Privacy Policy

1. Who This Policy Applies To

This Privacy Policy describes how Soul Branch, LLC handles information collected through the Pickled mobile application (the "App") on iOS and Android. It applies to anyone who downloads, installs, or uses the App. Our website at playpickled.app is covered separately by our Cookie Policy.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Voluntarily Provide

You can use the core features of Pickled without giving us any personal information. You only share data with us if you choose to:

• Contact us for support: If you email us at contact@playpickled.app, we receive your email address and any information you include in your message.
• Purchase a subscription: Subscriptions are processed by Apple App Store or Google Play. We never see your payment card or billing information. We receive only the anonymized purchase confirmation needed to unlock your subscription.
• Join the waitlist or newsletter (if offered): We collect the email address you submit and use it only to send the messages you signed up for.

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

When you use the App, the following technical and usage information is collected automatically by us or by the third-party SDKs listed in Section 3:

• Device and software information: Device model, operating system version, app version, language and region settings, screen size, and time zone.
• Identifier for Vendors (IDFV) on iOS / Android Advertising ID alternatives: A per-vendor identifier that lets our analytics tools count unique installs of Pickled. This identifier cannot be used to identify you across other developers' apps. We do not collect Apple's Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA). We do not link the AppTrackingTransparency framework, so iOS will never prompt you to allow tracking.
• Approximate (coarse) location: Our advertising partner (Google AdMob) derives an approximate city- or region-level location from your device's IP address. This is used only to deliver locally appropriate ads, manage ad frequency, and detect whether you are in a region (such as the EU/EEA, UK, or Switzerland) where consent must be obtained. We do not request or collect precise GPS location.
• Gameplay and feature usage events: Anonymous events such as "game started," "game completed," "card drawn," "deck created," "screen viewed," and similar interactions, plus the screen names within the App.
• Crash and diagnostic data: If the App crashes or encounters an error, our crash-reporting tool collects a stack trace, device state at the time of the crash, and a randomly generated installation identifier so we can reproduce and fix the bug.
• Ad delivery data: When ads are shown, our advertising partner records that an ad was requested, displayed, viewed, or clicked, for billing and frequency-capping purposes.
• Subscription state: Whether you have an active subscription, when it renews, and an anonymous internal identifier used by our subscription provider to recognize you on the same device.

2.3 Information We Do Not Collect

For clarity, Pickled and our SDK partners do not collect any of the following:

• Your name, mailing address, phone number, or any other direct contact information (unless you voluntarily email us)
• Your precise GPS or geographic location
• Your contacts, calendar, or address book
• Your photos, videos, microphone, or camera
• Your health, fitness, financial, or biometric data
• Your browsing or search history outside the App
• Apple's Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA)
• Cross-app or cross-website tracking signals for advertising purposes

3. Third-Party Services and SDKs

We use a small number of third-party services to operate the App. Each is listed below with the data it processes, the purpose, and a link to that provider's own privacy policy. These providers act as data processors on our behalf and are contractually required to use the data only for the purposes we instruct.

You can review each provider's privacy practices here:

• Google Privacy Policy (covers Firebase Analytics, Crashlytics, and AdMob)
• Firebase Privacy Information
• Firebase Data Processing and Security Terms
• How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services
• RevenueCat Privacy Policy
• Apple Privacy Policy
• Google Play / Google Privacy Policy

4. How We Use the Information

We use the information described in Section 2 only for the following purposes:

• Operating the App: Loading decks, running games, saving your progress on your device, and showing the right screens.
• Improving the App: Understanding which features are popular, fixing bugs, balancing gameplay, and prioritizing new features.
• Providing customer support: Responding to emails you send us.
• Validating subscriptions: Confirming with Apple or Google that your subscription is active and unlocking premium features on your device.
• Showing ads in the free version: Requesting and displaying non-personalized ads in supported placements.
• Complying with legal obligations: Responding to lawful requests, enforcing our Terms of Service, and protecting our rights.

We do not use any data for targeted advertising, profiling, automated decision-making with legal effects, or any purpose unrelated to operating the App.

5. How We Share Information

We share information only in the limited circumstances below:

• With the service providers listed in Section 3, who process data on our behalf under written contracts that restrict their use of the data to our instructions.
• To comply with the law, respond to valid legal process (such as a subpoena or court order), enforce our Terms of Service, or protect the rights, property, or safety of Soul Branch, LLC, our users, or others.
• In connection with a business transfer, such as a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets. If that happens, we will provide notice and ensure your information remains subject to a privacy policy at least as protective as this one.

