Christmas Words Search Puzzle privacy policy

Effective October 18, 2026. Español

This policy explains what data Christmas Words Search Puzzle (the "app"), for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Android (phones, tablets and Chromebooks), uses and who it is shared with. The controller is Tappller ("we"). For any question or request, write to tappller@gmail.com.

Summary

• The app has no accounts of its own: we never ask for your name, email or password, and we have no server that receives your data.
• Your progress is saved on your device and in your own cloud: iCloud on iPhone, iPad and Mac, and Google Play Games on Android if you sign in. We don't receive it.
• The app shows Google AdMob ads. Where the law requires it, we first ask for your consent, and on iPhone and iPad the system asks whether you allow tracking.
• Purchases are charged by the App Store or Google Play. We never see your payment details.

1. Data stored on your device

The app stores on your device:

• your progress: completed puzzles and their stars, coins, the daily challenge and its streak, the Advent Calendar, your tree and achievements;
• your settings: music, sound effects, vibration, large print, the language of the words and reminders;
• a random installation identifier, used to count each device's coins. It is not linked to your identity and never leaves the device, except inside your progress saved in your own cloud.

On Android, the system may include your progress and settings in your Google account backup (Android backup), depending on your phone's settings, so they come back if you reinstall the app or move to a new phone. The backup is stored in your Google account and we don't receive it. The installation identifier and the rest of the device data are left out.

On iPhone, iPad and Mac, if you played the previous version of the game on that device, the app reads its data once (coins, purchases and records) so you don't lose anything. That data stays on the device.

2. Your progress in the cloud: iCloud and Google Play Games

• iPhone, iPad and Mac: if you are signed in to iCloud, your progress is synced through iCloud key-value storage so it reaches your other devices. The app also asks iCloud for an identifier of your account, only to keep each account's progress separate on the device. iCloud is provided by Apple under Apple's privacy policy.
• Android: if you are signed in to Google Play Games, your progress is saved in your Google account with Play Games saved games, so it reaches your other Android devices. The app uses your Play Games player identifier only to keep each player's progress separate on the device (it stores a code derived from it, not the identifier itself). Google Play Games is provided by Google under Google's privacy policy.

We don't receive your progress or your account.

3. Game Center and Google Play Games: leaderboard and achievements

If you sign in to Game Center (iPhone, iPad and Mac) or Google Play Games (Android), the app uses it for the leaderboard (words found) and the achievements. These services are provided by Apple and Google under their own privacy policies: Apple and Google. Your score and player name may appear on the public leaderboard, depending on your profile settings in that service.

4. Ads (Google AdMob)

The app shows Google AdMob ads: a banner on the puzzle screen, ads between puzzles (never after every puzzle) and optional reward videos. Ads are limited to content suitable for general audiences.

To show and measure ads, Google's SDK may collect:

• the device's advertising identifier and, on Android, the app set ID;
• the IP address, from which an approximate location is estimated;
• device and performance information and crash diagnostics;
• the ads you see and how you interact with them and with the app.

Google uses this data under its policy: how Google uses information from sites or apps that use its services.

• Consent: in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and other places where the law requires it, the app shows Google's consent form (UMP) after your first puzzle. You can change your choice in Settings > Privacy options.
• Tracking: on iPhone and iPad, the app asks for permission to track you (App Tracking Transparency). If you decline, the advertising identifier is not shared and ads are not personalized. You can change it at any time in your device's Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking.
• Advertising ID on Android: you can reset or delete it at any time in your phone's settings (usually Settings > Privacy > Ads, or Settings > Google > Ads). If you delete it, ads are not personalized with it.
• "No Ads": with this purchase, the banner and the ads between puzzles disappear. On iPhone, iPad and Mac, any purchase in the previous version also counts. Reward videos remain optional.
• Mac and Chromebooks: the app shows no ads on Mac or on Chromebooks.

5. In-app purchases

"No Ads" and the coin packs are bought through the App Store or Google Play, which process the payment under their own policies. The app only receives the purchase confirmation (the transaction number on the App Store, the order number on Google Play) and saves it in your progress, to add the coins only once. We never receive your card or other payment details.

6. Ratings

After you play for a while, the app may ask the App Store or Google Play to show you its window to rate the game. Whatever you do there is received by the store with your account, under its own policy. We receive nothing and don't know whether you rated.

7. Reminders

If you allow notifications (on Android 13 or later the system asks you first), the app sends you at most one reminder a day, for example about the daily challenge or the Advent Calendar. The app schedules them on your device with your game data: they don't go through any server. You can turn them off in the app's Settings or in your device's notification settings.

8. Errors and statistics

The app doesn't use its own analytics tools. Apple and Google Play may share aggregated crash and usage reports with us, depending on your device settings.

9. Children

The app is suitable for all ages but is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect data from children under 13. If you believe a child has given us data, write to us and we will delete it.

10. Retention and deletion

• Your progress stays on your device and in your cloud until you delete it. To delete it:
  • on iPhone, iPad and Mac, uninstall the app from your devices and delete its data from your iCloud settings;
  • on Android, uninstall the app and delete its saved data from the Google Play Games settings (you can delete this game's data or your whole games profile). The Android backup can be deleted from your Google account (Google Drive > Backups).
• Ad data is kept by Google under its policy.
• You can ask us for information about, or deletion of, any data at tappller@gmail.com. Depending on your country, you also have the right to access, correct, object or lodge a complaint with your data protection authority.

11. Changes

If we change this policy, we will publish the new version on this page with its date. If the change is significant, we will let you know in the app.