Privacy Policy – Palindrome Games

Effective date: July 27, 2026 · Last updated: September 9, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains how the mobile applications published by Joshua Howard, an individual developer doing business as Palindrome Games, handle your information. It covers both of our apps:

Puff Pals Dance Party Merge, which appears as “Puff Pals Merge” under its icon on your Home Screen
Puff Pals Slumber Party, which appears as “Puff Pals Match” under its icon on your Home Screen

Where this policy says “the App”, it means whichever of these you are using. The two games are built the same way and handle your information the same way; the handful of places where they differ are marked by name, and section 15 lists them all in one table.

Short version. Both are single-player games. We operate no servers and no accounts, and your saved game stays on your own device. Both offer optional rewarded video ads and optional in-app purchases, and those bring third parties with them: ads are served by Google AdMob, which collects data of its own, and purchases are handled by Apple. Sections 5, 6 and 7 describe exactly what that means.

You can play either game all the way through without watching a single ad or buying anything.

If you have any questions, contact us at mrjoshuahowar.d@gmail.com.

1. Information we do not collect

We want to be direct about this. We — Joshua Howard — do not collect, store on any server of ours, or transmit any of the following:

Your name, email address, phone number, or any other contact details.
Account credentials — we operate no accounts of our own and never ask you to sign up. (Both apps use Apple’s Game Center, which signs in with the Apple Account already on your device. See section 3.)
Contacts, photos, calendar, microphone, or camera data.
Payment card details. Purchases are processed entirely by Apple; we never see or store them. See section 5.

Neither app communicates with any server operated by us. There is no backend of ours, and there never has been.

What that does not cover: both apps contain Google’s advertising software, and Google does collect data through it. We do not receive that data, but it would be misleading to leave this section reading as though nothing leaves your device at all. Section 6 sets out what Google’s own published disclosures say it collects, and section 7 covers the choice you are given about it.

2. Information stored on your device

Each app saves your progress locally on your device only, using your device’s standard on-device storage (Apple’s app preferences / local storage). This includes:

Best scores and recent-run history.
Achievements you have unlocked, and your progress toward the ones you have not.
Your in-progress saved game — and, in Puff Pals Slumber Party, how far you have come in the campaign.
In-game virtual items — your “Treats” balance and your charge meter, and in Puff Pals Dance Party Merge any equipped cosmetic Looks.
Your settings, for example whether haptics or sound are on.
Whether you have already been shown the first-run coaching.
If you are in the EEA or UK, the consent choices you made in the Google consent form, stored by Google’s software in the App’s own preferences. This information is not accessible to us and is never sent to any server of ours. It is not personal information and cannot be used to identify you.

None of this is sent to us, and none of it leaves your device except as described in sections 3, 5 and 6.

3. Game Center

Achievements — both apps. Both apps use Apple Game Center for achievements. If you are signed in to Game Center on your device, the App sends which achievements you have earned, and your progress toward them.

Leaderboards — Puff Pals Slumber Party only. When you finish a scored run in Puff Pals Slumber Party, your score is submitted to three Game Center leaderboards: all-time, weekly and daily. These are public boards. Apple attaches the Game Center alias and player identifier it holds for you, so other players can see your alias next to your score. Nothing else about you or your play is sent, and we never receive a copy.

Puff Pals Dance Party Merge does not submit scores to any leaderboard. Earlier versions posted to all-time, weekly and daily boards; ranked play is turned off in the current version, so your scores there are kept only on your device, as described in section 2.

All Game Center reporting is handled entirely by Apple. We do not receive a copy of the data, and we cannot see who you are — the App only ever sees the nickname and player identifier Apple chooses to provide. Apple’s handling of Game Center data is governed by Apple’s own privacy policy and by your Game Center settings.

You can opt out completely. Sign out of Game Center in iOS Settings → Game Center, or decline the sign-in prompt. Both apps remain fully playable: your progress continues to be tracked on your device exactly as described in section 2, and nothing is submitted anywhere.

