SideQuest StudioPrivacy Policy
The short version
- Hearthfrost has no accounts, and we don't run servers that collect your data. Your tribe is saved on your device.
- The game is free because it shows ads from Google AdMob. To show and measure those ads, Google collects some device data, such as your device's advertising ID, IP address and how you interact with ads. Where the law requires it, the game asks for your consent first, and you can review your choice any time in Settings › Privacy options.
- Purchases are handled by Google Play. We never see your payment card details.
- You can reach us any time at privacy@sidequest-labs.com.
1. Who we are
Hearthfrost: Winter Tribe (the "Game") is made and published by SideQuest Studio ("we", "us", "our"), based in Austin, Texas, USA. We are responsible for your information as described in this policy (the "controller" under data protection laws such as the GDPR). This policy covers the Game for Android and this website, sidequest-labs.com.
Privacy contact: privacy@sidequest-labs.com
2. What the Game keeps on your device
The Game saves your progress (your village, heroes, resources, quests and statistics), your settings, the tutorial state and which purchases you own on your device, in the Game's private storage. We don't receive this data, and it doesn't identify you.
Reminders. If you allow notifications, the Game keeps a schedule of reminders (for example "your upgrade is done" or "a free gift is waiting") on your device and uses Android's alarm service to show them. These are local notifications: there is no push server, and nothing about them is sent to us. You can turn them off in the Game's Settings or in Android's notification settings.
Backup. The Game lets Android back up its saved game (and only that: not the ads software's files). If backup is turned on in your device settings, Android includes the saved game in your device backup, which Google stores in your Google account (on Android 9 and later, encrypted end to end when your phone has a screen lock), and in a direct transfer to a new phone. This lets your progress come back when you reinstall the Game or set up a new phone. We can't see these backups; you control them in your device and Google account settings.
Save code. In Settings › Save code you can copy your tribe as a piece of text, to keep or to move to another phone yourself. The code stays wherever you put it. We never receive it.
3. Advertising (Google AdMob)
The Game shows ads served by Google AdMob, using the Google Mobile Ads SDK: optional videos you choose to watch for a reward, and a short full-screen ad that may appear after some campaign victories. Google, as a separate company, collects and processes the following when the Game requests, shows or measures an ad:
| Data | Why |
|---|---|
| Device identifiers: the advertising ID and the app set ID | Showing and measuring ads, limiting how often you see the same ad, preventing fraud, and personalized ads where you allow them |
| IP address, and the approximate location derived from it (country or city level) | Showing ads suited to your region, and complying with local laws |
| Ad interactions, such as which ads were shown or tapped | Measuring and reporting ads, and preventing fraud |
| Device and app information, such as device model, operating system, language and app version, and diagnostic data such as crash logs of the ads software | Delivering ads that work on your device, analytics, and keeping the service secure and working |
This data is sent to Google over encrypted connections. Google may use it as described in How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services, in the Google Privacy Policy and in Google's Business Data Responsibility pages. Third parties, including Google, may use identifiers such as the advertising ID to serve ads based on your use of this and other apps and websites, where you allow it.
Your consent. The Game uses Google's User Messaging Platform. If you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or Switzerland, it shows Google's consent message before ads can be requested, and the message names the ad technology partners involved. Where US state privacy laws give you the right to opt out of targeted advertising, it may show a message to let you do so. You can review or change your choice at any time in the Game under Settings › Privacy options (also reachable from More › Privacy); this button appears where your region needs a choice. If you don't consent, the Game stays fully playable, and ads are limited or not shown.
On any Android device you can also reset or delete your advertising ID under Settings › Google › Ads (or Settings › Privacy › Ads). Deleting it stops apps from using it to personalize ads.
If you buy No Ads, the Game no longer shows you ads, and rewards that normally come with a bonus video can be claimed without watching one. The ads software is still built into the Game, so it may still start up and exchange some of the technical data above, for example to check your consent.
Android System WebView
The Game runs inside Android System WebView, a part of Android made by Google. The Game only shows its own built-in pages in it. If you have allowed your device to send usage and diagnostics data to Google, WebView may send Google crash reports and usage statistics, as described in Google's policies.
4. Purchases (Google Play)
In-game purchases are processed by Google Play under Google's terms and privacy policy. We never receive your payment card details. Google Play tells the Game which item you bought and gives it a purchase record (such as an order number and a purchase token) so the item can be delivered and restored. The Game keeps that record on your device only, so that it can deliver the item once and restore it later. Google also gives us order information in our Google Play Console, such as the order number, the item, the price and the country, which we use to manage purchases, refunds and taxes.
