Vườn Quê Phản Công privacy policy

Last updated

Summary

The game itself has no accounts, no sign-in, no analytics or crash reporting of its own, and it does not send your game progress anywhere. Your progress stays on your device.

The game has rewarded ads from Google AdMob. It asks for your consent before it starts the AdMob library. If you agree, that library collects some device data and sends it to Google (see “Ads”). You can turn ads off at any time in the game’s Settings.

Whether or not you agree, each time you open the game Google’s consent library contacts Google once to learn your region. The AdMob library built into the game may also send requests to Google on its own when the game opens, even before you agree (see “Network connections”).

Who publishes the game

I, Beater Nguyen (Nguyễn Thanh Dũng), make and publish Vườn Quê Phản Công. I am an independent developer. The game runs on Android, iOS and iPadOS. On Google Play the developer name is Beater Nguyen; on the App Store the seller is listed under my legal name without diacritics: Thanh Dung Nguyen.

Data stored on your device

The game stores on your device:

  • your progress: levels cleared, stars, Xu (in-game coins), plants unlocked, items bought with Xu at Tiệm Chú Bảy (the in-game shop);
  • your Settings choices;
  • your play habits, so that Bóng Tím in the game can “learn” and guess your moves;
  • how many rewarded ads you watched today, to keep the daily limit;
  • your age group (under 13, 13 to 15, 16 and over) and the year it was recorded, from the birth year question when you first open the game. The game does not store your birth year and does not send your age group anywhere;
  • your ad choice (from the game’s dialog, Google’s dialog or the Settings switch) when you made it, and which version of the dialog text you saw;
  • details of the latest version the game last downloaded, and when you tapped “Để sau” (Later) on the update prompt;
  • in Europe, the UK and Switzerland: your choice in Google’s dialog, stored by Google’s library.

All of this sits in the app’s private storage. The game does not send it anywhere. The one exception is your choice in Google’s dialog: Google’s library reads it and sends it with ad requests, so Google knows which kind of ads it may show. The AdMob library and Google’s consent library also keep their own data in this storage.

Network connections

The game works without a network. Offline, you only lose rewarded ads. Every connection the game makes uses HTTPS. There are three kinds:

  • Update check. When you open the game, it downloads the latest version info from my site once. This request carries no device identifier, game data or personal information. Cloudflare, which hosts my site, may log the IP address in technical logs, as with any HTTPS request.
  • Region check. Each time you open the game, for every player, including those who declined ads, Google’s consent library contacts Google to learn your region and whether Google’s dialog is needed. In Europe, the UK and Switzerland, when the dialog needs to be shown, it also downloads it. Like any network request, this one carries your device’s IP address. On iOS, Google declares that this library uses approximate location, performance data and product interaction to run the consent flow, not for tracking. If the check fails (no network, or more than 8 seconds), the game shows no ad consent dialog and no ads that session.
  • Ads. Only after you agree does the AdMob library start and preload one ad, even if you have not opened the shop yet. After each view it preloads the next one. If loading fails, it retries after 30 seconds, doubling the wait each time, up to 10 minutes. If you have not agreed yet or have declined, the game does not start the AdMob library. The library is still built into the game, though, so it may send requests to Google on its own when the game opens. These requests carry at least your device’s IP address, and may include information about your device and the app.

When you tap the update button, the game opens its page on the App Store or Google Play, and Apple’s or Google’s policy applies there. Apart from these connections, the game has no game server, no online leaderboard and no other library that sends data.

Ads

What ads and where

The game only has rewarded ads, which play only when you tap to watch. They appear in two places: the “Coi quảng cáo” (Watch an ad) card in Tiệm Chú Bảy and the “Coi quảng cáo” button on the defeat popup. Watching to the end gives you Xu. Ads never give stars, plants or progress. You can watch at most 3 a day, shared between both places. Before the shop opens, the game does not offer ads. There are no interstitial ads, no banners, and no ads while you play a level.

The first time you open the game, after the birth year question, the game asks whether you agree to ads. It asks again when needed, for example when Google needs to ask again or when the dialog text changes:

  • in Europe, the UK and Switzerland: Google’s dialog. The game reads your choice and only uses AdMob if you allow Google to store and access information on your device. If you decline, the game does not start the AdMob library;
  • everywhere else: the game’s own “Quảng cáo trong game” (Ads in the game) dialog, with “Đồng ý” (Agree) and “Không, cảm ơn” (No, thanks). If you tap “Không, cảm ơn”, the game does not ask again.

Until you agree, the game does not start the AdMob library (“Network connections” lists what the library may still send on its own). Either way you can play the whole game; you just get no Xu from ads.

Changing your mind

In the game’s Settings, under “Quảng cáo và quyền riêng tư” (Ads and privacy):

  • turn off the “Quảng cáo có thưởng” (Rewarded ads) switch to withdraw consent. As soon as you turn it off, the game drops any preloaded ad, starts no new ad loads and shows no more ads. If the AdMob library already started during that session, it stays in the game and may still send requests to Google until you close the game; from the next launch on, the game no longer starts it;
  • turn the switch back on: outside Europe, the UK and Switzerland, the game shows its dialog again so you can reread it before agreeing;
  • the “Tùy chọn quyền riêng tư” (Privacy options) button reopens Google’s dialog. It only appears when Google requires it.

