Playwall - Privacy Policy
Last Updated: 27 August 2026
Effective Date: 27 August 2026
Our Commitment to Your Privacy
Playwall is a game backlog tracker. It keeps the games you own and want on a visual wall, lets you log sessions and rate finishes, and it’s built so your library stays yours. This Privacy Policy explains what data Playwall handles, what leaves your phone, and the choices you have.
The short version: Your library, meaning the games you add, the sessions you log, and the ratings you give, is stored on your device and synced through your own private iCloud account. There is no Playwall account, no login, and no server of ours that holds your library. We do measure how the app is used, through Firebase Analytics, and that measurement is built to be content-free: no game titles, no notes, no search queries, ever. We don’t sell data and we don’t run ads.
1. Information We Collect
1.1 Your Library
| Data Type | Description | Where Stored |
|---|---|---|
| Games | The games you add to your wall, owned or wishlist | Your device, and your private iCloud |
| Sessions | The play sessions you log | Your device, and your private iCloud |
| Ratings & rankings | Your finishes, ratings, and how you rank them | Your device, and your private iCloud |
| Preferences | App settings and cosmetic choices | Your device, and your private iCloud |
We do not receive, store, or have any way to read any of it. It is never uploaded to a server of ours, because we do not operate one. Your library is stored on your device and synced through Apple’s CloudKit into your own private iCloud account, which we cannot access. The app’s core features work offline; only game search and cover images need a connection.
1.2 Usage Analytics
In released builds, Playwall uses Firebase Analytics, a Google service, to understand how the app is used: whether people finish onboarding, whether they add a game, which features are reached, and where flows are abandoned. This tells us what to fix and what to build next. It does not identify you, and it is turned off entirely in development builds.
What is collected:
- A closed set of product events, fixed in the code: onboarding steps reached, that a game was captured, that a session was logged, that a purchase or restore started or finished, and cosmetic changes such as a theme switch. Event names and parameter values come from a fixed list, so free text cannot reach Google by accident.
- Coarse, bucketed properties describing the install: numeric signals such as library size are sent only as broad ranges, never as exact counts, and never attached to any game.
- A device-generated Firebase app instance identifier, created and managed by Firebase, used to tell one installation’s activity apart from another’s inside our own dashboards.
What is never sent, in any event, parameter, or property:
- Any game title. We record that a game was captured or a session was logged, never which game.
- Any note or free text you write.
- Any search query.
- Any personal identifier. No name, no email, no device name, no advertising identifier (IDFA).
- Screenshots, files, or the contents of your library.
Because none of this links your activity to other companies’ apps or websites, it does not meet Apple’s definition of tracking, and Playwall shows no App Tracking Transparency prompt.
1.3 Install Attribution
Playwall uses Apple’s AdServices to collect an attribution token, which lets us understand, in aggregate, which Apple Search Ads campaigns bring installs. AdServices is Apple’s privacy-preserving attribution framework; it is not the advertising identifier (IDFA) and does not track you across other companies’ apps. To join an install’s usage and purchase activity inside our own analytics, the Firebase app instance identifier described in §1.2 is passed to RevenueCat (see §1.4). These identifiers are install-scoped and are never linked to your name, email, or your library.
1.4 Purchases
Playwall is free, with optional support tiers handled by Apple’s App Store, and subscription and entitlement bookkeeping through RevenueCat. RevenueCat receives an anonymous identifier it generates itself, together with your purchase and entitlement status, and the Firebase app instance identifier described above. It does not receive your name, email, or payment details, and it receives nothing about your library. Apple handles the payment and never passes those details to us.
1.5 Game Data (IGDB)
Game titles, covers, and details come from IGDB, accessed through a proxy we operate. When you search for a game, your search text is sent to that proxy to look the game up; the proxy holds the IGDB credentials so the app carries none. Cover images are then fetched directly from IGDB’s image servers (images.igdb.com). Your search text is used only to return matching games and is not tied to your identity.
1.6 Information We Do NOT Collect
- Personal identification (name, email address, phone number)
- Account credentials, because there are no accounts
- The contents of your library, sessions, notes, or ratings
- Apple Health data. Playwall does not use HealthKit
- Location data
- Contacts or address book
- Photos
- Browsing history
- The advertising identifier (IDFA)
2. How We Use Your Information
2.1 To Provide the Service
- Storing your library: written to your device and synced to your own private iCloud account
- Finding games: sending your search text to our IGDB proxy to return matching games and covers
- Unlocking cosmetics: verifying your support purchase and restoring it on your other devices
2.2 To Improve the App
- Usage analytics: understanding which features are reached and where flows break down, within the content-free limits in §1.2
- Install attribution: understanding, in aggregate, which campaigns bring installs (§1.3)
- Crash reporting: Apple’s standard crash and performance reports, delivered through App Store Connect
2.3 Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)
If you are in the European Economic Area (EEA), our legal bases are:
- Contractual Necessity: processing needed to provide the app and your purchase
- Legitimate Interests: understanding and improving how the app is used, measuring install attribution, and keeping it secure
Your library is not processed by us. It stays on your device and in your own iCloud.
3. How Your Data Is Stored
3.1 On Your Device and Your iCloud
- Your library is stored on your device, saved as you use the app
- It syncs through your own private iCloud account using Apple’s CloudKit, so it reaches your other devices signed into the same Apple ID and survives a lost phone. This is your iCloud, controlled by Apple, and we cannot access it
- We operate no server that holds your library, so there is nothing of yours for us to lose, sell, or be compelled to hand over
Apple’s privacy practices apply to anything in iCloud. See Apple’s Privacy Policy.
3.2 Analytics Data
Firebase Analytics data is processed by Google under its own Firebase data processing terms, and retained according to Google’s retention settings for our project. We do not sell it and do not use it for anything beyond understanding and improving the app.