5. Rating and sharing
"Rate the game" in Settings opens the Game's page in the Google Play Store, where your rating and review go to Google Play under your Google account and are covered by Google's policies. "Share with friends" opens Android's share sheet with a short message; you choose the app and the people. The Game doesn't receive your rating, review or contacts.
6. When you contact us
If you email us, we receive your email address and anything you include in your message (for example a description of a problem, your phone model, or an order number). We use it only to answer you and to fix problems, and we don't add you to any mailing list.
7. This website
This website doesn't use cookies, analytics or advertising. Like any website, the company that hosts it processes technical data, such as your IP address and browser type, to deliver the pages and protect the site from abuse.
8. What we don't do
- We don't ask for your name, email, phone number or account details to play, and the Game has no accounts, chat or social features.
- The Game doesn't ask for access to your location, contacts, photos, files, camera or microphone.
- We don't run our own analytics or advertising profiles, and we don't sell your personal information for money. Google's use of advertising data, described in section 3, may count as "sharing" or "targeted advertising" under some US state laws; see section 12.
9. Legal bases (EEA, UK and Switzerland)
Where the GDPR or similar laws apply, the legal bases for the processing described above are: your consent, for personalized advertising and the device storage it relies on (you can withdraw it at any time in Settings › Privacy options); performance of a contract, to deliver and restore the items you buy; our legitimate interests in funding a free game with non-personalized ads, preventing fraud, keeping the Game working and answering your messages; your choice, for reminders; and legal obligations, such as keeping tax and accounting records.
Google may process data in the United States and other countries. Google relies on safeguards recognized by EU law for such transfers, such as the EU–US Data Privacy Framework and the European Commission's standard contractual clauses.
10. How long data is kept
- Game data stays on your device until you delete it, for example with Settings › Delete local data, or by uninstalling the Game or clearing its storage.
- Emails you send us are kept for as long as we need them to help you, and then for no more than 24 months.
- Purchase records in our Google Play Console are kept for as long as tax and accounting laws require.
- Advertising data collected by Google is kept according to Google's retention policies: see How Google retains data it collects.
11. Security
Your game data stays in the Game's private storage on your device, which other apps can't read (a rooted device can). The ads, consent and payment services used by the Game communicate with Google over encrypted (HTTPS) connections, and the Game does not allow unencrypted connections. This website is served only over HTTPS. No method of storage or transmission is perfectly secure.
12. Your rights and choices
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to ask us for access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal information, to object to or restrict how we use it, to receive a copy of it, and to withdraw consent at any time. Because the Game has no accounts and we don't store your game data, the information we hold about you is usually limited to emails you have sent us and purchase records. To make a request, email privacy@sidequest-labs.com. We will answer within one month (or within the time your local law requires), and we won't treat you differently for using your rights.
Deleting your data: use Settings › Delete local data in the Game, or uninstall the Game (or clear its storage in Android Settings › Apps › Hearthfrost › Storage), to delete your saved game from your device. To remove it from your Google account backup, delete the device backup in your Google account. To stop ad personalization, change your choice in Settings › Privacy options, or delete your advertising ID in Android settings. For data Google holds about you, see your Google account's Data & privacy settings.
US state privacy rights. If you live in a US state with a consumer privacy law (for example California, Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, Texas, Oregon and others), you have the right to know what personal information is processed about you, to access, correct and delete it, and to opt out of targeted advertising and of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information. Personalized ads served through Google AdMob (section 3) may count as targeted advertising or "sharing" under these laws. To opt out, use Settings › Privacy options in the Game (shown as "Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information" where it applies), delete your advertising ID in your Android settings, or email privacy@sidequest-labs.com. When you opt out, ads are served with restricted data processing. You can use an authorized agent to make a request for you. If we decline a request, you can appeal by replying to our answer, and if we deny your appeal you can contact your state's attorney general. We don't knowingly sell or share the personal information of anyone under 16.
If you are in the EEA, UK or Switzerland, you also have the right to complain to your local data protection authority. We'd appreciate the chance to help first.
13. Children
Hearthfrost is intended for players aged 13 and over (or the minimum age of digital consent in your country, if higher) and is not directed at children under 13. We don't knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has sent us personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.
14. Changes to this policy
If we change this policy, we will post the new version on this page with a new "Last updated" date. If the change is significant, for example a new kind of data, accounts, cloud saves or a new partner, we will also tell you in the Game or on its store page.
15. Contact
SideQuest Studio
Austin, Texas, USA
Email: privacy@sidequest-labs.com