Privacy Policy

1. Scope and who we are

This Privacy Policy applies to hexapong.rhynockgames.com, the browser-playable version of Hexapong, and Hexapong applications distributed through Apple's App Store, Google Play, and Steam, together with related accounts, cloud saves, leaderboards, support, purchases, and newsletter features (together, the “Services”). “Hexapong,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to Rhynock Games, based in Missouri, United States of America.

Some platform versions are not yet released. A platform-specific practice described below applies only when that version or feature becomes available. The store or platform you use may separately process information under its own privacy policy.

2. Information we collect

Guest play and information stored on your device

You may be able to play as a guest without creating a Hexapong account. The browser or app may store game progress and preferences on your device. This can include settings, selected skins, achievements, career statistics, personal scores, active-match recovery data, and score submissions waiting to be sent after sign-in. Device-stored guest information normally remains on that device unless you sign in and choose to save or adopt it as account progress.

Account, profile, and platform identity information

If you sign in with Google or Apple, we receive a Firebase account identifier and information your chosen provider makes available, which may include your email address, name, provider identifier, or an Apple private-relay email address. We also collect the Hexapong pilot name you choose and a normalized version used to keep pilot names unique.

If Steam sign-in or Steam features are enabled, we may receive your SteamID, display name or profile details made available by Steam, ownership or authentication information, and Steam achievement, leaderboard, or Cloud information needed to provide those features. Apple and Google platforms may similarly provide limited app-account, device, storefront, or entitlement information needed to authenticate you and operate platform features. We may link a supported platform identity to your Hexapong Firebase user ID so that eligible progress and leaderboard activity can work across platforms.

Gameplay, cloud-save, and leaderboard information

When you use gameplay or account features, we may process:

• career progress, achievements, preferences, and cloud-save state;
• difficulty, scores, ranking, pilot name, and the time a score was submitted;
• run identifiers, run duration, game mode, ruleset or build version, and platform information used to validate scores;
• request counts, security results, rejected submissions, and limited audit information used to prevent cheating, spam, and abuse; and
• support messages and information you provide when you contact us.

Player safety reports and blocks

If you report another player, we may process your account identifier, the reported account identifier and pilot name, the selected reason, optional details, relevant public-result context, timestamps, and limited review or enforcement records. Your private, account-scoped block list records the players you choose to hide. Reports and block lists are not public.

Newsletter information

If you join the Hexapong Newsletter, we collect the email address you submit. Newsletter subscriptions are handled by Buttondown and use a confirmation process. Buttondown may also process delivery, confirmation, unsubscribe, and engagement information needed to operate the mailing list.

Device, log, and security information

Our hosting, platform, and security providers may automatically process information such as IP address, browser, operating system and device type, app or build version, language, approximate region, request time, pages or resources requested, crash or error information, and security signals. The web version uses Firebase App Check with reCAPTCHA Enterprise to assess device and interaction signals for fraud, bot, and abuse prevention. reCAPTCHA may use the _grecaptcha cookie or similar client storage for that purpose.

One-time purchases

If Hexapong offers one-time purchases, Apple, Google Play, or Steam will process your payment details under that platform's privacy policy. Rhynock Games may receive an order or transaction identifier, purchase token or receipt, product, storefront, country, currency, price, purchase status, and entitlement information needed to deliver, restore, validate, refund, revoke, prevent fraud, or support the purchase. We do not receive your full payment-card number from those storefronts.

A verified Apple lifetime Hexapong Pro transaction is bound to the first active Hexapong account that claims it. If that Hexapong account is deleted, a new account may later reclaim the purchase only after the backend verifies the same current Apple transaction. We retain a one-way transaction fingerprint after deletion for fraud prevention and entitlement recovery. The fingerprint is not the receipt, signed transaction, Apple ID, payment information, or a reusable purchase credential.

Website advertising and your choices

The browser games are configured to request Google H5 Games interstitial ads inside the game window after every three completed games, when you choose Replay or Main Menu. Ads are subject to Google approval, privacy choices, frequency limits and availability. No ads are shown during active play. Website advertising is separate from the mobile AdMob integration described below.

Google and its advertising partners may use cookies, local storage, IP address, device and browser information, and ad interactions to deliver, measure, secure, and personalize ads. Third-party vendors, including Google, may serve ads based on visits to this and other websites. Google advertising cookies enable Google and its partners to serve ads based on those visits.