Please note that Game Center is a social service run by Apple. Achievements you earn, and scores you post, may be visible to your Game Center friends and to other players.

4. Haptics

Both apps use your device’s built-in vibration/haptics engine to provide physical feedback during play. This does not involve collecting or transmitting any data, and you can turn haptics off in the in-game Settings.

5. Advertising and in-app purchases

Rewarded ads. Both apps offer optional rewarded video ads, served by Google AdMob. No ad ever plays on its own: one runs only after you accept an offer of something in return — asking for extra Treats, doubling a reward you have just earned, or, in Puff Pals Dance Party Merge, carrying on after a game that would otherwise have ended. Every offer can be declined, and declining costs you nothing but the reward on offer. There are no banner ads, no pop-up ads, and no ads placed between rounds.

In-app purchases. Both apps offer optional purchases of in-game Treats, and one-time purchases that grant Treats. Everything they provide can also be earned by playing; nothing is locked behind a purchase.

All purchases are processed by Apple through the App Store. We never receive, see or store your payment card details. Apple provides us only with the confirmation needed to unlock what you bought. Apple’s handling of purchase data is governed by Apple’s own privacy policy. Purchase and entitlement records are stored on your device and in your Apple Account; we keep no record of our own.

6. Third-party services

Both apps use the same three external services.

Apple Game Center, for achievements and — in Puff Pals Slumber Party — leaderboards (see section 3). Provided by Apple and governed by Apple’s privacy policy, not ours.

Google AdMob, for rewarded ads. Google’s advertising software is part of each app and collects data for its own purposes. According to the privacy disclosures Google ships with that software, it collects:

WHAT	LINKED TO YOUR IDENTITY	USED FOR TRACKING
Device identifiers	Yes	Yes
Advertising data	Yes	No
Product interaction	Yes	No
Coarse location	Yes	No
Diagnostics, performance and crash data	No	No

When an ad is requested, the App contacts Google’s servers (including googleads.g.doubleclick.net, googlevideo.com and fundingchoicesmessages.google.com). We do not receive any of this data, and we cannot see it. Google’s handling of it is governed by Google’s own privacy policyand by Google’s advertising terms.

This software is part of each app whether or not you ever watch an ad. Its disclosures therefore appear in the App’s App Store privacy information even for players who never tap the button.

Google User Messaging Platform, which presents the consent form described below. Google publishes no tracking disclosure for it.

If you are in the EEA or the UK, Google’s consent form is shown before any ad is requested, and it records your choices in the App’s own on-device storage. Declining does not remove ads — it makes them non-personalized. To reset those choices, delete and reinstall the App, which clears the stored consent state along with everything else.

Because both apps are distributed through Apple’s App Store, Apple may also collect certain information in connection with downloading, installing, purchasing and updating apps, as described in Apple’s own privacy policy. That collection is governed by Apple, not by us.

7. Tracking (App Tracking Transparency)

Because each app contains advertising software that is capable of using your device’s advertising identifier, iOS shows you the standard App Tracking Transparency prompt — “Allow [app name] to track your activity across other companies’ apps and websites?” Google’s software shows its own short explanation immediately before it.

Your answer is honored:

If you allow it, your device’s advertising identifier is available to Google, and the ads you are shown may be personalized.
If you deny it, or simply never answer, the App marks every ad request as non-personalized before sending it, and your advertising identifier is not available to Google. We have verified that this signal is attached to the request; what Google then does with it is governed by Google’s own policies, not ours.

You can change your answer at any time in iOS Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking, and you can turn tracking prompts off entirely there.

We do not track you ourselves. We run no analytics, build no profiles, and receive no data about you from anyone. Nothing in this section describes something we do with your information — it describes a choice you are offered about a third party’s software.

8. Children’s privacy

Both apps are general-audience games rated suitable for ages 4 and up. Neither is specifically directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children — we collect no personal information from anyone.

