Hour Games Privacy Policy
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This Privacy Policy explains how Hour Games Co., Ltd. ("Hour Games", "we", "us" or "our") handles personal information in our games, websites and related support services that link to this page. It covers Alliance at War, Over Hazed, Merge Isle, Word Stroll and the Hour Games website, as well as other Hour Games products that link to this policy.
One policy, different features. The information processed depends on the game, version, platform, features you use and your privacy choices. Account and chat provisions apply to games with those features. A game with local-only progress does not require an online account merely because it links to this policy. Advertising and analytics provisions apply when those services are enabled in the version you use.
Accepting game terms, installing a game or visiting our website does not by itself constitute consent to optional advertising or tracking that requires consent.
1. Information we process
- Accounts and sign-in, where available
- We process the player ID, nickname, profile image, account credentials or authentication identifiers needed to create, secure and manage your game account. If you choose Facebook Login, we receive the identifier and profile information permitted by that login, such as your name, profile picture and email address if you grant that permission. Your Facebook password is handled by Facebook, not provided to us through Facebook Login.
- Gameplay, saved progress and social features
- This includes levels, achievements, inventory, currency balances, preferences and activity in the game. Online games may store progress on our servers. If a game includes chat, alliances or other social features, we process the messages and content you submit, recipient or group information, and related moderation reports. Content you post in a shared channel can be seen by other participants.
- Local game data
- Some games or versions, including local-play versions of Word Stroll, store progress and settings on your device. Local storage alone does not send those records to us. Separately enabled advertising, analytics, store purchases or support features can involve network processing even when gameplay progress is stored locally.
- Purchases
- For purchases through an app store, the store processes your payment details. We receive or verify transaction information needed to deliver items, restore eligible purchases, handle refunds and prevent fraud, such as product identifiers, purchase receipts or tokens, order status and purchase time. A store receipt does not give us your full payment-card number.
- Device, usage, advertising and analytics information
- When the relevant online service or SDK is enabled, it may process IP address, approximate location inferred from IP address, device model, operating system, language, app version, app-instance or other service identifiers, advertising identifiers where available and permitted, session and gameplay events, installation or campaign attribution, ad impressions, clicks and reward events, and technical or error information. The exact information depends on the service, permissions, configuration and your choices.
- Support and privacy requests
- When you contact us, we receive your contact details, the information you send, and any game identifiers, screenshots or transaction references needed to address the request. Please do not send passwords, full payment-card details or unrelated identity documents.
2. Purposes and legal grounds
We use relevant information to operate games and accounts; save progress and deliver purchases; provide chat and support; understand gameplay and campaign performance; display and measure ads; protect accounts, prevent cheating and fraud, and investigate abuse; and comply with applicable legal obligations.
Where laws require a legal basis, we rely on performance of a contract for services you request, consent for processing that requires it, legal obligations where applicable, and legitimate interests such as service reliability, security and improvement where those interests are not overridden by your rights. The applicable basis depends on the particular processing. You may withdraw consent without affecting the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal.
3. Third-party services
These services are used in applicable products or on the website. They are not all active in every game or every version. A provider may process information on our behalf or for its own purposes as described in its policy.
- Meta / Facebook SDK — game sign-in
- Supports Facebook Login in games that offer it, including the account information you authorize and technical information associated with the login. See the Meta Privacy Policy.
- Meta App Events — Word Stroll advertising measurement
- Word Stroll Android releases that enable Meta App Events use it to measure advertising and optimize campaigns after applicable privacy choices allow it. This integration does not add Facebook Login to Word Stroll. Meta may receive permitted advertising or app identifiers, device and app information, IP-derived location, and install, session, tutorial, level, purchase and ad-impression events. You can change applicable choices through the in-game privacy options. Withdrawing the applicable choice stops new event forwarding and disables automatic event collection; it does not delete data already sent. Meta handles information it receives under its own retention and rights-request processes. See the Meta Privacy Policy. For information we control, use the deletion request instructions.
- Google / Firebase — game analytics and attribution
- Supports usage statistics and understanding how players find and use applicable games. It may process app-instance identifiers, device and app information, gameplay or purchase events and campaign information, subject to configuration and your choices. See Firebase privacy information and the Google Privacy Policy.
