Privacy Policy

Effective September 16, 2026 · Last updated September 16, 2026

SoilBoi: Worm Tunnel Puzzle ("the Game", "we", "us", "our") is a puzzle game for Android published by The Groove Salad, package name com.thegroovesalad.soilboi. You dig tunnels, route worms to their goals, and press Start to watch the run play out.

The short version: the Game keeps your progress and settings on your device, where Android may include them in your device backup. Optional gameplay analytics are off by default; you can turn them on in the pause menu and turn them off again at any time. Forced interstitial ads appear only after a win; an optional rewarded video may appear when you request a second or later hint. New "Remove ads" purchases are temporarily unavailable. If you already own it, restoring the purchase stops future ad requests while the purchase remains valid.

1. Information the Game Collects

The Game has no accounts or sign-up and does not ask for your name, email address, or phone number. It does not include a crash-reporting SDK.

If you opt in, the Game collects the optional usage statistics described in Section 2 below.

Your puzzle progress (levels completed, best results, settings such as sound and reduced motion, and the ads-removed flag) is saved only in the Game's private storage on your device and is not sent to the developer. Android may include these files in your encrypted device backup and restore them later, depending on your Google backup settings.

2. Optional Analytics (Google Firebase Analytics)

If you enable "Share usage analytics," the Game sends gameplay events to Google Firebase Analytics: level started, won, or failed (with the level identifier, try count, failure reason, and time spent), hints used, ads actually shown, and daily-puzzle plays.

Firebase supplies its own app-instance identifier; automatic app and session events such as first open; device model, operating-system and app-version facts; and approximate location derived from your IP address. While Analytics is enabled, Firebase may also automatically record Google Play purchase details associated with an existing Remove ads transaction, including product ID/name, price/value, currency, and quantity. SoilBoi does not log a second custom purchase event, set a user ID, or send your name, email, account information, precise location, puzzle build/share codes, or advertising ID to Analytics. Analytics advertising-ID collection and ad-personalization signals are disabled.

On a new install, Analytics collection starts disabled. It begins only after you turn on "Share usage analytics" in the pause menu, and that choice persists across launches. Turning the switch off stops future Analytics collection immediately. This switch grants analytics storage only; it does not grant ad storage, ad user data, or ad personalization. The Game remains playable offline and without analytics.

Google processes this data on our behalf as the operator of Google Analytics; Google's privacy policy is at policies.google.com/privacy. We use the resulting aggregate reports to understand where players get stuck.

3. Advertising (Google AdMob)

The Game shows ads through Google AdMob in two places:

When an ad is requested, Google's SDK may collect and share the advertising ID and app-set/account identifiers; IP address and coarse location derived from it; product interactions such as app launches, taps and video views; and diagnostics such as launch time, hangs and energy use. Google uses these for advertising, analytics, and fraud prevention. We do not receive the raw device data.

How Google uses data from apps that use its services is described at policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites, and Google's own privacy policy is at policies.google.com/privacy.

Ads in the Game are configured for a general audience with a maximum ad content rating of PG.

4. Your Ad Choices and Consent

Analytics and advertising have separate controls. Where required by law (for example in the EEA and UK), a consent form is shown before any ad is requested, and you can decline personalized ads. Ad requests depend on the consent status reported by Google's consent platform. That advertising choice does not turn on optional gameplay analytics.

When Google's consent platform reports that privacy options are required for your region, pause the Game and tap Privacy choices to review or change your advertising choice. The control appears only when Google requires it.

You can also limit ad tracking system-wide on Android: Settings → Google → Ads lets you delete or reset your advertising ID and opt out of ad personalization.

An existing "Remove ads" purchase stops future ads and AdMob requests while the purchase remains valid. Cached ads are discarded when ownership is detected. This does not change your separate gameplay analytics setting.

5. Existing Purchases (Google Play Billing)

New "Remove ads" purchases are temporarily unavailable in this release. Google Play can still report an existing purchase so the Game can restore it. We do not receive your payment card number or billing address. Those remain with Google Play, covered by Google's Privacy Policy.

On your device, the Game stores only a local "ads removed" flag. The purchase is tied to your Google account, so Google Play can restore it after a reinstall. Use "Restore purchases" in the Game. A refund or revocation ends the entitlement. Optional Analytics may receive the purchase-event details described in Section 2.

6. Information We Do Not Collect

7. Data Retention and Deletion

Local save data stays on your device for as long as the Game is installed. Android may restore it from an encrypted device backup after a reinstall or on a replacement device. You can clear it through Android Settings. We keep no copy of this save data on our server.

Analytics user-level and event-level data (Section 2) has a two-month retention setting, without resetting that period when new activity arrives. Google removes expired records through its scheduled deletion process. Aggregate standard reports may remain without an app-instance-level record. Turning Analytics off stops future collection but does not erase events already received; those age out under the retention setting. Because the Game has no account and sends no contact information, we cannot reliably locate a particular person's pseudonymous app-instance events from an email request.

Ad data collected by Google AdMob is held by Google under its own retention policies. To exercise rights over that data (access, deletion), review Google's privacy controls at myadcenter.google.com and the privacy-policy links in Section 3. Resetting or deleting your advertising ID in Android settings is separate from requesting deletion of data already held by Google. We do not hold Google's raw AdMob records. You can contact us for help finding the relevant Google privacy controls.

8. Children's Privacy

The Game's target audience on Google Play is ages 13 and up, and it is not directed at children under 13. Ads are capped at a PG content rating. If you are a parent or guardian with a concern, contact us at apps@thegroovesalad.com.

9. Security

The main copy of your data is the save file on your own device, protected by Android's per-app storage sandbox. Analytics events, ad traffic, and billing traffic to Google are all encrypted in transit.

10. Changes to This Policy

We update this policy before releasing a version that changes these practices and revise the "Last updated" date. Significant changes will be noted in the Game's store listing.

11. Contact

Questions or requests about this policy or your data:

The Groove Salad
Email: apps@thegroovesalad.com
Website: thegroovesalad.com