Please note that both apps contain third-party advertising and in-app purchases, as described in section 5. Parents and guardians who would rather a child not encounter either can use Apple’s built-in controls: Settings → Screen Time → Content & Privacy Restrictions can disable in-app purchases entirely, and Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking governs the permission described in section 7. Ads in both apps are never automatic — they run only when a player deliberately chooses to watch one.

If you believe a child has somehow provided us personal information, please contact us — though as described above, we do not have any mechanism that would receive it.

9. Data retention and deletion

Because the game data we are responsible for is stored locally on your device and never sent to us, you are always in control of it:

Use Settings → Reset progress inside either app to erase your saved scores, achievements, savegame, Treats and charge meter on that device.
Deleting an app from your device removes all of its locally stored data.
Resetting in-app does not reach Game Center. Achievements you have already posted — and, in Puff Pals Slumber Party, scores already posted to the leaderboards — are held by Apple, not by us, and are kept. To clear your Game Center record, use Game Center itself (iOS Settings → Game Center). We have no ability to do it for you.
To exercise rights over data held by Google, use Google’s own controls and privacy policy. We cannot access, correct or delete it on your behalf, because we never hold it.

We do not retain any copy of your game data, because we never receive it in the first place.

10. Security

We store no data about you on any server, so there is no server-side data of ours to secure or expose. On-device data is protected by your device’s own operating-system protections, for example your passcode and device encryption. Data held by Google and Apple is protected by their systems and governed by their policies.

11. Your privacy rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights under laws such as the EU/UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) — including rights to access, correct, or delete personal information, and not to be discriminated against for exercising those rights.

As to us: we do not collect or process personal information, so there is no personal data held by us to access, correct, or delete. We do not sell or share personal information, and we receive no payment from anyone for data about you. You can remove all locally stored game data at any time using the steps in section 9.

As to Google: personal data that Google’s advertising software collects is held by Google, as its own controller. Rights over that data are exercised through Google, using the controls and contact routes in Google’s privacy policy. If you are in the EEA or UK, the consent choices you made in Google’s form are stored on your device as described in section 6.

As to Apple: Game Center and App Store purchase data are held by Apple, as its own controller, and rights over that data are exercised through Apple.

If you have any questions about your rights, contact us at the address below and we will help where we can.

12. International users

Both apps run on your device wherever you are, and we transfer nothing about you anywhere.

Where ads are served, Google may process and transfer the data described in section 6 internationally, including to the United States, under the safeguards set out in Google’s own privacy policy. That transfer is Google’s, not ours.

13. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time — for example, if we add new features, or if we publish a new app. When we do, we will revise the “Last updated” date above and, where the changes are significant (such as introducing advertising or purchases), update the affected app’s App Store privacy information accordingly. Continued use of an app after an update means you accept the revised policy.

September 8, 2026. This policy was extended to cover Puff Pals Slumber Party alongside Puff Pals Dance Party Merge. Nothing about how Puff Pals Dance Party Merge handles your information changed; section 3 now also describes the Game Center leaderboards used by Puff Pals Slumber Party, and section 15 was added.

September 5, 2026 (Puff Pals Dance Party Merge). Version 1.1.0 added rewarded ads and in-app purchases, removed the in-game coin wallet, and stopped submitting scores to Game Center leaderboards.

14. Contact us

If you have any questions or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your privacy, contact:

15. Where the two apps differ

Everything above applies to both apps except where a paragraph names one. For quick reference, this is the complete list of differences:

	PUFF PALS DANCE PARTY MERGE	PUFF PALS SLUMBER PARTY
Rewarded ads (Google AdMob)	Yes	Yes
In-app purchases (Apple)	Yes	Yes
Game Center achievements	Yes	Yes
Game Center leaderboards	No	Yes — all-time, weekly, daily
Cosmetic Looks you can equip	Yes	No
Saved game held on your device	Yes	Yes, including campaign progress
Servers, accounts or analytics of ours	None	None

Puff Pals Dance Party Merge and Puff Pals Slumber Party are independent games and are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Apple Inc. App Store is a trademark of Apple Inc. Google, AdMob and Google Play are trademarks of Google LLC.