Data the AdMob library collects

According to Google’s data disclosure pages (Android, iOS), when it is in use the AdMob library collects and sends to Google the following. The Android page says this data is used for advertising, analytics and fraud prevention; the iOS page says it is used to improve performance, for third-party advertising and for analytics.

  • IP address, which may be used to estimate the approximate location of the device;
  • interactions with the app and ads: app launches, taps, ad video views. On iOS, also data about ads you have seen;
  • diagnostics and performance: launch time, hang rate, energy use. On iOS, also crash logs;
  • device identifiers: on Android, the advertising ID, app set ID, and identifiers of signed-in accounts on the device if any. On iOS, app- or developer-scoped device identifiers; the IDFA advertising identifier is only available if you allow tracking.

This is Google’s general list. The game tags every ad request for child treatment, and Google states that with this tag the Android (AAID) and iOS (IDFA) advertising identifiers are not sent (see “Child tag” below). On iOS, the game does not ask for tracking permission (App Tracking Transparency), so the AdMob library cannot read the IDFA.

Google states that the data the AdMob library collects on Android is encrypted in transit (TLS). I can only see aggregate numbers in my AdMob account, such as impressions and revenue, not data about any single device.

Who receives the data

Google receives the data the AdMob library collects and processes it under the Google Privacy Policy and How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services. Google’s iOS page says performance data may be shared with other parties that show ads. Google’s help article on age tags says that with the child tag, requests to third-party ad vendors, such as measurement pixels and third-party ad servers, are disabled.

Google protects this data at a level equal to this policy, under the Google Ads Controller-Controller Data Protection Terms, which I accepted for my AdMob account. AdMob is on the list of services those terms cover (except the AdMob features where Google acts as my processor), and Google explains more on its business privacy page.

Child tag

Every ad request from the game is tagged for age treatment at the child level. According to Google’s help article, with this tag:

  • personalized ads and remarketing are disabled;
  • requests to third-party ad vendors are disabled;
  • ad serving protections for children apply;
  • the AAID and IDFA advertising identifiers are not sent.

The article also says Google takes steps to disable interest-based and remarketing ads, and that this may take some time to take effect. The game only accepts ads rated G, suitable for all ages.

Device permissions

The game shows no permission prompts, on Android or iOS. It does not ask for location, contacts, camera, microphone, photos or notifications.

On Android, besides the network access the game declares, the release build has install-time permissions (no prompt) that the ads library adds on its own:

  • view network state;
  • keep the device awake;
  • run a foreground service;
  • read the advertising ID. This permission is in the build, but according to Google the advertising ID is not sent with child-tagged requests;
  • three Android Privacy Sandbox permissions: advertising ID, attribution, and ad topics.

The build also has one internal permission added by the AndroidX library, usable only by the game itself, so parts of the game can signal each other. It gives the game no access to anything on the device.

Children

Children, including those under 13, can play this game. The first time you open it, the game asks for your birth year and only stores the age group on the device. For now the age group does not change anything about ads: every player is asked for consent the same way, and every ad request carries the child tag.

The game has no real-money purchases, chat or user-generated content. Ads are rated G only.

If a player agrees, including a child, the AdMob library still collects the data listed under “Ads”. The child tag only changes what Google states in that section. If you are a parent and do not want your child to see ads, turn off the “Quảng cáo có thưởng” switch in the game’s Settings.

Keeping and deleting data

  • Game data stays on your device until you uninstall the app. I keep no copy. Uninstalling deletes the data on the device; you do not need to ask anyone.
  • If you turn on device backup (Android backs up to your Google account automatically; iOS has iCloud or computer backups), the backup sits in your own account or computer and may be restored when you reinstall the game.
  • Data the AdMob library already sent to Google is not held by me, and uninstalling does not delete it. Google’s retention page says each type of data has its own retention period. Google’s example: it anonymizes advertising data in server logs by removing part of the IP address after 9 months and cookie information after 18 months. For people who are not signed in, Google says it offers the ability to delete some information linked to a device, browser or app. You can control Google ads, including turning off personalization, in Ad Settings; if you are signed in to a Google Account, you can review and delete activity in My Activity. Google asks you to withdraw consent in the app that asked for it, which is the switch and button under “Changing your mind”.
  • Turning off the “Quảng cáo có thưởng” switch stops the game from loading and showing ads, and from the next launch on the game no longer starts the AdMob library. Google’s consent library is still contacted each time you open the game, and the AdMob library may still send requests on its own when the game opens (see “Network connections”).
  • If you have a question about deleting data, email me (see “Contact”).

Changes to this policy

If an update changes how the game uses data, for example by adding interstitial ads, asking for tracking permission or adding in-app purchases, I update this page and its date before that version reaches the stores.

Contact

If you have a question about your data in the game, email contact@beaternguyen.com.