Where applicable, the consent message lets you consent, refuse, or manage purposes and vendors. You can revisit the Privacy and cookie settings button in the game settings when available. US state privacy messages may offer a Do Not Sell or Share choice. Where personalized advertising is treated as a sale or sharing of personal information under applicable law, use those choices to opt out. We do not send your game saves, account credentials, or support messages to AdSense.

You can also manage personalized advertising through Google My Ad Center and participating third-party vendors at YourAdChoices. Learn how Google uses information at How Google uses information from sites or apps that use its services and read Google’s Privacy Policy. Browser cookie controls are separate from your game-save settings.

iOS and Android in-app advertising and your choices

Starting with iOS Build 232 and Android Build 33, the free version uses Google AdMob to request an interstitial after every three completed single-player matches. Ads appear only at a safe break after a match, never during active play or multiplayer. Availability depends on consent, network access, and Google approval. Verified Hexapong Pro owners do not receive these ads. If purchase entitlement cannot yet be verified, advertising remains disabled.

On Android Build 33 and later, advertising is disabled for users who select Under 16 or have not chosen an age group. Before ad consent or loading begins, eligible free players choose a broad age group stored only on their device; we do not ask for a birth date. You can correct this choice using Age group in Settings. Ages 16–17 receive Google’s teen ad protections. The age group is not sent to the Hexapong account backend; an age-treatment signal is supplied to Google for eligible ad requests.

The Google Mobile Ads and User Messaging Platform SDKs may process IP addresses (including approximate location), device and app identifiers, device and app information, ad views and interactions, crash logs, performance diagnostics, and consent choices to deliver and measure advertising, prevent fraud, and operate the consent service. Non-personalized ads still involve data processing and may use device storage. We request non-personalized ads and disable Google's publisher first-party ID feature. We do not pass your Hexapong account credentials, pilot name, cloud saves, or support messages to AdMob.

Where required, a consent message offers consent, refusal, and management of privacy choices before eligible ad requests. You can revisit available choices using Ad privacy choices in the game Settings. Where applicable, US state privacy choices allow opting out of sale, sharing, or targeted advertising. Declining consent does not prevent you from playing. Local match counters and recent run identifiers are stored on your device to schedule ads and avoid counting a match twice.

For more information, read Google's Privacy Policy and How Google uses information from sites or apps that use its services. These mobile advertising practices apply when the advertising-enabled update becomes available; earlier app builds may not include this feature.

3. How we use information

We use the information described above to:

• operate the game and remember your settings and progress;
• authenticate accounts and link supported platform identities;
• create and maintain pilot profiles and synchronize eligible cloud progress;
• publish and maintain leaderboards and calculate rankings;
• validate score submissions and detect cheating, fraud, spam, and abuse;
• process, validate, restore, support, or revoke one-time purchase entitlements;
• operate report, block, and unblock controls; review safety and fair-play reports; enforce our rules; and handle appeals;
• bind a lifetime purchase to one active Hexapong account at a time and support verified recovery after account deletion;
• send newsletter messages you requested and manage confirmations and unsubscribes;
• debug, secure, maintain, and improve the Services;
• respond to support, privacy, and account-deletion requests; and
• comply with law and enforce the Terms of Use.

4. Public leaderboard information

Global leaderboards may be viewed by guests as well as signed-in players. Your chosen pilot name, score, difficulty, rank, platform badge if offered, and related public result information may therefore be visible to anyone. Do not use your real name or include personal information in your pilot name unless you want that information to be public. We may remove or rename entries that violate our rules or create a safety, legal, or integrity concern.

Signed-in players can tap another pilot's name to submit a private report or block that player. A block hides the blocked account's rows only from the blocking account. It does not remove the player for everyone. Blocked players do not receive the reporter's identity through Hexapong.

5. When we share information

We share information only as needed for the purposes described in this policy, including with:

• Google AdMob and its advertising service providers for eligible iOS and Android advertising, measurement, fraud prevention, and consent management;
• Google Firebase for authentication, database storage, cloud functions, App Check, and account services;
• Google and Apple when you choose their sign-in services;
• Google reCAPTCHA Enterprise for web security, fraud, and abuse prevention;
• Cloudflare for website delivery, networking, and security;
• Buttondown to collect subscriptions and deliver the newsletter;
• Apple, Google Play, and Valve/Steam to distribute the game and provide authentication, purchases, achievements, leaderboards, cloud storage, support, or other platform features;
• professional advisers, authorities, or other parties when reasonably necessary to comply with law, protect rights or safety, investigate abuse, or complete a business transfer; and
• another provider only when reasonably necessary to operate a feature described to you.

