PocketSudoku

Privacy Policy & Terms of Use

Effective date: 24 October 2026 · Last updated: 24 October 2026

1. Who we are

PocketSudoku (the “App”) is an Android Sudoku game developed and published by Dipayan Choudhury, an independent developer based in India (“we”, “us” or “our”). This document explains what information the App handles, why, and the rules that apply when you use it. By installing or using the App, you agree to this Privacy Policy and the Terms of Use below. If you do not agree, please do not use the App.

2. Information we collect

2.1 If you play without signing in

Puzzles are generated on your device, and your games, statistics and settings are stored locally. We do not receive this information, although the automatically collected information described in Section 2.3 still applies.

2.2 If you sign in with Google

Signing in is optional. If you choose to sign in, we receive your name, email address and profile photo URL from Google through Firebase Authentication, and we store the following in Cloud Firestore:

• Profile: your unique user ID, name, email address, profile photo URL, the date you joined, and your premium subscription status.
• Game data: games played and won, perfect wins, best and average times for each difficulty level, current and best streaks, daily-puzzle results (time taken and number of mistakes), your coin balance, daily-bonus history, and a saved copy of an unfinished game, so that you can continue on another device.
• Social features: friend requests you send and receive, your friends list, friend groups you create or join, shoutout messages you post in groups, and coin gifts you send or receive, including any note you attach.
• Friend lookup: so that friends can find you by email address, we store a lookup entry that links your email address, in normalised (lower-case) form, to your user ID. Other players can only check whether an exact email address they already know is registered. They cannot browse or list email addresses.

If you also sign in to Google Play Games, your achievements and leaderboard scores are sent to Google Play Games and are governed by Google's privacy policy and your Play Games profile settings.

2.3 Information collected automatically

• Usage and device information. Firebase Analytics collects information about how the App is used, such as screens viewed, features used, session length, app version, device model, operating-system version, language, approximate location derived from your IP address, and app-instance and advertising identifiers.
• Crash and diagnostic information. If the App crashes or encounters an error, Firebase Crashlytics collects a crash report that includes the stack trace, device model, operating-system version, app version and a crash identifier.
• Advertising information. Google AdMob may collect your device's advertising ID, IP address, and information about the ads you see and interact with. See Section 6.
• Notification token. Firebase Cloud Messaging assigns your device a token so that we can send you notifications, for example about friend requests, coin gifts and daily puzzles.
• App integrity information. Firebase App Check and the Google Play Integrity API check that requests come from a genuine copy of the App. This helps prevent cheating and abuse.
• Purchase information. If you buy a subscription, Google Play processes the payment. We receive a purchase token and the subscription status, never your card or bank details. We use Qonversion to verify purchases and manage subscription status.

2.4 Messages you send us

If you use the in-app “Contact us” form, we receive the name, email address and message you enter. If you use the feedback link, Google Forms collects your answers on our behalf.

2.5 Information we do not collect

We do not ask for or access your contacts, photos, files, microphone, camera, precise location, call logs or SMS messages.

3. Information visible to other players

When you are signed in, the following information may be visible to other players:

• Leaderboards (daily puzzle and best time for each difficulty level): your display name, your time and, for the daily puzzle, your number of mistakes.
• Public profile: your display name, profile photo, total wins and best streak.
• Friends and groups: friends can see that you are their friend. Members of a group can see the group's name, its members and the shoutouts posted in it. Recipients of a coin gift can see who sent it and any note attached.

Your email address is never displayed to other players. Please do not include personal or sensitive information in your display name, group names, notes or shoutouts.

4. How we use your information

We use the information described above to:

• provide the game, save your progress and keep it in sync across your devices;
• run leaderboards, daily puzzles, streaks, the daily bonus and achievements;
• provide social features such as friends, groups, shoutouts and coin gifting;
• show advertising, including rewarded ads that you choose to watch, which keeps the App free;
• provide and restore premium subscriptions;
• send you notifications, which you can switch off at any time in Android settings;
• understand which features are used so that we can improve the App;
• find and fix crashes and bugs;
• detect and prevent cheating, fraud and abuse;
• reply to your questions and feedback; and
• comply with legal obligations.

