's IP address, which may be used to estimate the general location of the device. |
| Product interactions | Interactions such as app launches, taps and video views. |
| Diagnostic information | Performance data about the app and the SDK, such as app launch time, hang rate and energy usage. |
| Device and account identifiers | The Android advertising ID, the app set ID and, where applicable, other identifiers related to accounts signed in on the device. |
Google states that this data is used for advertising, analytics and fraud prevention, and that it is encrypted in transit. Google may also use information from apps that use its services as described in How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services and in the Google Privacy Policy. Google's handling of this data is governed by Google's own policies, not by us.
Personalized and non personalized ads
Personalized ads are based on information such as your interests and past activity. Non personalized ads are based on more limited context, such as the app itself and your general (not precise) location. Depending on your choices, your region and your device settings, Google may show you personalized, non personalized or limited ads. Learn more in How Google uses cookies and similar technologies in advertising.
6. Consent and your ad choices
Where it is required (for example in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, and, where enabled, certain U.S. states), the app shows Google's consent message when it starts. You can accept, decline or manage your choices.
When privacy options are available for your region, you can review or change your choices at any time in the app under Settings, Privacy choices. If your choices mean ads cannot be requested, the game still works and category packs can still be unlocked.
You can also manage ad personalization for your Google Account at My Ad Center.
7. Your advertising ID
Android provides a resettable advertising ID. On most devices you can reset or delete it in Settings, Privacy, Ads (menu names vary by device and Android version). Deleting it stops apps from accessing it for advertising; resetting it replaces it with a new random ID. Some devices also offer ad privacy settings for the Android Privacy Sandbox in the same area.
8. In app purchase
You can buy a one time “Remove ads” upgrade. The purchase is made through Google Play Billing: Google handles the payment and your payment details, and we never see them. The app only receives confirmation from Google Play that the upgrade belongs to your Google account, so it can turn off full screen ads and restore the purchase on a new device. Google's handling of purchases is described in the Google Privacy Policy and the Google Play terms.
9. Android permissions
The app does not ask you for runtime permissions such as location, camera, microphone, contacts or storage. The installed app includes the following permissions:
- Vibration (
VIBRATE): lets the phone vibrate with the ticking bomb and the explosion. You can turn vibration off in Settings. Added by the app itself; the permissions below are added by Google's libraries. - Internet access and network state: to load ads, the consent form and the purchase screen.
- Advertising ID (
com.google.android.gms.permission.AD_ID): lets the ad SDK read the advertising ID. - Android ad services (
ACCESS_ADSERVICES_AD_ID,ACCESS_ADSERVICES_ATTRIBUTION,ACCESS_ADSERVICES_TOPICS): let the ad SDK use Android's Privacy Sandbox advertising features where the device supports them. - Google Play billing (
com.android.vending.BILLING): lets the app offer the optional purchase. - Wake lock and foreground service: required by the Android WorkManager library that the ad SDK uses for background tasks. The app itself does not run a foreground service.
10. Children
The app is not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children, and the app itself does not collect personal information from anyone. Ads in the app are served by Google, which collects the data described in section 5. If you are a parent or guardian and have questions or concerns, please contact us.
11. Data retention and deletion
- Our servers: we have none, so we keep no copy of your game data.
- On your device: game data stays until you clear the app's data in Android settings or uninstall the app.
- Google: data collected by Google's ad SDK and by Google Play is retained according to Google's policies. See the Google Privacy Policy and How Google retains data.
12. Device backup
The app allows Android's backup feature to include your game setup (including player names), progress and settings, so they can be restored if you set up a new device. If backup is turned on in your device settings, Android may store this data in your Google Account backup or move it during a device to device transfer, under Google's terms and your device settings. Data stored by the ad and consent libraries is excluded from backup. You can turn backup off in your device's settings.
13. Sharing and links
We do not sell or share your personal data, because we do not receive any. Apart from Google's libraries described above, the app sends information only when you choose to:
- Open a link, such as this privacy policy or another of our apps on Google Play. This policy is hosted on GitHub Pages; GitHub may log visitors' IP addresses for security purposes under the GitHub General Privacy Statement. This page uses no cookies, analytics or tracking scripts.
- Contact us: the app opens your email app with our address filled in. You decide what to send.
14. Security
Because we do not collect your data, there is no copy of it on our side to protect or lose. Game data on your device is protected by Android's app sandbox. Google states that the data its ad SDK collects is encrypted in transit. No method of storage or transmission is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.
15. Your rights
Depending on where you live, privacy laws such as the EU and UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Israel's Protection of Privacy Law, 5741 (1981), and U.S. state privacy laws may give you rights over your personal data. These can include the right to access, correct or delete it, to object to or restrict certain processing, to withdraw consent, and to complain to a data protection authority.
- We do not hold personal data about you, so in most cases there is nothing for us to access or delete. Your game data is on your device and you can delete it as described in section 11.
- For data collected by Google, use your ad choices in the app (section 6), your device's ad settings (section 7), and Google's tools described in the Google Privacy Policy.
- You can always contact us, and we will help as far as we are able.
16. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy, for example if the app or the services it uses change. We will post the updated version on this page and change the effective date at the top. If a change is significant, we will also take reasonable steps to let you know, for example through the app's release notes.