Privacy Policy — Cube Puzzle Solver

1. Introduction and scope

This Privacy Policy explains what information Cube Puzzle Solver (the "App"), an Android application published by Aivio Apps, reads, stores and sends, who receives it, and what choices you have. It applies only to the App. Our website has its own privacy policy.

By using the App you acknowledge this policy. If you do not agree with it, please do not use the App.

2. Summary

The App uses your camera only when you start a scan. Camera images are analysed on your phone to read sticker colours, and are not saved or sent anywhere.
The cube you entered, its solution and your list of finished solves stay on your phone. We do not receive them. They are excluded from Android backup.
The cube features never use the Internet. The Internet is used only to load ads.
The App has no account, and we operate no server that collects your information.
The App is free and shows ads served by Google AdMob. Google may collect device identifiers such as your advertising ID, and the App asks for your consent first where the law requires it.
We do not sell your personal information.

3. Information the App reads and stores on your device

To provide its features, the App uses the following. It is shown on your screen and, where noted, saved on your phone.

Camera images: When you scan a face, one camera frame at a time is read on your device to detect the sticker colours. Frames are sampled in place and dropped straight away, so no photo is saved or sent by the App.
Your cube and its solution: The sticker colours you confirmed, the solution moves and your progress through them, saved in the App's private storage so you can resume where you left off.
Solve history: A short list of your finished, verified solves (the time it was completed and the number of moves), limited to the last 20 and shown on the home screen.
Your settings: Theme, colour labels, animation speed, and whether you have finished the introduction and accepted the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Local counters: Small counters kept on your device to decide how often full-screen ads and the rating request are shown.

What the App does not access: your photos or gallery, files, location, contacts, microphone, messages or call history. It does not ask for your name or email address, and there is no account.

4. Where your information lives and your control over it

Storage: your cube, solution, history and settings are kept in the App's private storage on your phone and are not uploaded by the App.
Backups: the App turns off Android backup and excludes its data from cloud backup and device-to-device transfer, so this data is not copied to your Google account.
Your control: use Clear solve history or Reset cube and session in Settings (both permanent), withdraw the camera permission in Android settings and enter colours by hand instead, or uninstall the App to remove everything it stored.

5. Information sent off your device

Cube Puzzle Solver does not send your content or settings to Aivio Apps, and we operate no server that receives them. We do not use analytics or crash-reporting services of our own in the App.

The App does connect to the following services because of its own features. Each handles ordinary connection data, such as your IP address and the time of the request, under its own privacy policy.

Rate this app: Only if you tap it. The App opens the Google Play app or page for the App so you can leave a rating. Google handles that visit and anything you submit under its own privacy policy.
Help & support email: Only if you tap it. The App opens your own email app with an empty draft addressed to support. Nothing is sent until you write and send the message yourself, and your email provider and we then receive what you include.

The App also connects to Google for ads and ad consent, as described in the Advertising section.

6. Permissions

The App declares the following Android permissions. You can review or withdraw the ones that need your approval in your device settings, although some features may then stop working.

INTERNET: Load ads.
ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE: Check that the device is online before requesting ads.
com.google.android.gms.permission.AD_ID: Lets Google's advertising services read your Android advertising ID, as described in the Advertising section.
CAMERA: Scan the six faces of your cube. It is requested only when you start a scan. Manual colour entry works without it.

7. Advertising and consent

The App is free and supported by ads from Google AdMob, a service of Google LLC. It shows an adaptive banner at the bottom of the Home, Guide, Settings and Help screens, one native ad card labelled "Ad" on Home, an app-open ad when you open the App or return to it, and a full-screen ad after you finish a verified solve. It also offers two optional rewarded ads that you choose to watch: one for a longer solver search, and one for a practice scramble. Ads never appear on the camera, during the live solution walkthrough, in the colour editor, during the introduction or in the legal dialogs. Solving is always free, and you are never required to watch an ad.

Your cube colours, your solution and your camera images are never given to Google or to advertisers by the App.