We process your information on the basis of your consent (for example, when you sign in or allow notifications), to perform our agreement with you (for example, to provide the features you use or a subscription you have paid for), and for our legitimate interests in operating, securing and improving the App. We do not sell or rent your personal data to anyone.

5. Third-party services

The App relies on the following service providers. Each processes data under its own privacy policy:

Some of these providers may process data on servers located outside India. Where they do, they apply their own safeguards for international transfers.

6. Advertising

PocketSudoku shows banner and native ads served by Google AdMob. It also offers rewarded ads, which you can choose to watch in exchange for in-game benefits such as coins or a hint. If you do not have enough coins for a hint, a rewarded ad may be shown before the hint is revealed. Google may use your advertising ID to show you personalised ads and to measure ad performance. You can reset your advertising ID, or opt out of personalised ads, at any time in Android Settings → Google → Ads (or Settings → Privacy → Ads on some devices). If you opt out, you will still see ads, but they will be less relevant to you.

7. Data retention and deletion

• Account and game data: kept for as long as you have an account. If you ask us to delete it, we will delete your profile, game data, public profile, leaderboard entries, friend-lookup entry and friendships, together with your Firebase Authentication record, within 30 days. Shoutouts and coin-gift records that also belong to other players may be kept in anonymised form.
• Saved unfinished game: removed when you finish or abandon the game, or when your account is deleted.
• Analytics data: kept by Firebase for up to 14 months, then deleted automatically.
• Crash reports: kept by Crashlytics for up to 90 days.
• Support emails: kept only for as long as we need them to resolve your request.
• Local data: deleted when you clear the App's storage or uninstall the App.

To delete your account and the data linked to it, email pocketsudoku@dipync.com from the email address you signed in with, using the subject “Account deletion”. Deleting your account permanently removes your coins, statistics and streaks, and it does not cancel a Google Play subscription. Please cancel it yourself at play.google.com/store/account/subscriptions. Google Play Games data is managed in your Play Games settings.

We may keep limited information for longer if the law requires it, or if we need it to resolve a dispute or prevent fraud.

8. Security

Data sent between the App and our service providers is encrypted in transit using HTTPS/TLS. Access to Firestore is restricted by security rules, so that private data such as your email address and coin balance can be read only by you, and only the limited public fields described in Section 3 are visible to others. Sensitive values stored on your device are protected with Android's encrypted storage. However, no method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. Please keep your device and your Google account secure. If you believe your account has been compromised, contact us immediately.

9. Your choices and rights

Subject to applicable law, including India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, and, where it applies to you, the EU/UK General Data Protection Regulation, you have the right to:

• access the personal data we hold about you;
• correct inaccurate or incomplete data;
• delete your data;
• withdraw consent at any time, for example by signing out, leaving a group or turning off notifications. Withdrawal does not affect processing that happened before it;
• object to, or restrict, certain processing;
• nominate another person to exercise your rights if you die or become incapacitated; and
• complain to us (see Section 13) or to your data-protection authority.

To exercise any of these rights, write to pocketsudoku@dipync.com. We will respond within 30 days, and we may need to verify your identity first.

10. Children

PocketSudoku is a general-audience puzzle game and is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. Users under 18 should sign in, or use the social features, only with the involvement and consent of a parent or legal guardian. If you believe a child has given us personal data, contact us and we will delete it.

11. Terms of Use

11.1 Acceptance

These Terms of Use (“Terms”) form a binding agreement between you and us. By using the App, you confirm that you are legally able to enter into a contract under the laws that apply to you or, if you are a minor, that a parent or guardian has agreed to these Terms on your behalf.

11.2 The service

PocketSudoku is a Sudoku game with puzzles at several difficulty levels, a daily puzzle, statistics, streaks, achievements, leaderboards and optional social features. Some features require you to sign in, and some may require a premium subscription.

11.3 Licence to use the App

We grant you a personal, limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable and revocable licence to install and use the App on Android devices that you own or control, for your own non-commercial entertainment. All rights in the App, including its code, design, puzzles, name and logo, belong to us or our licensors. Open-source components are used under their respective licences, which are listed in the App.