We do not sell, rent, or lease your personal information to anyone, and we do not share it with data brokers or with third parties for their own marketing purposes.

6. Tracking, Advertising, and Your Choices

6.1 No App Tracking Transparency Prompt on iOS

Apple's App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework requires apps to ask permission before tracking users across other companies' apps and websites. Pickled does not engage in tracking as defined by Apple, so iOS will not display the "Allow [App] to track your activity" prompt. Specifically:

• The App does not link the AppTrackingTransparency framework.
• The App does not request or use Apple's Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA).
• Our analytics provider does not share data with Google's advertising network for ad personalization.
• Our advertising provider serves only non-personalized ads on iOS.

6.2 Non-Personalized Ads on iOS and Android

The free version of Pickled displays banner and interstitial ads from Google AdMob. Ads are non-personalized on both iOS and Android — meaning they are selected based on contextual signals (such as the App's content category and approximate location) rather than your past behavior or interests. Pickled is flagged to Google AdMob as child-directed (tagForChildDirectedTreatment) and as directed to users under the age of consent (tagForUnderAgeOfConsent), which disables interest-based advertising, remarketing, and cross-app advertising identifiers for all users regardless of platform or region.

6.3 EU / UK / Swiss Users — Consent and Revocation

If you are located in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, the App will show you a Google-provided consent form (the User Messaging Platform, or "UMP") the first time you launch the App. You can choose what data may be processed for ad-related purposes.

You can change your consent at any time by opening the App, tapping the Menu tab, and selecting Legal → Privacy options. The consent form will reopen and let you update your choices. This option is shown only to users in jurisdictions where consent is required.

6.4 California Residents

We do not sell personal information as defined by the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. California residents have the rights described in Section 9.

6.5 Device-Level Controls

• iOS: Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking, and Settings → Privacy & Security → Apple Advertising → Personalized Ads.
• Android: Settings → Privacy → Ads → "Delete advertising ID" (or "Opt out of Ads Personalization" on older versions).

7. Data Retention

We retain information only as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy, or as required by law:

• Gameplay and analytics events: Up to 14 months in Firebase Analytics, after which they are aggregated or deleted.
• Crash data: Up to 90 days in Crashlytics before deletion from live and backup systems.
• Subscription state: For as long as your subscription is active and for a reasonable period afterward to handle billing disputes and refunds.
• Support emails: For as long as needed to respond and follow up, then deleted on a periodic basis.
• Local on-device data: Deck configurations, settings, and game state are stored on your device and are removed when you delete the App.

8. Data Security

Soul Branch, LLC does not operate its own servers or databases. The App does not transmit data to any Soul Branch-owned infrastructure. All data described in this policy is either stored locally on your device (such as your decks, settings, and game state) or transmitted directly from your device to the third-party service providers listed in Section 3.

Each of those providers is responsible for the security of the data it processes, and each publishes its own security practices:

• Google Firebase and AdMob — data is transmitted over TLS and stored on Google Cloud infrastructure. See the Firebase Privacy and Security documentation and Google's Google Cloud security practices.
• RevenueCat — data is transmitted over TLS and stored on Amazon Web Services. See the RevenueCat Privacy Policy.
• Apple App Store and Google Play — subscription and payment information is handled entirely by Apple and Google under their respective security practices.

On your device, we rely on the security protections provided by iOS and Android, including sandboxing of app data. We do not implement additional on-device encryption for locally stored game data because that data does not contain personal information.

No method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. While we and our service providers take reasonable steps to protect information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

9. Your Privacy Rights

9.1 Rights Available to All Users

Regardless of where you live, you can:

• Withdraw any consent you previously gave (for example, ad consent in the EU, which you can revoke at any time from Menu → Legal → Privacy options)
• Stop all future data collection by uninstalling the App
• Delete all locally stored data (decks, settings, game state) by uninstalling the App

Because Pickled does not require an account and does not collect your name, email, or other directly identifying information, we generally cannot link analytics, crash, or advertising data to a specific person. Subscription records held by RevenueCat are associated with a per-install App User ID. Local on-device data (decks, settings, game state) can be removed at any time by uninstalling the App.

