Your ocean, your choices

Privacy policy

Effective September 26, 2026 · Sharkdoku is provided by Gray Software Solutions, LLC.

What stays on your device

Sharkdoku saves your current puzzle, level, score, hints, reveals, streak dates and rewards, settings, review-request history, reminder preferences, purchase ownership, and hashes used to prevent duplicate purchase and rewarded-ad grants locally. These records contain no raw receipts, purchase tokens, transaction IDs, or advertising identifier. You do not need an account. We do not operate our own cloud save or player-profile server. Optional platform leaderboards, when available in your release, are described below. Your device’s backup settings may include locally saved app data.

Gameplay analytics and ad measurement

After you accept this privacy policy, Gameplay analytics (Google Analytics for Firebase) starts on by default. It processes limited gameplay and app-use information to help us understand tutorial completion, puzzle difficulty, feature usage, and the point where ads first appear. Examples include level number, completion or restart, tutorial step, mistakes, hints and reveals used, active play duration, ad opportunity, and ad impression. You can turn Gameplay analytics off at any time under Privacy choices in Settings. Ad measurement is a separate choice: choosing Not now or denying Apple’s tracking request keeps cross-company ad measurement off without disabling Gameplay analytics.

On an update, an existing installation that already accepted the privacy policy and has no saved Gameplay analytics choice adopts this on-by-default setting at its next launch. An existing explicit Gameplay analytics Off choice remains off. No events from before policy acceptance, before the update, or while Gameplay analytics was off are reconstructed or sent later.

Google’s SDK also uses a pseudonymous app-instance identifier and may collect standard app and device information such as app version, device model, operating system, language, app interactions, and approximate location derived from network information. These records can be associated with that app installation. Firebase may also process vendor or installation identifiers and SDK diagnostic metadata, such as SDK version, configuration, or technical status, to operate and measure its services. For analytics, we do not ask for your name, contacts, precise location, or a custom player identifier. On Android releases whose Allow screen explicitly includes Google ad measurement, enabling both Gameplay analytics and Ad measurement permits Google to use installation and app-use information for advertising attribution, subject to Google’s separate privacy choices. Older saved permission for Meta alone does not grant this additional Google purpose: you must save the updated choice. Google advertising personalization remains off. Earlier releases and iOS keep Firebase’s advertising-consent fields denied. This optional sharing decision does not replace the separate advertising privacy choices required by Google or your operating system. Version 1.0 does not request tracking permission.

You can turn Gameplay analytics off under Privacy choices in Settings at any time. This stops future app analytics collection; it does not automatically erase information already processed. Gameplay, supplies, rewards, and reminders still work when analytics is off. Google processes analytics under its service terms and may process data outside your country. See Google’s privacy policy and Google Analytics data safeguards.

Install measurement

On Android, the app may retrieve the installation referrer locally from the Google Play Store as soon as it opens, before the privacy screen. This local lookup does not send an install event to Google Analytics or Meta. The raw result stays in process memory until a permitted provider handoff; it is not added to game saves or logs. Optional provider measurement remains controlled by your choices.

On iOS, releases with acquisition measurement may ask Apple’s SKAdNetwork service to register an installation. Apple controls eligibility, delays, and privacy thresholds for its attribution reports. This does not initialize Meta tracking or access the advertising identifier and can operate when Apple tracking permission is declined. Google Play and advertising platforms may also provide permitted aggregate or modeled installation reports under their own controls. We do not fingerprint devices or bypass a declined tracking choice, and these reports do not identify every player or provide complete gameplay histories.

Meta App Events

Meta App Events is controlled by the separate Ad measurement choice described above. Gameplay analytics permission alone is not treated as permission for Meta, and Google advertising privacy options alone do not grant it. With your opt-in and after the current-launch advertising privacy check, Meta receives app installation and activation events, tutorial and level completions, and advertising impression revenue reported by AdMob (amount, currency, and ad format). Android version 1.1.3 also records when permitted measurement is ready, tutorial start/completion, and first regular puzzle start/completion. Both Meta and Firebase receive this limited funnel only when their respective purpose is allowed. A bounded progress category distinguishes permission granted before, during, or after the tutorial; we do not reconstruct prior gameplay. Your puzzle score, pearls, and free supplies are not reported as purchases or money spent.

Meta may process device and app identifiers, advertising identifiers where permitted, app version, operating system, network information including IP address, and limited SDK diagnostics to measure and attribute app installs and advertising performance. Meta may also use the information to personalize ads under its terms. This can link an app interaction to an ad shown on Meta services. On iOS, we additionally require Apple’s tracking authorization before initializing Meta measurement. We do not use Facebook Login or request your Facebook profile, contacts, name, or email through the SDK. Automatic app-event and purchase logging are disabled.

Turning Ad measurement off stops new app-owned submissions to Meta. Turning Gameplay analytics off stops Firebase analytics. Turn both off stops both. We do not store a backlog of events from before policy acceptance or while measurement is disabled. Provider SDKs can temporarily buffer events collected while authorized, and previously submitted information is not automatically deleted by turning collection off. Meta may process information outside your country under its Privacy Policy and Business Tools Terms. You can also manage Apple’s tracking permission in device settings. These choices do not limit puzzle play, free rewards, or earned supplies.