When ads are requested or shown, Google and its partners may collect or receive:

your Android advertising ID and similar device identifiers;
your IP address, from which an approximate location may be derived;
device and app information, such as device model, operating system version, language, and app name and version;
ad interaction information, such as ads viewed or clicked.

Google uses this to deliver, measure and personalise ads and to prevent fraud and abuse.

Consent. The App starts the Google Ads SDK only after Google's consent step has run and, where the law requires it (for example in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland), after Google's consent form has recorded your choice. This happens after the App's own first-run screens, never over them. You can review or change your choice at any time in the App's Settings, where an ad privacy option is shown for your region.

Other controls on Android:

Settings > Privacy > Ads (the path varies by device): reset your advertising ID or opt out of ad personalisation.
Settings > Google > Ads: manage ad personalisation for your Google account.

9. How we use information

Information handled by the App is used only to:

provide the features described above on your device;
remember your settings;
show ads and ask for ad consent, through Google;
keep the App working and secure.

If you email us, we use what you send (such as your email address and message) only to reply to you and to improve the App.

10. Disclosure

We do not sell your personal information. Information goes to others only:

to the services described in the Information sent off your device and Advertising sections, which receive the technical data described there;
where we are required to do so by law, by a court order or by a public authority;
where it is reasonably necessary to protect rights, safety or security.

11. Storage, retention and deletion

Your cube and solution stay on your phone until you reset them, start a new cube or uninstall the App.
Solve history keeps only the last 20 finished solves, until you clear it or uninstall the App.
Camera images are not kept after the colours are read.
Settings stay until you change them or uninstall the App.
On our side: we hold no database of your content or any user profile, because the App has no accounts and sends us nothing.
Google: data processed by Google for advertising is kept under Google's own policies. To manage it, use the controls described in the Advertising section and your Google account at https://myaccount.google.com.
Email: if you email us, we keep the correspondence only as long as needed to handle your request and for ordinary record-keeping. You can ask us to delete it.

12. Security

We take reasonable steps to protect information handled by the App. Your content stays on your phone and is not transmitted by us, which limits exposure. No method of storage or transmission is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security. Keeping your device locked and your Android version up to date helps protect you.

13. Children's privacy

The App is not directed at children under 13, or under any higher minimum age that applies in your country. The App does not knowingly serve ads to users who are under the applicable age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has given us personal information, contact us at Aivio.Apps@hotmail.com and we will delete it.

14. Your rights and choices

Depending on where you live (for example under the EU and UK General Data Protection Regulation, or under the California Consumer Privacy Act as amended), you may have the right to:

ask whether we hold personal information about you, and ask for a copy of it;
ask us to correct or delete it;
restrict or object to certain processing;
withdraw consent you have given, at any time, without affecting earlier processing;
not be discriminated against for exercising your rights;
lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.

We hold very little personal information about App users, usually only an email you choose to send us. Most of your data is on your device, where you can view and delete it yourself in the App. To make a request, email Aivio.Apps@hotmail.com. We may need to verify your identity before acting, and we will respond within the time required by law. Requests about advertising data held by Google must be made to Google.

California residents. We do not sell or share your personal information for cross-context behavioural advertising through our own systems. Google, as an advertising provider, may process advertising identifiers as described in the Advertising section. You can limit this through your device's advertising settings.

15. International transfers

Google may process advertising-related data on servers in countries other than your own, including the United States. Where required, it relies on lawful transfer mechanisms such as standard contractual clauses. See Google's privacy policy for details.

16. Third-party links

The App or its ads may open other websites or apps. We do not control them and are not responsible for their content or privacy practices. Please read their policies.

17. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy when the App, the services it uses or the law changes. The "Last updated" date shows the latest revision. If a change is significant, we will highlight it on the page where this policy is published and, where the App asks for acceptance, in the App. Using the App after a change takes effect means you accept the updated policy.

18. Contact us

If you have questions about this policy or about how the App handles information, contact:

Aivio Apps — Email: Aivio.Apps@hotmail.com