9.2 European Economic Area, United Kingdom, and Switzerland (GDPR / UK GDPR)

If you are located in the EEA, UK, or Switzerland, you also have the following rights under the General Data Protection Regulation:

• Right of access: Confirmation of whether we process data about you, and a copy of that data.
• Right to rectification: Correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
• Right to erasure ("right to be forgotten"): Deletion of your data in certain circumstances.
• Right to restriction of processing: Limit how we use your data in certain circumstances.
• Right to data portability: Receive your data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format.
• Right to object: Object to processing based on our legitimate interests.
• Right to withdraw consent: Withdraw consent at any time, including ad consent via Menu → Legal → Privacy options.
• Right to lodge a complaint: File a complaint with your local data protection authority. A list of EU authorities is available at edpb.europa.eu.

Our legal bases for processing are: (a) your consent, where required (such as ad consent in the EU); (b) performance of a contract, to provide the App and your subscription; (c) legitimate interests, to operate, secure, and improve the App in ways that do not override your fundamental rights; and (d) legal obligation, where applicable.

9.3 California Residents (CCPA / CPRA)

If you are a California resident, you have the right to:

• Know what categories of personal information we collect and the purposes for collection
• Request a copy of the specific personal information we have collected about you in the past 12 months
• Request deletion of your personal information
• Correct inaccurate personal information
• Limit the use of sensitive personal information (we do not collect sensitive personal information as defined by the CPRA)
• Opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising — note that we do not sell or share personal information for these purposes
• Be free from discrimination for exercising any of these rights

To exercise these rights, email us at contact@playpickled.app with the subject line "California Privacy Request."

9.4 Other US States

Residents of states with comprehensive privacy laws (including Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, Utah, Texas, Oregon, Montana, and others as those laws come into effect) have rights similar to those described above. To exercise them, contact us at the email address in Section 12.

10. International Data Transfers

We are based in the United States, and our service providers store data on servers located primarily in the United States. If you use the App from outside the United States, your information will be transferred to, processed in, and stored in the United States. The data protection laws of the United States may differ from those of your country of residence.

For transfers from the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland to the United States, our service providers rely on appropriate safeguards such as the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses, the EU–US Data Privacy Framework, and equivalent mechanisms.

11. Children's Privacy

Pickled is rated 9+ on the Apple App Store and has a comparable rating on Google Play, which means children between the ages of 9 and 12 are among the intended users. We take the privacy of children seriously and have designed the App to comply with the U.S. Children's Online Privacy Protection Act ("COPPA") and similar laws protecting minors in other jurisdictions.

11.1 What We Do to Protect Children

• We do not require any child to provide personal information in order to play the App.
• We do not collect names, email addresses, phone numbers, physical addresses, photos, voice recordings, precise location, or any other directly identifying information from users of any age.
• We do not collect Apple's Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA) or use any persistent identifier for behavioral advertising or profiling, from children or from any other user.
• On iOS, all ads are non-personalized. We instruct our advertising partner (Google AdMob) to serve only contextually targeted ads and not to build an interest profile of any user.
• We do not enable features that let users chat, share content publicly, or contact other users within the App.
• We do not sell, rent, or share personal information with third parties for their own marketing purposes.

11.2 What We Collect From All Users, Including Children

The limited technical information described in Section 2.2 — such as device model, operating system version, crash logs, anonymous gameplay events, IDFV, and IP-derived coarse location for ad delivery — is collected from all users of the App. This information is used only to operate, debug, and improve the App, and to serve non-personalized ads in the free version. We believe this collection is permitted under COPPA's "support for internal operations" exception because it is used solely to maintain or analyze the functioning of the App, serve contextual advertising, protect security and integrity, and comply with legal obligations, and it is not used to contact a specific individual or for behavioral advertising.

11.3 Parental Rights

If you are a parent or legal guardian and you believe we have collected information from your child that you would like removed, or if you would like to review or restrict the information we have collected, please contact us at contact@playpickled.app. We will respond to verified parental requests within 30 days and will take reasonable steps to confirm your identity before disclosing or deleting information.

11.4 Notice to Parents

This section serves as notice to parents of the information we collect online from children, how we use it, our disclosure practices, and parental rights under COPPA. For more information about COPPA, visit the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's website at ftc.gov.

12. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, want to exercise any of your rights, or have any other privacy-related concern, contact us:

We aim to respond within 1–2 business days and to resolve any privacy request within 30 days.

13. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will:

• Update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page
• Post the revised policy on this page
• For material changes that affect your rights or our data practices, provide a more prominent notice (such as an in-app announcement) before the change takes effect

Your continued use of the App after a revised Privacy Policy takes effect constitutes acceptance of the updated terms.

14. Consent

By downloading, installing, or using Pickled, you acknowledge that you have read this Privacy Policy and consent to the practices it describes.