4. Third-Party Services
4.1 Apple iCloud / CloudKit
- Purpose: storing and syncing your library across your own devices
- Data shared: your library, stored in YOUR private iCloud account
- Privacy Policy: apple.com/privacy
4.2 Google Firebase Analytics
- Purpose: measuring feature reach and where flows are abandoned
- Data shared: the closed event set and coarse bucketed properties described in §1.2, plus a device-generated app instance identifier. No IDFA, no game titles, no free text, no personal identifiers
- Privacy Policy: policies.google.com/privacy
4.3 RevenueCat
- Purpose: managing support purchases and restores
- Data shared: an anonymous identifier, purchase and entitlement status, and the Firebase app instance identifier
- Privacy Policy: revenuecat.com/privacy
4.4 IGDB (via our proxy)
- Purpose: providing game titles, covers, and details, and serving cover images
- Data shared: your search text, and requests for specific games; no personal identifiers
- Privacy Policy: igdb.com/privacy (IGDB is operated by Twitch/Amazon)
4.5 Apple App Store
- Purpose: app distribution, payment, standard analytics and crash reports
- Data shared: standard App Store analytics (downloads, crashes, usage statistics)
- Privacy Policy: apple.com/privacy
There are no other third-party SDKs in the app that collect data.
5. Data Retention
5.1 Your Library
It remains on your device, and in your iCloud account, until you delete it. We do not control or have visibility into that retention, and we cannot delete your library for you, because there is nothing on our side to delete.
5.2 Analytics
Analytics events are retained by Google under our Firebase project’s retention configuration. They contain no personal identifiers and no library content.
5.3 Purchases
RevenueCat and Apple retain purchase records as required for billing, restores, and legal purposes.
6. Your Rights and Choices
6.1 Delete Your Data
- In-app: remove any game from its detail screen
- iCloud: remove Playwall’s synced library in Settings → [your name] → iCloud → Manage Account Storage
- Uninstall: deleting the app removes the local copy; remove the iCloud copy as above
There is no server copy, so once removed from your devices and iCloud, your library is gone for good.
6.2 Support Purchases
Manage or cancel the annual Supporter subscription in your Apple Account settings. Night Owl and Patron are one-time purchases with nothing to cancel. Losing support status only hides cosmetics. It never touches your library.
6.3 Rights for EEA Residents (GDPR)
If you are in the European Economic Area, you have the right to access, rectification, erasure, portability, objection, restriction of processing, and to withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.
Because your library never reaches us, you exercise most of these directly in the app and in your iCloud settings. For anything concerning analytics, attribution, or purchase records, contact us at [email protected].
6.4 Rights for California Residents (CCPA)
If you are a California resident, you have the right to know what personal information is collected and how it is used, to delete it, and to not be discriminated against for exercising those rights.
We do not sell personal information. We do not share personal information for cross-context behavioural advertising.
To exercise these rights, contact us at [email protected].
7. Data Security
- Encryption in transit: all network traffic (analytics, purchase verification, iCloud, game search) uses HTTPS/TLS
- Minimal transmission: the app sends no library content anywhere, so there is very little to protect in the first place
- No content servers: we operate no service that stores your library
- Device security: your local data is only as safe as your phone. Use a strong passcode, enable Face ID or Touch ID, keep iOS updated, and enable two-factor authentication on your Apple Account
No system is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security of data transmitted over the internet.
8. Children’s Privacy
Playwall is intended for users 13 years of age and older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. Since there are no accounts and no personal identifiers, the risk is minimal, but if you are a parent or guardian with a concern, please contact us.
9. International Data Transfers
Analytics, attribution, and purchase data may be processed by servers in the United States or other countries where Google, RevenueCat, Apple, and IGDB operate. For transfers from the EEA, UK, or Switzerland we rely on standard contractual clauses, adequacy decisions where applicable, and our providers’ own compliance programmes.
Your library is not transferred by us; iCloud data is handled by Apple according to your account settings and their policies.
10. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make material changes we will update the “Last Updated” date, and may notify you in the app. Continued use after changes take effect constitutes acceptance.
11. Contact Us
Questions, concerns, or requests about this policy or our data practices:
Email: [email protected]
We aim to respond within 30 days.
12. Summary of Data Practices
| Category | What Is Collected | Why | Stored Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Library (games, sessions, ratings) | Everything you add and log | Core app functionality | Your device, your private iCloud |
| Preferences | App settings, cosmetics | Personalisation | Your device, your private iCloud |
| Product events | Closed, content-free event set | Product improvement | Firebase Analytics |
| Install properties | Coarse bucketed signals | Reading the funnels | Firebase Analytics |
| App instance identifier | Device-generated, Firebase-managed | Telling installs apart; joining to purchases | Firebase Analytics, RevenueCat |
| Attribution token | Apple AdServices token | Aggregate install attribution | Apple, our analytics |
| Purchase status | Anonymous ID, entitlement state | Support purchases and restores | RevenueCat, Apple |
| Search text | The game you search for | Returning matching games | Our IGDB proxy |
13. App Store Privacy Labels
In accordance with Apple’s App Store requirements:
Data Not Linked to You
- Identifiers: a device-generated app instance identifier and an Apple AdServices attribution token
- Purchases: purchase and entitlement status
- Usage Data: product interaction events
- Diagnostics: crash and performance data
Data Not Collected
- Contact Info
- Health & Fitness
- Location
- Contacts
- User Content: your library stays on your device and in your own iCloud, and we never receive it
- Browsing History
Data Used to Track You
- None. No IDFA is collected, no ad personalisation is enabled, and no data is linked across other companies’ apps or websites.
Your games are yours, and your library stays on your devices. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out.