- AppLovin MAX — in-game advertising
- Ad-enabled releases use AppLovin MAX to request, display and measure ads and to help prevent invalid traffic. AppLovin may collect device and app information, IP address, advertising or service identifiers, privacy choices and ad-interaction information directly through its SDK. See the AppLovin Privacy Policy. MAX can mediate additional advertising partners when configured; any additional partners enabled for a release must be reflected in the applicable privacy disclosures and consent choices.
- Google advertising tags and Meta Pixel — website measurement
- Used on applicable marketing pages to measure visits, interactions and advertising campaigns. See how Google uses information from sites and apps and the Meta Privacy Policy.
- App stores and embedded services
- Google Play and Apple App Store process downloads and store payments under their own policies: Google and Apple. Website pages that embed YouTube videos also connect to Google when the embedded player loads or is used.
The advertising seller entries in our app-ads.txt file identify authorized advertising supply relationships; they are not a list of SDKs installed in every game.
4. Advertising and privacy choices
Games with advertising may show banners, interstitials or optional rewarded ads. Ad services use the information described above to deliver ads, measure performance and prevent fraud. Where permitted and based on the applicable privacy choices, information may also be used for personalized advertising. Choosing a rewarded ad is not, by itself, consent to personalized advertising.
Where consent is required for advertising, analytics or access to information on your device, that processing requires a valid choice through the applicable consent mechanism. You can change choices through privacy or consent controls where offered in the game or website, or contact us at aaw@hourgames.com to withdraw consent or request assistance. If your version has no such control, use the email route; we will explain the options for that product.
You can also use your device's advertising and tracking settings, browser cookie controls and the providers' privacy controls. Declining personalization may still allow contextual ads or processing necessary for delivery, measurement or fraud prevention where lawful. Device settings do not automatically delete data already processed, and a purchase that removes ads is not a data-deletion request.
Depending on your location, disclosures of identifiers and activity to advertising providers may be considered a "sale", "sharing" or targeted advertising under local privacy law, even without a monetary payment for the data. Where applicable, you may opt out through the available privacy controls or by emailing us with the subject Do Not Sell or Share / Advertising Opt-out. We will handle legally recognized opt-out preference signals where required by applicable law.
5. Website cookies and embedded content
Our website and its service providers can process browser and device information, IP address, page addresses, referrers and interaction events. Google advertising tags and Meta Pixel on marketing pages may use cookies or similar identifiers for measurement and advertising. Embedded YouTube players can receive technical information when they load or are used, even if you do not sign in to YouTube.
You may manage cookies through your browser, use the applicable provider's privacy settings, and contact us about your choices. Clearing or blocking cookies may affect remembered choices and does not remove information already held by a provider. Where required, non-essential cookies or similar tracking require consent; merely continuing to browse is not that consent.
This privacy page contains no advertising tags, tracking pixels or embedded video. It can be read without creating an account.
6. When we share information
We share information relevant to the purposes above with hosting and technical service providers, login and analytics providers, advertising partners, app stores and support providers where involved. Chat or profile information you make visible in a game is shared with the relevant players. We may also disclose information when required by law or a valid legal request, to protect people and services, or as part of a business transfer subject to applicable protections and notice requirements.
Providers processing information for us must use it for the services they provide and protect it under the applicable arrangements. Providers acting independently are responsible for their own processing and privacy notices. A link to a provider's policy does not replace our responsibility for the processing we control.
7. Retention
We retain personal information only for as long as needed for the relevant service and purpose. For online accounts and gameplay, this depends on the account's use and the need to operate the game. For support, it depends on resolving the request and related follow-up. Transaction and security records are retained only as needed for their stated purposes and applicable legal requirements. Local-only progress remains on your device until it is removed or replaced.
When we complete a valid deletion request, we delete the personal information covered by it from systems under our control rather than retain it for continuing use. If a specific legal obligation prevents deletion of particular records, we will explain the reason and retain only what is required for that obligation. A general desire to keep data for marketing is not an exception.
