Döngü 5
In short: Döngü 5 does not ask you to create an account. Playing offline sends nothing that identifies you; only measurements that do not identify you (§1). If you choose to play online, a pseudonymous record is created so you can be matched with a friend: we never ask for your name, email or phone number. No ads, no tracking.
Playing against the computer, or two players on one device, runs on your phone. Your settings and match history stay there.
There are three measurements. Since app version 0.43.0 they are a condition of using the game and cannot be turned off. The first two are anonymous counters; the third (since version 0.45.0) is pseudonymous: it travels under a random install number, described below. None of them identifies you.
1) Difficulty measurement. When a match against the computer ends, we send the following so we can measure how hard each tier really is: which tier, which rule set, whether you won, how many moves it took, the app version and the platform (Android / iOS / web).
2) Usage measurement. So we can see whether the game is understood and whether people come back, at most once a week we send this summary: how many games were played, whether the first game was finished, which mode was played (computer / two-player / online), how long it has been since you installed the app, the app version and the platform (Android / iOS / web).
This summary contains no exact numbers: the number of games is rounded into coarse groups (“1-2”, “3-5”, “6-10”, “11-20”, “20+”) and the time since install into day groups (same day, 1 day, 1 week, 1 month). Your install date and your exact game count never leave your phone; only which group they fall into is sent.
For these two measurements, we do not send: your name, your account, your friend code, any device information, or the time of day. Records are kept in aggregate, not per person — there is no way to look at two measurements and say “this is the same player”. These calls are not linked to your account: no identifying information is sent to the server with a measurement.
3) Usage events (since version 0.45.0). So we can see how the game is used — which puzzles the players who beat a given tier can solve, how many matches are abandoned — the following events are sent: the app being opened and sent to the background, the start and end of a match against the computer (tier, rule set, result, number of moves, whether undo was used), the tier chosen, the end of a two-player match, and the result of a puzzle (which puzzle, whether it was solved, in how many attempts). Each event carries the app version, the platform (Android / iOS / web), the app's language and the time of the event.
What these events share is a random install number: the app generates it on first launch and keeps it on your phone. The number does not identify you, your account or your phone — it is tied to neither your name, nor your friend code, nor a device identifier; it changes when you uninstall and reinstall the app. If you have an online account, the server also links the event to that account (not “which player did what” but “this install belongs to this account”); when you delete your account that link is removed and the events remain as those of an account-less install. Events are deleted after 180 days. Joining the Find-an-opponent queue, being paired, and sending or answering an invitation are also recorded on the server while you play online (same retention, same rules). This data is used only to improve the game: no advertising, no tracking, shared with no one.
The server's own count. When you play online, the server counts the total number of requests it receives per day, platform (Android / iOS / web) and app version — for example “1,200 requests from iOS today”. This count contains nothing about who you are, what you did, or your IP address; only totals are kept. It tells us how much the game is used on each platform. The count is made on the server; anyone who never plays online is never counted.
Cannot be turned off: since version 0.43.0 these measurements are a condition of using the game. The “Anonymous measurements” setting of earlier versions was removed. If you do not want them sent, please do not use the game; nothing sent identifies you (see the list above).
The first time you open the “Online” section, a guest account is created. It holds:
What we do not keep: your name, email address, phone number, date of birth, advertising ID, location, or IP address. Our server keeps no access logs.
There is no chat; you cannot send messages. The only text you can type is your username. During a match you can send one of four emoji, and those are never stored.
If nobody is found in Find an opponent, you can choose Play a bot. Bots are not people: they are computer players running on our server, and their names end in “Bot”. Bot matches are unrated; bots collect no additional information about you, and the match is stored like any other online match.
Swearing, insults, sexual or political content and impersonation are not allowed; new names are checked against a list of banned words. You can report another player's name. For a report we keep: the reporter's and the reported player's account numbers, the reported name and the date. The reported player is not told who reported them. A name with enough reports is hidden from other players and reviewed; a name found to break the rules is banned and its owner cannot start new matches until they choose a new name.
Notifications are never turned on without your approval. The first time you enter the “Online” section the app asks once whether you want them, and your phone asks for permission as well; if you decline they stay off. You can turn them on or off later under Settings → My online account → Notifications.
Once on, your phone's notification address is stored on our server. Google generates this address and it is technically a device identifier — which is why the “we keep no device identifier” sentence in this policy changed. There is no other way to deliver a notification.
We only send a notification in these cases:
The notification text may contain the nickname of the player who challenged you or made a move (e.g. “Blue Owl 42 invited you to a match”).
To deliver it, your address is passed to Google's Firebase Cloud Messaging service, and the text of the notification (who invited you and which match) passes through that service. The address is used only to send notifications: no advertising, no tracking, no profiling, and it is shared with no one else.
When you turn notifications off, sending stops. The address is kept rather than deleted, for a technical reason: these addresses renew themselves, and if you turned notifications back on before a renewal, they would silently fail to arrive. When you delete your account, the address is deleted too. If you uninstall the app the address becomes invalid and is removed from our server on the first attempt.
Our server is hosted in the European Union (Germany). Nightly backups are taken, stay in the same country and are deleted after 14 days.
In the app: Settings → My online account → Delete account. Full instructions: account deletion page.
This cannot be undone and the app asks you to confirm twice.
If you do neither and lose your phone, the account becomes unreachable.
If you choose to sign in to Play Games, it is used for three things:
All three are optional: if you never sign in, the game works fully — you simply get no leaderboard, no recovery and no achievements. Information held in Play Games belongs to Google and is subject to Google's privacy policy.
The app uses no cookies. This website sets no cookies, counts no visitors, and loads no third-party resources (fonts, analytics, CDNs).
The app is declared for ages 13 and over in the store. Its design nevertheless follows child-safety practice: no chat, no search; the only text that can be typed is a rule-bound, reportable username. Only someone who has your friend code or invitation link can add you as a friend. Find an opponent pairs you with a random player of similar rating; paired players see only each other's username, avatar and rating, cannot write messages (only four fixed emoji), and can block each other and report the name.
You can delete your account from inside the app at any time (§5). For any other request about your data, write to the address below; so that we can identify you, please include your friend code or nickname.
Deleting data without deleting your account: you can also ask us to delete specific data while keeping your account — for example your rating, avatar, username, notification address or report records. Write to the address below with your friend code; the request is carried out within 30 days at most and you are told when it is done. Deleted data also disappears from the nightly backups within 14 days at most.
We announce changes in the app and update the effective date on this page.