Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Erim Icel ("we", "us", "our") collects, uses, and protects your information when you play Turtle Escape: The Long Crawl (the "Game") on iOS and Android, and when you visit turtleescape.app (the "Site"). We keep data collection to what the Game genuinely needs. You can play with an automatically created guest account without giving us your name or email.

01Who we are

The Game and Site are operated by Erim Icel, an independent developer based in the United Kingdom. For the purposes of the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, Erim Icel is the data controller for the personal data described in this policy. You can reach us at [email protected].

02Data we collect

We collect the following categories of data:

Stored on your device

Your progress, currencies, unlocked items, settings, and statistics are stored locally on your device. Resetting progress in Options deletes this local data. You can play the Game fully offline: no guest account is created and nothing is sent to our servers without a network connection.

Account and profile

• Guest account. When you first play, we create an anonymous account identified by a random identifier. No name or email is required.
• Display name. The username you choose for leaderboards and the community. Please do not include personal information you do not want shown publicly.
• Platform. Whether you are on iOS or Android, and a last-seen timestamp.
• No sign-in of any kind. The Game has no login, no password and no social or platform sign-in, so we never receive an email address, a real name or a phone number. Your guest account is tied to the device it was created on.

Gameplay and progress

• Cloud save. Your progress, including level reached, in-game currencies (Sand Dollars and Starfish Pearls), unlocked collections and cosmetics, and total runs, so you can restore progress across devices.
• Match results. For each run we may record distance, elapsed time, biome, game mode, level number, score, and how the run ended. This powers leaderboards, the Weekly Challenge, and fair-play validation.

Technical and session data

• Session tokens. Stored only in hashed form, to keep your device linked to its guest account.
• Device and diagnostic data. Device model, operating system version, and app version, primarily through crash reporting (see section 6).

Notifications

• Reminders (such as daily-streak or habitat reminders) are scheduled locally on your device and can be turned off in Options at any time. We do not send remote push notifications.

Purchases

• When you make a purchase, our payments provider tells us the product purchased, the store (Apple App Store or Google Play), the price, the purchase time, and a purchase identifier. We never receive or store your card or payment details - those are handled entirely by Apple or Google.

Advertising identifiers

• When ads are shown, our advertising partner may process a device advertising identifier, IP address, and ad-interaction data. Because an IP address indicates roughly where a request came from, this includes an approximate location (typically at city or region level) derived by our advertising partner. The Game itself never uses your device's location services. See section 5 for detail and your choices.

What we do not do

• We do not sell your personal data.
• We do not use third-party analytics beyond the providers listed in this policy.
• We do not access your contacts, photos, microphone, or camera, and we never use your device's location services - the Game requests no location permission. Our advertising partner may still infer an approximate location from your IP address when an ad is requested; see section 5.
• We do not show interstitial or other forced ads.

03How we use your data

• To provide the Game and sync your progress across devices.
• To operate leaderboards, the Weekly Challenge, and Game Center features.
• To detect and prevent cheating, fraud, and abuse, and to validate match results.
• To process and restore purchases.
• To show rewarded advertising (which you choose to watch) and measure its performance.
• To diagnose crashes and errors and improve stability and balance.
• To respond to your requests and provide support.
• To comply with legal obligations and enforce our terms.

04Legal bases (UK/EU users)

Where UK or EU data protection law applies, we rely on the following legal bases:

• Performance of a contract - to provide the Game, cloud save, leaderboards, and purchases you request.
• Legitimate interests - to keep the Game secure, prevent cheating and fraud, and understand and fix crashes. We balance these interests against your rights.
• Consent - for personalised advertising and, on iOS, for use of your advertising identifier through App Tracking Transparency. You can withdraw consent at any time.
• Legal obligation - where we must retain or disclose data to comply with the law.

05Advertising and AdMob

Turtle Escape shows rewarded video ads only. You are never shown an ad without tapping a clearly labelled ad button, and watching one is always optional in exchange for an in-game reward. We do not use banner, interstitial, or other forced ad formats, and the Remove Ads purchase removes rewarded ads entirely.

Ads are delivered by Google AdMob. To serve and measure ads, Google may collect and process a device advertising identifier, IP address and the approximate location it indicates, app diagnostic information, and information about your interaction with ads, in line with Google's advertising policies.

06Crash and diagnostic reporting

We use Sentry to capture crash reports and errors so we can fix problems. When the Game crashes or hits an error, we may send Sentry the error details and stack trace, device model, operating system version, app version, and limited technical breadcrumbs about what happened just before. We use this only to diagnose and improve the Game. Sentry's handling of this data is described in its privacy policy.

07Sharing and third parties

We do not sell your personal data. We share limited data with the service providers below, who act as our processors or as independent controllers for their own services:

We may also disclose data where required by law, to enforce our terms, or to protect the rights, safety, and property of our players or us. If our business is transferred, data may be shared as part of that transaction.

08International transfers

Some of our providers process data outside the United Kingdom and European Economic Area. Where we transfer personal data internationally, we rely on appropriate safeguards such as the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses.

09Data retention

We keep your account and save data for as long as your account is active so your progress is preserved. Match records and diagnostic data are kept only as long as needed for leaderboards, fair play, and debugging. When you ask us to delete your account, we remove or anonymise your personal data unless we must retain some records to comply with legal obligations (for example, purchase records for tax and accounting).

10Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to:

• access the personal data we hold about you;
• correct inaccurate data, including your display name;
• delete your account and associated data;
• object to or restrict certain processing;
• request a copy of your data in a portable format;
• withdraw consent for personalised advertising at any time.

Deletion has its own page, because it is the request we get asked about most: see Delete your data for the in-game route, the email route, and exactly what is removed and what we have to keep.

To exercise any of these rights, email [email protected] from within the Game or from your contact details. If you are in the UK you also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO); EU residents may complain to their local supervisory authority. If you are a California resident, you have rights under the CCPA/CPRA, including the right to know, delete, and opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information - we do not sell personal information.

11Children's privacy

Turtle Escape is a family-friendly game but it is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 13 (or the minimum age of digital consent in your country). If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us and we will delete it. Where required, a parent or guardian must consent before a child uses features that involve data collection or advertising.

12Security

We protect data in transit with encryption (HTTPS/TLS), store session tokens only in hashed form, and limit access to personal data to those who need it. No system is perfectly secure, but we work to protect your data and will notify you and the relevant authority of a breach where the law requires.

13Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the Game evolves or the law changes. We will update the "Last updated" date above and, for significant changes, provide a more prominent notice in the Game or on the Site. Continued use after an update means you accept the revised policy.

14Contact us

Questions about this policy or your data? Contact Erim Icel at [email protected].