Privacy Policy

Last updated: November 4, 2026

Blackbird! is a card game you play against the computer, on iPhone, iPad and Android. It has no ads, and it doesn't track you across other apps or websites. You never have to sign up: the app keeps your credits and theme packs in a Blackbird account it makes for you. This policy explains the little information the app does collect and why.

What stays on your device

Your games in progress, statistics, rule sets, chosen themes and settings are stored only on your device. They aren't sent to me. Deleting the app deletes them.

Your Blackbird account

Credits are earned by finishing games and spent on theme packs and game helpers. So that they can't be lost or used twice, your credits and theme packs are kept in a Blackbird account on Google Firebase. The app makes the account the first time it's online; you don't sign up, and unless you choose Sign in with Google, it doesn't ask for your name or email address.

The account holds:

• a random account identifier;
• your credits balance and its history: each game that earned credits (an identifier for the game, the date, whether you won, the difficulty level, how many rounds were played, the rules in use and whether a game helper was used) and each time credits were spent;
• the theme packs you've unlocked;
• the app version and platform that last synced, and an identifier for each installation of the app that sent credits;
• if you choose Sign in with Google, your Google identifier, email address, name and a link to your Google profile photo (see Restoring your account).

To make sure requests come from the real app, Firebase App Check asks Apple (App Attest, on iPhone and iPad) or Google (Play Integrity, on Android) to confirm that the app on your device is genuine. It doesn't identify you.

The account is stored in Google Cloud data centers in the United States, wherever you live. It's used only to keep your credits and theme packs, never for advertising, and it isn't connected to the usage data below.

If you're in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, your account is processed because it's needed to provide the credits and theme packs you use in the app. You can ask for a copy of it, or to have it corrected or deleted, as described below.

Restoring your account

If you're signed in to Game Center on iPhone or iPad, or Google Play Games on Android, the app links that player to your account, so it can be found again after reinstalling or on a new device. You can also use Sign in with Apple or Sign in with Google from Settings, Account. With Sign in with Apple, the app receives only Apple's identifier for you, not your name or email address. These are used only to find your account. Without one of them, the account can't be restored if the app is deleted.

Sign in with Google is optional. It also lets you use the same credits and theme packs on iPhone, iPad and Android. When you choose it, Google sends your Google identifier, email address, name and a link to your profile photo, and Firebase Authentication, Google's sign-in service, keeps them with your account. They're used only to sign you in and find your account. The app doesn't show them or use them, they aren't copied into your credits history, the usage data or the crash data, and they're never used to contact you or for advertising. The app signs out of Google as soon as you've signed in, and it doesn't connect to your Google account again until you next use Sign in with Google. Google handles the sign-in itself under Google's Privacy Policy.

Usage and crash data

The app uses two Google Firebase services to help me find bugs and understand how the game is played:

• Firebase Analytics records game events, such as a round or game finishing, the score, the rules in use and the difficulty level chosen, and, with credits, the credits earned and spent, abilities used, theme packs viewed and unlocked and a rough balance (such as 10-29). Along with them, it records your device model, its iOS or Android version, the app version, an app-specific identifier, and your general region, which Google works out from your internet address.
• Firebase Crashlytics sends a report when the app crashes. The report includes what the app was doing, the rules in use, your device model and its iOS or Android version, and an identifier for this installation of the app.

None of this includes your name, email address, contacts or precise location. The app is built without access to your device's advertising identifier, and this data isn't used for advertising. Google processes it under the Firebase privacy terms.

Game Center and Google Play Games

On iPhone and iPad, if you're signed in to Game Center, the achievements you earn are sent to Apple's Game Center service. Apple handles that information under Apple's Privacy Policy. You can sign out of Game Center in your device's Settings.

On Android, if you're signed in to Google Play Games, the achievements you earn are sent to Google's Play Games service. Google handles that information under Google's Privacy Policy. You can manage this in the Google Play Games app.

Purchases

Buying the app, and anything you buy in it, is handled by Apple through the App Store or by Google through Google Play. I never see your name or payment details. Credits can't be bought; they're only earned by playing.

Sharing

I don't sell or rent any information. Apart from the services above, I share information only if the law requires it.

Children

Blackbird! is suitable for all ages. The Blackbird account is used only to keep credits and theme packs working. It's never used to contact anyone, to advertise or to build a profile. The app receives a name and email address only if someone chooses Sign in with Google, which is optional: the whole game, with credits and theme packs, works without it.

How long it's kept

Your account is kept until you delete it. Backups of the accounts are kept for 7 days, so a deleted account is gone from them within 7 days. Your sign-in details, including your Google email address, name and photo link if you use Sign in with Google, are kept by Firebase Authentication until you delete the account, and Google then removes them from its live and backup systems within 180 days. Firebase Authentication also keeps internet addresses it logs for a few weeks, to prevent abuse. Records of requests to the account, and of unusual activity on it, which include its identifier, are kept for approximately 30 days to find problems and abuse. A copy of the usage data is kept in Google BigQuery for approximately 60 days, so I can study how the game is played in more detail.

Your choices

You can delete your Blackbird account at any time in the app, in Settings, Account, Delete Account. That deletes the account, its credits and their history, its theme packs and its links to Game Center, Google Play Games, Apple and Google, and if you use Sign in with Apple, it also asks Apple to remove Blackbird from your Apple ID. If that doesn't work, the app tells you how to do it yourself. If you use Sign in with Google, you can remove Blackbird from your Google Account yourself, under third-party connections; deleting your account doesn't do that. Aggregated statistics that don't identify anyone, such as how many credits were earned each day, are kept. Your saved game, statistics and settings stay on your device, and your achievements stay in Game Center or Google Play Games. If you no longer have the app, see Delete your account.

You can delete all the app's data on your device by deleting the app; your account stays until you delete it. To ask about your account, the usage data or the crash data, or to have them deleted, contact me as described below.

Changes

If this policy changes, the new version will be posted here with a new date.

Contact

Blackbird! is made by Robert Wilson. For questions or requests about this policy, email blackbirdcardgame@gmail.com. I'll reply within 30 days.