Shaft Bound
Privacy policy
The short version
We keep no personal information about you or your child. Shaft Bound has no accounts, no chat, no analytics or crash reporting, and does no tracking. Everything the game saves stays on your device. Ads come from Google AdMob with child-directed, non-personalised settings for every player, and the advertising ID is never used. You can erase everything the game has saved at any time with Reset progress in Settings, or by deleting the app.
Who we are
Shaft Bound is made by Orion Lab Studios, an independent studio based in Puerto Rico. For anything about privacy, email orionlabstudios@gmail.com. We answer within 30 days.
What the game stores, and where
| What | Where it's kept | Why | Sent to us? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Game progress | Your device only | So you can carry on playing | No |
| Settings (language, music and sound volume, vibration, graphics, screen shake) | Your device only | To remember your choices | No |
| How many times the game has been opened | Your device only | So no ads are shown in the first session | No |
| The date for "Today's discovery" | Your device only | For the daily discovery feature | No |
| Whether Remove Ads was bought | Your device only (the purchase itself is recorded by Google Play) | To switch ads off | No |
| Name, email, contacts, photos, exact location | Not collected | - | - |
The game itself makes no internet requests. It has no accounts or sign-in, no cloud saves, no leaderboards, no analytics or crash reporting, no notifications, no chat and no multiplayer. It doesn't use the camera, microphone or location services. It uses only vibration. It never reads the device's advertising ID.
Children's privacy
Shaft Bound is made for kids and adults, so we treat every player as if they might be a child. We follow the US Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), the EU and UK GDPR, the UK Age Appropriate Design Code, and the Google Play Families policy.
We keep nothing about your child: the game stores everything on the device and sends nothing to us, and we never sell data. The only outside service is the ad software in the app, described below.
Ads (Google AdMob)
Shaft Bound shows ads from Google AdMob on Android and iPhone. AdMob is certified for the Google Play Families programme. Every ad request from the game:
- is marked as child-directed (COPPA);
- asks for non-personalised ads only, rated G;
- never uses the device's advertising ID (Android advertising ID or Apple's IDFA), and the game never shows Apple's tracking prompt.
When an ad is requested (even if none is shown), the ad software sends Google information such as the device's IP address and the approximate location worked out from it, the device type and operating system, and app information. It is sent encrypted. Google uses it to deliver and measure the ad, limit how often ads repeat, and prevent fraud, not to build a profile or show personalised ads. Learn more in Google's privacy policy and how Google treats child-directed ad requests.
Ad types: optional reward videos the player chooses to watch, and rare full-screen ads at natural breaks (never in the first session, never during play, at most one every 12 minutes). There are no banners. Every ad can be closed after 5 seconds. Players are never shown a consent form.
Purchases
The game offers one optional purchase, Remove Ads, behind a grown-up question. Payment is handled entirely by Google Play or Apple's App Store under their own terms and privacy policies. We never see your payment details, name or email.
Sharing
We hold no personal data and never sell or share data. The only outside services are Google AdMob (ads, as above) and Google Play or the App Store (purchases), which receive information directly from the device.
How long data is kept
Game data stays on your device until you use Reset progress or delete the app. We keep nothing on any server. Google keeps the information it receives for the periods set out in its privacy policy.
Your choices and rights
- See your data: everything the game keeps is shown in the game itself (your progress and settings).
- Delete: tap Reset progress in Settings, or delete the app. See Delete data.
- No ads: buy Remove Ads.
- Questions or complaints: email orionlabstudios@gmail.com. You can also contact your local data protection authority.
Information that Google receives isn't held by us, so we can't see or delete it; Google's privacy policy explains how to manage it.
Security
Data stays on the device, protected by the device's own security. Keep your device's screen lock on: anyone who can use the device can open the game.
Changes to this policy
If we change this policy, we'll update the date at the top. For important changes, we'll tell you in the game before they apply.
Contact
Orion Lab Studios
orionlabstudios@gmail.com