Service providers that process data on our behalf are included in handling the request as applicable. App stores and other providers may independently retain records under their own legal obligations and policies. We cannot erase data held solely by an independent provider by deleting a game account.
8. Delete an account or personal data
You can request deletion without opening the game. Email aaw@hourgames.com with the subject Privacy Request — Account or Data Deletion. This contact applies to all Hour Games products covered by this policy.
- Games with accounts: use the game's account settings and its Delete Account function. In games with a profile/avatar menu, open that menu to find account settings. The location can differ between products. You may instead email us, including if you cannot sign in.
- Local-only games: clear the app's storage through the device settings or remove its locally stored app data by uninstalling it. Device or cloud backups, if enabled by your platform, may need to be removed separately. This may permanently remove progress and settings. It does not delete information already sent to us or a third party. Word Stroll local-play releases also provide Settings > Delete account & data. The confirmation explains that no Hour Games online account exists in that version; choosing permanent deletion asks the operating system to erase that installation's local progress, coins, items, settings and records and close the app. This does not erase data on another device or information already sent to us or an independent provider.
- Other personal data: email us to request deletion of support, analytics or other personal information we control. Tell us the game name, platform, and player/account ID if available, and the data you want removed. If you have no account or cannot find an ID, explain that; an account is not required to make a request.
We may ask for proportionate information needed to locate the data and verify that the request is yours. Do not send your password. We will respond and handle the request within the period required by applicable law. Deletion may remove access to the account, its progress and associated content; we will explain relevant effects during the process. Deleting an account or uninstalling a game does not automatically cancel an app-store subscription or obtain a refund; manage those through the relevant store.
For information controlled independently by Facebook, Google, AppLovin or an app store, their policies linked above explain their own request options. Contacting them does not replace a request to us for information we control.
9. Your privacy rights
Depending on the law that applies to you, you may have rights to access or obtain a copy of your information, correct it, delete it, restrict or object to processing, receive portable data, withdraw consent, and opt out of certain advertising uses. You may exercise applicable rights through aaw@hourgames.com. Include your country or region so we can identify the relevant requirements.
We may verify a request and an authorized agent's authority using proportionate information. We will explain any refusal and, where applicable, how to appeal it by replying to our response or emailing us with the subject Privacy Request Appeal. You may also complain to your local data-protection authority. We will not unlawfully discriminate against you for exercising your rights.
10. Children
Our products are not directed to children. Applicable age requirements depend on the country or region and the product's intended audience; an app-store content rating alone does not determine permission to process a child's data.
We do not knowingly collect personal information from children in circumstances where doing so is prohibited. AppLovin services must not be initialized or used for a person who is a child under applicable law. Parental permission does not override that restriction. If you believe a child has provided personal information through one of our services, contact aaw@hourgames.com so we can investigate and delete it as required.
11. Security and international processing
We take reasonable technical and organizational measures appropriate to the information and its use to protect it against unauthorized access, disclosure, loss or misuse. No system or transmission method can be guaranteed completely secure. Keep your account credentials private and contact support if you suspect unauthorized access.
Hour Games is based in Chengdu, China, and our game servers are located in the United States. Information may therefore be processed outside your country. Third-party providers may process information in the countries described in their policies. These countries may have different data-protection laws.
Where applicable law requires safeguards for international transfers, those requirements apply to the transfer, such as an applicable adequacy decision or appropriate contractual safeguards. You may contact us for information about the safeguards relevant to your data. Your use of a game or this website is not a substitute for a legally required transfer mechanism or consent.
12. Contact and policy changes
The organization responsible for the processing described in this policy is Hour Games Co., Ltd.
Privacy and deletion requests: aaw@hourgames.comPostal address: No.601, building 7, area B, Tian Fu software park, No.99 Tian Hua road, Gao Xin district, Chengdu city, Sichuan province, China.
We update this shared policy when our services or practices change. The date at the top identifies the latest revision. For material changes, we will provide additional notice and request consent where required. The Terms of Use below govern service use; this Privacy Policy governs the personal-information matters described here, and nothing in the Terms removes rights granted by applicable privacy law.