Optional platform leaderboards

Releases with platform syncing let you choose to connect your squid tally to Google Play Games on Android or Apple Game Center on iOS. Connecting lets the platform associate your player identity and squid-point total with Sharkdoku. The app reads your saved platform total, submits your best total, and retrieves nearby scores and platform display names to show rivals. Other players may see your platform name and score, subject to your platform profile and visibility settings. You can play and use the local leaderboard without connecting.

The app caches nearby display names, scores, and hashed player identifiers on your device. Raw player identifiers are hashed by the native integration before they enter the game; player names and identifiers are not sent to our gameplay analytics or ad-measurement services. Platform syncing restores your best squid tally, not your puzzle progress, hints, reveals, or other supplies. Android and iOS use separate platform leaderboards.

Choose Stop syncing in the leaderboard connection panel to stop future app-owned score requests. This does not delete scores already held by the platform or sign you out of your device account. Use your Play Games or Game Center account controls to manage profile visibility and available data-deletion options. Google Play Games also processes service analytics and diagnostics under its own controls; the game’s optional Firebase and Meta choices do not control that platform processing. See Google Play Games data practices, Google’s privacy policy, and Game Center and privacy.

Local reminders

Daily reminders are optional. With your permission, the app schedules reminders on your device. There is no remote-push account, notification server, or marketing mailing list. Your reminder schedule and streak are not sent to us to deliver notifications. Turn reminders off in the game or in your device’s notification settings.

Ads, purchases, and ratings

Version 1.0 has no advertising. Version 1.1, including its internal test builds, introduces Google AdMob. Optional videos can provide one hint, one reveal, or three squid lives to continue the same puzzle. Banners and occasional full-screen ads between levels may appear during later gameplay. Streak gifts and restarting a level do not require an ad. Version 1.2.1 adds an optional one-time Ads Off purchase that removes banners and automatic ads between levels. Optional rewarded videos remain available. Earlier releases do not offer this purchase.

Google’s advertising SDK processes network information such as your IP address and approximate location, device or installation identifiers, app and advertising interactions, and diagnostic/performance information to provide and measure ads and prevent fraud. Depending on the platform and configuration, identifiers can include an advertising ID, app set ID, or identifiers associated with signed-in device accounts. Advertising identifiers depend on platform permissions and applicable privacy choices. Google and its advertising partners may receive this information and process it outside your country. Turning off optional Firebase gameplay analytics does not turn off the advertising SDK’s separate processing.

The app checks Google’s consent requirements at startup. Where available, reopen Ad privacy choices in Settings. On iOS, version 1.1 may request Apple’s tracking permission after the Google privacy flow. Change that permission in device settings. Declining tracking does not prevent you from playing or using earned supplies. Ads require a connection, applicable privacy choices, and available inventory. See Google’s privacy policy and Google’s ad privacy controls for provider practices and choices.

Ads Off purchases and restoration

Apple or Google handles payment through your store account. RevenueCat helps us validate purchases, prevent duplicate grants and fraud, restore ownership, and understand purchase activity through its dashboard. It processes purchase history and store transaction information with a randomly generated app user identifier, purchase status, locale, and currency. This purchase processing operates separately from the optional gameplay analytics and ad-measurement choices. We do not send your name, email, leaderboard identity, or advertising identifier to RevenueCat, and we do not configure RevenueCat advertising integrations. Neither we nor RevenueCat receive your payment-card details from the in-app checkout.

The app stores ownership and a transaction hash locally; raw store receipts and purchase tokens are handled by the store and purchase SDK rather than written to game saves, logs, or gameplay analytics. Restore purchase in Settings checks ownership with the same Apple or Google store account. Apple and Google purchases are separate. Removing the app does not refund a purchase or automatically delete purchase records held by a provider. Contact support for help with purchase data; do not send payment-card details or passwords. RevenueCat may process data outside your country under its Privacy Policy. Apple and Google retain store records under their own terms.

The game may request the operating system’s native rating prompt after successful play. Apple or Google controls whether a prompt appears and handles any rating you submit.

Support and website visits

If you email support, we receive your email address and the information you choose to send so we can reply. Our public website is served through Amazon Web Services; network and security logs may include IP addresses and request information. These pages contain no analytics scripts or advertising cookies.

Retention and your choices

Local game data remains until you remove the app or clear its data, subject to device backups. Our Google Analytics property currently retains event-level data for two months and user-level data for fourteen months. New activity resets the user-data retention period. These controls do not set an expiry for aggregated reports. We retain support correspondence only as needed to respond and maintain appropriate business records. Contact us to ask about access, correction, or deletion of information you provided. We may need additional information to identify the relevant record; an email address alone does not identify a pseudonymous game installation.

Children

Sharkdoku is a general-audience puzzle game. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided personal information, contact us so we can investigate and take appropriate action.

Changes and contact

We will update this page when our practices change. For privacy questions or requests, contact mark@graysoftwaresolutions.com.