Privacy Policy — Go, The Board Game

Last updated: 26 July 2026

Developer: NewBit  ·  Contact: 7ilov3you7@gmail.com

This Privacy Policy explains what information the Go, The Board Game app (“the app”, “we”) collects and how it is used.

Summary

You can play Go against the built-in AI entirely offline, without an account — the AI runs on your device and no game data leaves it. If you choose to play online, we operate our own servers that store your account and game data so matchmaking, ratings, friends and chat can work. Optional features use Google services (sign-in, notifications, ads, purchases), described below.

What we collect

1. On-device data (not sent to us). Settings, board and stone themes, puzzle progress, local game history, statistics and your purchase status are stored locally on your device. The built-in Go AI also runs on your device: board positions in offline games are never transmitted. Local data is removed when you uninstall the app or reset progress.

2. Account (optional — only if you sign in). Guest play requires no account. If you sign in, Firebase Authentication (Google LLC) processes your Google account identifier, email address and display name; if you sign in by phone, your phone number. We store a profile: display name, avatar, country and self-reported skill level.

3. Online play (only if you play online). On our servers we store your games and moves, results, ratings, achievements and weekly league standing; your friends list, friend requests and challenges; and messages you send to other players. Other players see only your public profile (display name, avatar, country, rating, achievements) and messages you choose to send them.

4. Game analysis (optional). If you request analysis of a finished game, the board positions of that game are sent to our analysis server to compute the evaluation and are used only to return the result to you.

5. Notifications. If you allow notifications, a push token for your device is stored (via Firebase Cloud Messaging) so we can tell you when it is your turn.

6. Approximate location. We may derive a two-letter country code from your IP address at sign-up to show a flag on your profile. We do not collect precise (GPS) location.

7. Contacts (optional). If you grant the contacts permission, the app helps you find friends who already play. Phone numbers and email addresses from your contacts are normalized and irreversibly hashed on your device; only those one-way hashes are sent to our server, compared in memory against hashes of existing users, and then discarded. We never upload your raw contacts and do not store the hashes. You can decline this permission and use the app normally.

8. Security and fair play. To keep online play fair we record technical data tied to your sessions — IP address and a per-install device identifier — and use it to detect ban evasion, duplicate accounts and cheating.

9. Advertising. The free tier shows ads via Google AdMob. AdMob may collect a device advertising identifier and limited usage/diagnostic data to serve and measure ads. In regions that require it (e.g. the EEA/UK) a Google-certified consent form (UMP) is presented before personalised ads are served. A paid subscription turns ads off.

10. Purchases. Subscriptions and in-app purchases are processed by Google Play Billing. We never see or store your payment details; we only store which entitlements your account owns.

How we use your information

Third-party services

Data sharing & selling

We do not sell your personal data. Data is shared only with the service providers above strictly to provide the listed features, and with other players as described in “Online play”. We may disclose information if required by law or to protect the rights, safety and security of our users and the app.

Data retention

We keep your account data while your account is active. Some gameplay records may be retained for ranking and integrity purposes. When you delete your account, your personal data and associated records are removed.

Children

The app is rated for general audiences and is not directed at children under 13 (or the minimum age required in your country). We do not knowingly collect personal data from children.

Your rights

You can play offline without an account, delete local data by resetting progress or uninstalling, and delete your online account and all associated data at any time from within the app: Profile → Delete account. This is irreversible and removes your account, games, friends, messages and ratings. If you cannot access the app, email 7ilov3you7@gmail.com from the address associated with your account.

Changes

We may update this policy; the “Last updated” date will change accordingly.