11.4 Coins and virtual items

Coins and other in-game items are part of the game. You earn them by playing, through the daily bonus or by watching rewarded ads, and you can spend them on in-game features such as hints. Coins have no monetary value, cannot be exchanged for real money or anything outside the App, and are not your property. We grant you only a limited licence to use them in the App. You may gift coins to friends within the limits set in the App, but you may not sell, trade or transfer coins or accounts for anything of value. We may change how coins are earned, spent or valued, and we may correct balances that result from errors, bugs or misuse. Unused coins are lost if your account is deleted or terminated, or if the App is discontinued.

11.5 Fair play and community rules

You agree not to:

• cheat, or use bots, scripts, modified clients or any other means to manipulate scores, times, streaks, leaderboards or coin balances;
• exploit bugs instead of reporting them to us;
• post or send anything in display names, group names, notes or shoutouts that is unlawful, abusive, harassing, hateful, sexually explicit, defamatory, or that infringes anyone's rights;
• spam other players with friend requests or messages, or impersonate anyone;
• copy, modify, reverse-engineer, decompile or create derivative works from the App, except where the law expressly permits it;
• interfere with or disrupt the App or its backend, or attempt to gain unauthorised access to them; or
• tamper with ads or purchase verification, or use the App to commit fraud.

We may remove content, reset statistics or coins, remove leaderboard entries, or suspend accounts that break these rules.

11.6 Your content

You are responsible for the content you post, such as display names, group names, notes and shoutouts. You keep ownership of it, but you grant us a worldwide, royalty-free licence to store and display it to the players you share it with, for the purpose of operating the App. You can report objectionable content to us at pocketsudoku@dipync.com.

11.7 Premium subscriptions

The App is free to download. Optional premium features, such as increased coin rewards, may be offered as auto-renewing subscriptions sold through Google Play. Prices are shown in the App before you buy. Payment is charged to your Google Play account, and the subscription renews automatically unless you cancel it at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel subscriptions in Google Play at any time. Refunds are handled by Google under the Google Play refund policy. You must sign in with Google to link a subscription to your account.

11.8 Feedback

If you send us suggestions or feedback, you allow us to use them to improve the App without any obligation to you.

11.9 Availability and changes to the App

We may change, suspend or discontinue any part of the App at any time, including online features such as leaderboards and social features. We do not guarantee that the App will always be available, uninterrupted or free of errors.

11.10 Termination

You may stop using the App at any time by uninstalling it and, if you wish, asking us to delete your account. We may suspend or end your access if you breach these Terms or if we are required to do so by law. The sections on coins, disclaimers, limitation of liability, indemnity and governing law continue to apply after termination.

11.11 Disclaimer of warranties

The App is provided “as is” and “as available”, without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose or non-infringement, to the fullest extent permitted by law.

11.12 Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, we will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, or for any loss of data, game progress, coins, profits or goodwill, arising from your use of, or inability to use, the App. Our total liability for any claim relating to the App will not exceed the amount you paid us for the App in the 12 months before the claim, or INR 1,000, whichever is greater.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits any liability that cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law, or your statutory rights as a consumer.

11.13 Indemnity

You agree to indemnify us against any claims, losses or expenses, including reasonable legal fees, that arise from your breach of these Terms, your content, or your misuse of the App.

11.14 Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of India. Before starting any formal proceedings, please contact us so that we can try to resolve the issue informally. Subject to any mandatory consumer protection laws in your country of residence, the courts of India have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute arising from these Terms or the App.

11.15 General

If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in full effect. Our failure to enforce any right is not a waiver of that right. You may not transfer your rights under these Terms. We may transfer ours to a successor who agrees to honour them. These Terms and the Privacy Policy above are the entire agreement between you and us about the App. We are not responsible for delays or failures caused by events beyond our reasonable control.

12. Changes to this document

We may update this Privacy Policy and these Terms from time to time. When we do, we will change the “Last updated” date at the top of this page and, for significant changes, notify you in the App. If you keep using the App after a change takes effect, you accept the updated version.

13. Contact and grievances

If you have any questions, requests or complaints about this document or the App, please contact:

Dipayan Choudhury — Developer and Grievance Officer
Email: pocketsudoku@dipync.com
Website: dipync.com

Please include a clear description of your request. To report another player's content, include their display name and, if possible, a screenshot. We will acknowledge grievances within 48 hours and aim to resolve them within 15 days.