Privacy Policy

Without an account: data that stays on your device

As long as you are not signed in, the following is stored only in the app’s own database on your device and is not sent to us:

• Game progress: level, streak, gold, gems, solved words, review schedule

• Preferences: theme, language, sound, haptics, notification and difficulty settings

• Purchase state and tickets bought in the in-game store

Deleting the app removes this data from your device. You can also erase it yourself at any time with "Reset all game data" in Settings.

If you sign in: data stored on our server

Signing in is optional and is used only for the online leaderboard and cloud backup. When you sign in with Apple or Google we store:

• Account details: the email address your sign-in provider shares with us (with Sign in with Apple this may be a private relay address), your name and profile photo link when you sign in with Google, and a user ID for your account

• Leaderboard profile: the username you choose, your language settings, your rank, the look of your ship and sailor, your flag, the total gold and gems you have earned, your daily streak and the platform on which you created the account

• Scores: for each word you solve, the word’s ID, the game mode and how long it took; your leaderboard score is calculated from these on the server

• Cloud backup: a copy of your game progress and preferences and your per-word review history, so you can restore your progress when you sign in on another device

• Purchase records: the transaction ID, product and date when you buy a gem pack (see "Purchases")

• Duel: the duels you play and their puzzles, the words you find in a duel and when you found them, your trophies, your league and your daily duel tickets

Other players see only your username, rank, scores, trophies and league, total gold and gems, streak and the look of your ship and sailor on the leaderboard; your Duel opponent also sees your score in that duel. Your email address, name and backup are never shown to anyone.

This data is held on Supabase infrastructure; the servers may be located outside your country. It is kept for as long as your account exists and is deleted when you delete your account.

Deleting your account

If you have signed in, you can delete your account at any time with Settings → "Delete my account". Your account and all of the server-side data listed above (leaderboard profile, scores, cloud backup, purchase records) are permanently deleted. If you signed in with Apple, our link to your Apple ID is also revoked at Apple.

Your game progress on the device is not deleted. Premium is tied to your store account, so it is not affected and comes back with "Restore purchases".

If you no longer have access to the app, write to us from the email address you signed in with and we will delete your account within 30 days.

Notifications

Daily reminders are scheduled on your device. If you decline the permission the feature stays off and the rest of the app works normally. Notification content never leaves your device.

Advertising

The free version shows Google AdMob ads. To serve them, AdMob accesses your advertising identifier (iOS: IDFA, Android: Advertising ID), IP address, approximate location at country/city level, device and OS information, and ad interactions.

On iOS the app does not access the IDFA unless you grant tracking permission; if you decline, ads are served without personalisation.

Where the law of your location requires it (the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and the applicable US states) the app shows Google’s consent screen at startup, and no ad is requested until you have answered it. You can change your decision, or withdraw consent, at any time from “Settings → Ad privacy options”. Everywhere else you can still reset your advertising identifier or turn off personalisation in your device settings.

To remove ads entirely you can buy Premium from inside the app.

How Google handles this data: policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites

Purchases

Premium and other purchases go through the Apple App Store and Google Play. Your card details, name and billing information never reach us; the store handles payment.

When you buy a gem pack, the signed transaction record the store issues for that purchase is sent to our server and verified with Apple or Google to prevent fraud. Only the transaction ID, product, number of gems and date are stored, linked to your account. If you are not signed in, the record waits on your device and is verified once you sign in.

Crash reports

If the app closes unexpectedly, a technical report is sent so the fault can be fixed: the error message and stack trace, app version, device model and OS version.

The report contains no game content, no words you have solved and no personal information; IP addresses are not stored. Reports are held on Sentry infrastructure and deleted after 90 days.

Usage statistics

To improve the game we collect anonymous usage data: app opens, which mode is played, level completions, ad impressions and the type of product purchased. Each event carries the app version, device model, OS version, language settings and a randomly generated identifier for the device.

This data is not linked to your account, name or email address; the words and answers you solve are not sent and your location is not resolved. The data is held on PostHog infrastructure in the European Union. You can turn it off at any time with Settings → Usage statistics; while it is off, no events are sent.

Children

Yelken is a word game suitable for all ages and does not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe data belonging to a child under 13 has been processed, write to us and we will delete it.

Your rights

Under GDPR and Turkish data protection law you have the right to know what data is held about you and to ask for it to be corrected or deleted. You can delete your account yourself from inside the app (see "Deleting your account"); for any other request, questions about data associated with your advertising identifier, or deletion of your crash reports, write to us.

If you live in the United States: we do not sell your personal information and we do not share it for money. Under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA) and comparable state laws you have the right to opt out of your data being shared for personalised advertising, to ask what is held, and to request deletion. The fastest way to opt out is “Settings → Ad privacy options”; you may also write to us. We will not treat you differently for exercising these rights — the whole game stays equally available.

Changes

If this policy changes you will see the current version in the app and at its published address; the date above is renewed.