Privacy Policy

Gomoku Narabe · Last updated 2 September 2026

Gomoku Narabe is a board game app published by Kieran Wood. This policy explains what the app collects, why, and who it is shared with. The terms of service cover the rest of using the app. Questions: support@gomokuapp.com.

Playing without an account

Playing on your own — against the computer, in two-player pass-and-play, in the tutorials or the custom setup board — needs no account. Your game history, saved game and settings are stored only on your phone, and nothing about your games is sent anywhere.

The app does send anonymous usage and crash data, whether or not you play online — see Usage and crash data below for what that covers and how to turn it off.

Playing online

Online play (friend games, matchmaking and the ranked ladder) needs an account, which the app creates automatically. We collect:

• An account identifier. An anonymous ID created on first launch. If you sign in with Game Center or Google Play Games, that ID is linked to your platform account so your profile survives a reinstall. We receive an identifier from the platform, not your Apple or Google account details.
• Your profile. Display name, avatar, country, friend code, and — if you play ranked — your rating and win/loss record. Your display name, avatar, country and rank are visible to other players, including on the leaderboard.
• Games you play online. The moves, result and timing of online games, and who you played.
• Chat messages you send. All chat is automatically filtered for offensive language before it is sent. Chat with a friend is one continuous conversation, kept so you can both read it back, and is deleted when either of you removes the friendship. Chat in a matchmaking game is kept with that game, and may be read by us when reviewing a report about behaviour in matchmaking — chat with friends is private and is not reviewed.
• Daily challenges. When you solve the daily puzzle we record your solving time, the moves you played and your solving streak, and place your time on that day's leaderboard alongside a copy of your display name, avatar and country. Global and friends-only leaderboards are visible to other players.
• Technical data needed to run a live game: a push notification token, timestamps showing when your device was last active in a game, and — if you turn on the daily reminder — the broad time zone your device is in, so the reminder arrives in the morning rather than the middle of the night.
• Safety data. Players you block, reports you file or that name you, and any suspension applied to your account with its reason and end date. Reports are reviewed by us and are not visible to the player reported.

Usage and crash data

To understand which parts of the app are used and to find crashes, we collect anonymous usage data through Google Analytics for Firebase and Google Crashlytics. This is not tied to your name or your account, and it happens whether or not you play online.

• Usage events — that a game started or finished and in which mode, that a lesson or daily challenge was opened, that a screen was reached. We never send your display name, your messages, your friend code, the moves you play, or anything else you type.
• Device and app information — device model, operating system version, app version, language and country, and an app-generated identifier that is reset if you reinstall.
• Crash reports — what the app was doing when it stopped working, so it can be fixed.

In the EEA and UK, usage data is collected only where you have consented. If you have bought the one-time unlock you are not shown the advertising consent form, so the app asks separately: main menu → menu icon → Help improve the app, which is off unless you turn it on and can be turned back off at any time.

This data is not used for advertising and is not linked to your AdMob profile.

Crash reports are collected regardless of that setting, because they are what keeps the app working and they describe the app rather than you.

Advertising

The free version shows occasional full-screen ads — when you search for an opponent, and when a game with a friend starts — supplied by Google AdMob. AdMob may use an advertising identifier from your device to select ads and measure them.

• On iOS you are asked for permission before any tracking identifier is used. Decline and you still see ads, just less relevant ones.
• In the EEA and UK you are shown a consent form before ads load, and can change your answer at any time.
• Buying the one-time unlock removes ads entirely, and no ad is requested afterwards.

Google's use of advertising data is covered by Google's Privacy & Terms.

Purchases

The one-time unlock is sold through the App Store or Google Play. Payment is handled entirely by Apple or Google — we never see your card, billing address or payment details. The app records only whether the unlock has been bought, and stores that on your device.

Who your data is shared with

We do not sell your data or share it for advertising beyond what is described above. Data is processed by:

• Google Firebase (authentication, database, push notifications, analytics, crash reporting) — hosting for accounts, online games and messages, and the usage and crash data described above.
• Google AdMob — advertising, as described above.
• Apple and Google — sign-in and purchases.

Children

Gomoku Narabe is a general-audience game and is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has created an account, contact us and we will delete it.

How long we keep it, and deleting your account

Profile and ranked data is kept while your account exists. Finished online games are kept as a record of play. Chat with a friend is kept for as long as the friendship lasts, and is deleted — the whole conversation, for both of you — as soon as either of you removes the other. Chat in a matchmaking game is kept with that game.

Usage and crash data is held by Google on our behalf, for up to 14 months and 90 days respectively. It is not part of your account and is not removed by deleting one, because nothing in it identifies you.

You can delete your account at any time from the app: main menu → menu icon → Delete Account. It is immediate and permanent, and removes your profile, rank, friends, messages and games in progress, along with the game history stored on your phone. If you no longer have the app installed, email support@gomokuapp.com with your friend code or display name. Full details, and what is kept.

Three things survive deletion. Finished ranked games remain as a record, because they are your opponents' games too and their ratings were calculated from them — with your profile gone, nothing on them identifies you. Reports filed by you or naming you are kept as safety records. Daily challenge leaderboard rows stay on the day they were set, and each carries the copy of your display name, avatar and country taken when you solved it; email us if you want those removed. Deleting your account does not affect the one-time unlock, which belongs to your App Store or Google Play account.

Your rights

Depending on where you live you may have the right to access, correct, export or delete the data we hold about you, and to withdraw consent for advertising or for usage data. Email us at the address above and we will respond.

Changes

If this policy changes, the date at the top changes with it. It is worth checking back here after an app update.