Circle of WordsPrivacy policy
Circle of Words is a word game for iPhone, published by Abhishek Vanamali ("we", "us"). This policy explains what we collect when you use the app and this website, why, and the choices you have. The short version: we collect only what's needed to run your account and keep your scores, we never sell your data, and there are no ads or trackers.
What we collect
| Data | When | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Email address and a password (stored only as a secure hash) | If you sign up with email | To create your account and let you log in |
| Email address from Apple (this may be a private relay address), and your name if you choose to share it | If you use Sign in with Apple | To create your account and let you log in |
| Display name and emoji avatar | When you sign up or edit your profile | To personalise the app |
| Game history: date, mode, speed, score, the words you made, letters taken, helpers used, and game length | Each time you finish a game while signed in | To show your history and personal bests on any device |
| Technical data such as IP address, device and app version, and request times | When the app talks to our servers or you visit this website | To run the service securely and fix problems. Kept in short-lived server logs. |
| Messages you send us | If you email support | To answer you |
If you play as a guest, nothing about your games leaves your phone.
What we don't do
- We don't show ads, and we don't use advertising or analytics trackers.
- We don't sell or rent your personal data, or share it for advertising.
- We don't track you across other apps or websites.
- We don't access your contacts, photos, location, camera, or microphone.
Who processes your data
We use a small number of service providers who handle data on our behalf, under contracts that limit what they can do with it:
- Supabase: account sign-in and the database that stores your profile and game history, on servers in Oregon, United States.
- Resend: sends our account emails, such as sign-up confirmations and password resets.
- Cloudflare: hosts this website and forwards email sent to our support address.
- Apple: if you use Sign in with Apple, and to distribute the app through the App Store, under Apple's own privacy policy.
We may also disclose information if the law requires it, or to protect the safety of our users or the service.
On your phone
The app keeps a copy of your history on your phone so it works offline, plus a login token in the iPhone's secure Keychain. Your settings (sound and haptics) are also stored on your phone. Deleting the app removes these.
How long we keep it
We keep your account and game history until you delete your account. When you do, it's deleted from our live database straight away and from backups within 30 days. Server logs are kept for a short time, normally no more than 30 days.
Your choices and rights
- Delete your account at any time in the app: tap your avatar, then "Delete account". This deletes your account, profile, and all game history. You can also email us.
- Correct your details: change your name and avatar under "Edit profile".
- Get a copy of your data: email us and we'll send it to you.
- Play without an account: guest play saves nothing to our servers.
If you live outside the United States
Our servers are in the United States, so your data is stored and processed there. We rely on our providers' standard data protection terms when data moves across borders.
California residents
If you live in California, the California Consumer Privacy Act (as amended by the CPRA) gives you the right to know what personal information we collect and how we use it, to get a copy of it, to correct it, and to delete it, and the right not to be treated differently for using these rights. In the past 12 months we've collected the categories described above: identifiers (email address and display name), account login details, and game activity. We collect them only for the purposes described in this policy. We don't sell personal information, we don't share it for cross-context behavioral advertising, and we don't use sensitive personal information to infer anything about you. You can make a request yourself, or through an authorized agent, by emailing us. We may need to confirm your identity first, using the email address on your account.
To use any of these rights, email support@circleofwords.app. We'll respond within 30 days.
Children
Circle of Words is a general-audience game and isn't directed at children under 13. We don't knowingly collect personal data from children under 13. If you think a child has created an account, email us and we'll delete it.
Security
Data is encrypted in transit (HTTPS) and at rest. Passwords are never stored in readable form. Access to the database is restricted so that each player can only read their own data. No system is perfectly secure, but we work to protect your information.
Changes
If we change this policy, we'll update the date at the top. For significant changes, we'll let you know in the app.
Contact
Abhishek Vanamali, California, United States
support@circleofwords.app