Privacy Policy for Zolva

Last updated: August 2026

Zolva ("the app", "we", "us") is a puzzle game offering Sudoku and KenKen, with optional online features (leaderboards, friends, and live races). This policy explains what information the app collects, why, and how it's used.

Information We Collect

Information that stays only on your device — the app can be played fully offline. Your puzzle progress, statistics, best times, and settings (theme, sound, etc.) for both Sudoku and KenKen are stored locally on your device and are never sent to us.

Daily reminder notifications — if you turn this on in Settings, the app asks your device for permission to show notifications and schedules a local, on-device reminder about the Daily Challenge. This does not involve sending any data to us or anyone else — it's handled entirely by your device's own notification system, and you can turn it off at any time from Settings or your device's app notification settings.

Information used for online features (leaderboards, friends, races) — these are optional and require an internet connection. When you use them, the app creates:

• An anonymous account identifier, generated automatically via Firebase Authentication. It contains no personal information — no email, phone number, or password is ever requested or collected.
• A display name that you choose yourself, shown to other players on leaderboards and in races.
• Gameplay data such as completion times, mistake counts, and race results, used to power leaderboards and your race history.
• Friend connections — if you add a friend using their share code, that connection (and their chosen display name) is stored so you can see each other on leaderboards and challenge each other to races.

Advertising — the app shows ads (a short video to earn a hint, and an occasional interstitial ad) via Google AdMob. AdMob may collect an advertising identifier and other technical data to select and measure ads. See Google's policies below for details on what AdMob collects.

Purchases — the app offers optional one-time purchases ("Remove Ads", "Buy 5 Hints") processed entirely through Google Play Billing. We do not receive or store your payment details (card numbers, billing address, etc.) — Google handles all payment information directly.

How We Use Information

• To show you leaderboards and let you compete with friends
• To connect you with a friend when you add them by code
• To run live head-to-head races between friends, in either Sudoku or KenKen
• To show ads that support the free version of the app
• To process optional in-app purchases
• To remind you about the Daily Challenge, only if you turn that on
• To keep the app working correctly and diagnose problems

Third-Party Services

The app relies on the following third-party services, each governed by its own privacy policy:

• Google Firebase (Authentication & Firestore Database) — stores anonymous account data, display names, and gameplay/leaderboard data. Google Privacy Policy
• Google AdMob — serves ads within the app. How Google uses information from AdMob
• Google Play Billing — processes in-app purchases. Google Privacy Policy

Data Retention & Deletion

Online data (your anonymous ID, display name, friends, and gameplay history) is kept for as long as you use the app's online features. If you'd like your online data deleted, contact us at the email below with your in-app friend code (found under Friends in the main menu) so we can locate and remove your data.

Children's Privacy

Zolva is a general-audience puzzle game and is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. The app does not require any personal information (no name, email, or phone number) to play.

Your Choices

• All online features (leaderboards, friends, races) are entirely optional — the game is fully playable offline without ever going online.
• You can change your display name at any time from the Friends screen.
• You can remove a friend at any time from the Friends screen.
• You can turn Daily reminder notifications on or off at any time from Settings.
• Purchasing "Remove Ads" stops all ad requests and AdMob data collection going forward.

Security

Online data is stored using Google Firebase with access rules that restrict each player to reading and writing only their own data (and data explicitly shared with friends, such as friend requests). No system is perfectly secure, but we take reasonable steps to protect your information.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Changes will be posted on this page with an updated "Last updated" date.