Privacy policy

Scope and contact

Harfix is a word game provided by Murat Solak under the MSCogames name. This notice covers the Android and iOS test versions and harfix.app. Available features may vary depending on the test version you install. Contact mscogamesinfo@gmail.com about data handling or your rights. Real-money purchases are not yet enabled.

Data we process

• Identity and profile: Firebase guest ID, nickname, avatar/frame and profile code. Optional Play Games linking uses provider identifiers and authentication tokens; we do not receive your Google password.
• Gameplay and economy: completed puzzles, progress, scores, timed results, coin balances, hint/inventory rights, device-specific offline vouchers and receipts preventing duplicate operations.
• Social features: friend requests, friends, blocks, invitations and online presence. A searched profile code is processed to answer the lookup, without a separate search-history log. We do not access your phone address book.
• Submitted content: puzzle themes, words and creator name; optional surname, city, country and social handles. A creator name need not be your legal name.
• Usage and technical data: UID-linked session start/end/duration, event summaries, balances, app version, platform, language/region and technical request information.
• Support: in-game messages, player ID, version and platform are stored as Firebase support tickets. The form does not itself send email. If you separately email us, your email address and correspondence are processed.

Purposes and providers

We use Google Firebase for authentication, storage, server operations and hosting; Google Play Games for optional game-account linking; and Google AdMob/User Messaging Platform for advertising and applicable consent choices. We process data to provide requested features, sync progress, offer support, understand usage and prevent cheating or duplicate rewards. Depending on the processing, relevant grounds include providing the service, legitimate service/security interests, legal obligations and consent where required.

Firebase privacy information · Google Privacy Policy

Advertising and choices

The Android app includes the advertising SDK; the current development configuration uses test ad units. Test ads do not mean the SDK processes no data. AdMob may collect and share IP addresses and inferred approximate location, device/app identifiers, ad/app interactions and diagnostics for advertising/measurement, analytics and abuse prevention. Our game does not request precise GPS location.

Google consent forms are displayed where required. When applicable, revisit Settings → Ad privacy choices. Android advertising-ID controls are also available. Rejecting personalised ads does not automatically stop every technical processing operation. The 30-second offline Harfix promotion is not an AdMob ad and generates no ad revenue.

AdMob data disclosure

Visibility to other players

Your nickname, avatar, rankings and competition results can be visible to others. Friends may see presence you allow. Puzzles you choose to share and their published creator fields are available to other players. Avoid adding private information you do not want to disclose. Service providers process data for the features described above.

Device, cloud and offline play

Local saves support offline play. Coins and inventory are managed through server records and verification; downloaded inventory vouchers may be used offline and synced later. Play Games linking is optional. Completed Daily, Acrobat and community-author puzzles can sync after linking; unfinished boards, active timed runs and every local preference are not a full device backup. Account balances are not merged and device-assigned offline vouchers are not copied to another device.

Transfers and security

App data sent to Firebase uses HTTPS/TLS; AdMob also uses TLS in transit. Google services may process data outside the United Kingdom. Applicable provider service/data-processing terms and international transfer safeguards apply. Offline operation is not a promise that every form of tampering on a modified device can be prevented.

Retention and deletion

Account/content data is kept as necessary to provide the service. There is no single automatic deletion deadline for all records. Support and technical records are retained according to resolution, security and applicable obligations. Account deletion removes associated personal records and submissions; personal links in other players’ match histories may be removed or anonymised. Gameplay aggregates no longer linked to your identity may remain.

A limited technical identifier/block record and an unpredictable deletion receipt are retained to stop an old session recreating a deleted account; these are not a playable profile or balance. Provider backups expire under their backup cycles. Any necessary legal/security retention will be explained. Account/data deletion instructions.

Rights and updates

Depending on applicable law, you may have access, correction, deletion, portability, restriction and objection rights. You may withdraw consent for consent-based processing without affecting earlier lawful processing. Contact support; account ownership is verified. Harfix is not specifically designed for children. You may complain to the UK ICO or your relevant local authority. We update this notice when providers, sign-in, payments or data flows change.

This website

No visitor analytics or advertising scripts have been added to this site. Hosting may process technical connection logs. Email links open your device’s email application.

Submission and sharing access

Raw puzzle submissions are readable only by their owner and authorized review tools. Other players can access a share code only after approval; rejected, blocked or disabled content is unavailable to new code requests. The shared-play response contains the puzzle and the creator’s display name/surname, without review notes, account ID, city or social contact fields. Content previously downloaded for offline play cannot be instantly erased from another device.

Puzzle ratings and reports

Each time you complete a puzzle, you can update your 1–5 star rating. One rating is stored per player and puzzle; your latest submitted rating counts. If you report a puzzle, its ID, reason, description, your player ID, game mode, app version and platform are stored privately in Firebase for review. Repeated reports from the same player about the same puzzle do not create new records. Your identity is not shown to the content author; reports do not automatically remove content. Account deletion also covers your associated ratings and reports.

While a deletion request is pending

If the server cannot be reached, the app does not claim that deletion is complete or confirmed in progress; it checks the status again. You can close the game or explicitly continue with a separate guest account. This does not cancel the deletion request. Until the result is confirmed, the previous account’s local save remains in a protected local archive and its synchronization is stopped. After confirmation, the old archive is removed while the new guest account and its progress are preserved.

iOS test version and Sign in with Apple

In the iOS test version, optional Sign in with Apple links your existing Harfix player account to an Apple provider identifier. Authentication information is processed through Apple and Firebase Auth; we do not receive your Apple password. This integration does not request your name or email address. Completed puzzles can be restored using the same linked account; Android Play Games and Apple accounts are not automatically merged. Coins and items from different Harfix accounts are not combined.

The iOS advertising integration uses AdMob and UMP; test ads do not eliminate SDK data processing. Required advertising choices are obtained before requesting ads. iOS tracking permission is a separate system prompt; declining it does not prevent you from playing. Advertising privacy choices can be reopened in Settings. Account deletion asks you to authenticate your Apple account again and revoke the app’s Apple sign-in authorization; it does not delete your Apple account. Availability of Sign in with Apple and advertising choices depends on the test version you install.