Privacy Policy
Last updated: October 2, 2026
Boxy Cats is a puzzle game for iPhone made by Youngmi Jang (“we”, “us”). This policy explains what information the Boxy Cats app and the website boxy-cats.web.app collect, why we collect it, and the choices you have. If you have any question, write to one@ashsoft.us.
In short
- You never create an account. The app gives you an anonymous player ID so your scores can appear on the daily leaderboard.
- Leaderboard names are made up automatically (for example “Sleepy Tabby #4821”). You can choose your own name instead; other players see it on the leaderboard.
- Your settings, your best score and a game in progress stay on your device.
- If you leave your email on our website for the Android release, we use it for that one email only and then delete it.
- We do not sell your personal information.
1. Information the app collects
| What | Why | Who processes it |
|---|---|---|
| Anonymous player ID — a random identifier created the first time you finish a game. It is not linked to your name, email address or Apple Account. | To keep one entry per player on each day’s leaderboard. | Google Firebase Authentication |
| Game results — score, lines cleared, number of cats placed, play time, the day (UTC) of the run and your leaderboard name. | To rank runs on the daily leaderboard and to reject scores the game cannot produce. | Google Firebase (Cloud Firestore, Cloud Functions) |
| A name you choose — if you pick your own leaderboard name (3 to 12 English letters and numbers), and how many times you changed it that day. | To show it to other players on the leaderboard, to check it against our Terms of Use and to handle reports about it. | Google Firebase (Cloud Firestore, Cloud Functions) |
| App integrity check — Firebase App Check uses Apple’s App Attest to confirm that requests come from the genuine app. It does not give us personal information. | To protect the leaderboard from fake scores. | Google Firebase, Apple |
| Advertising data — if the app shows you ads: your device’s advertising identifier (IDFA) only if you allow tracking when iOS asks, plus device information, approximate location derived from your IP address, and how you interact with ads. | To show ads, measure them and limit how often you see them. | Google AdMob |
| Purchases — in-app purchases are handled by Apple. We only learn which item was bought and receive a transaction record. We never see your payment details. | To unlock what you bought and to restore it on another device. | Apple |
| Usage and crash data — events such as a game starting or ending, the app version, device model and crash reports. | To understand how the game is played and to fix problems. | Google Firebase Analytics and Crashlytics |
Stored only on your device
Your settings (sound, haptics, calm motion), your best score, a game in progress and the players you hid on the leaderboard are saved on your device and are not sent to us.
2. Information the website collects
- Android release list. If you ask to be told when Boxy Cats comes to Android, we store your email address and the language of the page, and notify our team in our Slack workspace. We use your address only to send one email when the Android version is released and then delete it. We never share it.
- Abuse protection. To limit sign-up attempts to a few per hour, we keep a counter keyed by a one-way hash of your IP address for about two hours. Old counters are deleted every day.
- Hosting. Our hosting provider (Google Firebase Hosting) processes your IP address to deliver the pages.
3. How long we keep information
- Leaderboard entries are anonymous and are kept while the game’s leaderboards are online, unless you ask us to remove them.
- A name you choose is kept until you change it, go back to your automatic name, or ask us to remove it. A name reported and found to break our Terms of Use is reset.
- The anonymous player ID stays with our authentication provider. It is not linked to any personal information.
- Android list emails are deleted after the release email is sent, or earlier if you ask.
- Advertising, usage and crash data are kept according to Google’s retention settings for AdMob, Analytics and Crashlytics.
4. Your choices and rights
- Tracking. iOS asks before any app may use your advertising identifier. You can change your answer at any time in Settings › Privacy & Security › Tracking. If you say no, you still see ads, but they are not personalized with the identifier.
- Ad consent in the EEA, UK and Switzerland. Where the law requires it, the app asks for your consent through Google’s consent message, and you can change your choice later from the app’s settings.
- Removing your data. Deleting the app removes the only link between you and your anonymous leaderboard entries. To have your entries removed, or for any other request about your data, email one@ashsoft.us. We may ask for details such as the date and score of a run so we can find it.
- Your legal rights. Depending on where you live (for example under the GDPR in the EU and UK, California law or Korea’s Personal Information Protection Act), you may have the right to access, correct, delete or object to the use of your personal information. Contact us to use these rights. You may also complain to your local data protection authority.
5. Children
Boxy Cats is made for a general audience and is not directed to children under 13 (or the minimum age in your country). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children, and ads are limited to content suitable for general audiences. If you believe a child has given us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.
6. Where information is processed
Our servers are provided by Google Cloud and Firebase and are located in the United States. Google processes this information on our behalf under its data processing terms, which include Standard Contractual Clauses for transfers from the EEA, UK and Switzerland.
7. Service providers
- Google Firebase — Authentication, Cloud Firestore, Cloud Functions, App Check, Hosting, Analytics, Crashlytics (privacy)
- Google AdMob (privacy, how Google uses information from apps)
- Apple — App Store purchases and App Attest (privacy)
- Slack — internal notifications about website sign-ups (privacy)
We do not sell personal information. We share it only with these providers, for the purposes above.
8. Changes to this policy
If we change this policy, we will update this page and the date at the top. If a change is significant, we will also let you know in the app or on this website.
9. Contact
Youngmi Jang
one@ashsoft.us