These providers process information under their own terms or service-provider obligations. You can review the current policies for Firebase, Cloudflare, Buttondown, Apple, Google, and Steam.

6. Our legal reasons for processing

Where data-protection law requires a legal basis, we process information as necessary to provide the Services you request or perform a contract, based on your consent where appropriate, for our legitimate interests in operating and securing Hexapong, and as needed to meet legal obligations. You may withdraw consent where it applies, but withdrawal does not affect processing already completed.

7. Retention and deletion

• Device-stored guest data remains until the browser, app, operating system, or player clears it, it expires, or the game replaces it.
• Account profile, cloud progress, purchase entitlements, and leaderboard information are generally retained while the account remains active or as needed to provide the feature.
• Newsletter information is retained until you unsubscribe or request deletion, subject to limited suppression records needed to honor the unsubscribe request.
• Score-submission, transaction, rate-limit, security, and audit records are retained only as long as reasonably needed for integrity, legal, accounting, fraud, and abuse-prevention purposes.
• When a Hexapong account is deleted, we remove or de-identify account-linked profile, progress, leaderboard, name-reservation, submission, rate-limit, and private block-list records unless retention is legally required. Limited moderation evidence may remain as reasonably needed for safety, appeals, fraud prevention, law, or disputes.
• After deletion, we retain a one-way Apple transaction fingerprint for fraud prevention and entitlement recovery. The full receipt, signed transaction, Apple ID, and payment information are not stored in that fingerprint.

You can start secure web account deletion at hexapong.rhynockgames.com/delete-account. Where a released app allows account creation, it will also provide an in-app account-deletion option as required by the applicable platform. You may alternatively request account or personal-data deletion by emailing RhynockGames@gmail.com from the address associated with your account. We may ask you to verify ownership. Deleting a Hexapong account does not automatically delete your Apple, Google, or Steam account, and clearing device storage separately removes guest progress stored only on that device.

8. Your choices and rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to request access, correction, deletion, restriction, objection, or a portable copy of personal information, and to appeal or complain to a data-protection authority.

• You may play supported portions of Hexapong without linking a platform account.
• You can change your pilot name, subject to availability and moderation rules.
• You can report or block another public pilot, manage your account's block list, and appeal a moderation action at RhynockGames@gmail.com.
• You can unsubscribe using the link in any newsletter email.
• You can clear local data through your browser, operating system, or app controls.
• You can use available in-app controls or contact us to exercise applicable privacy rights.

We will not discriminate against you for exercising an applicable privacy right.

9. Security and international processing

We use technical and organizational safeguards designed to protect information, including authenticated access, server-controlled writes for protected data, purchase and score validation, rate limits, and abuse-prevention services. No system is perfectly secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Rhynock Games and its providers may process information in the United States and other countries. Those countries may have different data-protection laws from your own. Where required, providers use contractual or other approved safeguards for international transfers.

10. Children’s privacy

Hexapong’s Android store audience is ages 13 and older. Android uses local age-eligibility choices for account access and, starting with Build 33, a broad local age group for advertising as described above. We do not ask for a date of birth. Account features can involve identifiers, pilot names, cloud progress, public leaderboard entries, purchases, and other information described in this policy. Parents and legal guardians are encouraged to supervise minors' use of account, public leaderboard, and purchase features.

If you believe a child has provided personal information and you want us to review or delete it, contact us at RhynockGames@gmail.com. We will take appropriate action as required by applicable law. Apple, Google, Steam, and other platform accounts, including family or child accounts, remain subject to those platforms' rules and parental controls.

11. Third-party links and platform services

Hexapong may link to app stores, storefronts, social networks, or other third-party services. Their privacy practices are controlled by their own policies, not this one. Platform services may also collect information independently when you download, purchase, launch, or use their features. Review their policies before providing information.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy when Hexapong's features, platforms, providers, or legal obligations change. We will post the revised policy with a new effective date and provide additional notice when required. Material changes will apply prospectively unless law permits otherwise.

13. Contact us

Questions, privacy requests, and account-deletion requests can be sent to RhynockGames@gmail.com.

Language preference

We store your language preference in a cookie shared across rhynockgames.com and its game subdomains for one year. Choose Use Browser Language to follow your browser preferences. This does not change language settings in the installed apps.