- Rootward has no account of its own and no servers. It never asks for your name, e-mail, contacts, photos or location.
- Your progress and settings are saved on your device.
- If your platform offers it, a copy of your progress is kept in your own iCloud, Google Play or Steam Cloud account so it follows you to other devices. We never receive it.
- If you are signed in to Game Center, Google Play Games or Steam, your achievements and leaderboard scores are sent there.
- The free version on iPhone, iPad and Android shows ads from Google AdMob. The one-time Remove Ads purchase turns them off for good.
- Purchases are handled by the App Store or Google Play. We never see your payment details.
- The game contains no analytics or tracking of its own.
1Information the game uses
1.1 Saved on your device
Your progress (levels cleared, medals, research, essences, expedition runs, best waves), your achievements and your settings (sound, graphics, controls, accessibility) are saved in files on your device. They are not sent to us. Uninstalling the game deletes them; on iPhone and iPad they may come back from your own device backup.
1.2 Cloud saves (optional, through your platform)
Where your platform supports it, the game keeps a copy of your progress and achievements in your own platform account, so you can continue on another device:
- iPhone / iPad: iCloud (Apple's key-value storage).
- Android: Google Play Saved Games, when you are signed in to Google Play Games.
- Steam: Steam Cloud.
The copy contains your game progress and achievements, plus the time it was saved, your total play time and the name of the operating system (for example "iOS"). Your settings and the Remove Ads purchase are not synced; the store restores the purchase itself. This data is stored by Apple, Google or Valve under their policies. We cannot read it.
1.3 Achievements and leaderboards (optional)
If you are signed in to Game Center (iPhone / iPad), Google Play Games (Android) or Steam, the game reports the achievements you unlock and posts your scores (such as your best wave in the Daily and Weekly Bloom) to their leaderboards. Your player name and scores may then be visible to other players, as set by that service. The game shows your player name from these services but does not send it to us.
1.4 Advertising: Google AdMob (free version on iOS and Android)
The free version shows ads from Google AdMob: an occasional ad between games, and optional ads you can choose to watch for a reward. To show and measure ads and to prevent fraud, the Google Mobile Ads SDK may collect and share with Google:
- Device identifiers: on Android the advertising ID or app set ID; on iOS the advertising identifier (IDFA) only if you allow tracking, otherwise app-bound identifiers.
- Your IP address, used to estimate your general location.
- Ad interactions such as ad views and taps, and basic device information such as device type and operating system.
- Diagnostic information such as SDK errors and performance.
Your choices:
- European Economic Area, UK and Switzerland: Google's consent form asks for your choice before ads load. Change it any time in Settings > Privacy and Support > Ad Privacy Choices.
- iPhone / iPad: Apple's "Allow tracking?" prompt asks whether ads may use the advertising identifier. If you choose "Ask App Not to Track" you still see ads, but they are not personalised. Change it in iOS Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking.
- Remove Ads turns ads off permanently.
1.5 Purchases
The one-time Remove Ads purchase is processed entirely by the Apple App Store or Google Play. They tell the game only whether the purchase was made, so it can be unlocked and later restored on a new device. We never receive your name, card or billing details.
1.6 Windows and Steam
The Windows and Steam versions have no ads and no purchases. The Steam version uses Steam only for the achievements, leaderboards and cloud saves described above. A Windows version outside Steam sends nothing over the internet.
2Why the information is used
| Purpose | Information | Legal basis (EEA / UK) |
|---|---|---|
| Keeping your progress across devices | Cloud save copy (1.2) | Providing the feature you use through your platform account |
| Achievements and leaderboards | Achievements and scores (1.3) | Providing the service you chose by signing in |
| Showing and measuring ads in the free version | AdMob data (1.4) | Your consent where required; otherwise the legitimate interest of funding a free game |
| Unlocking and restoring Remove Ads | Purchase confirmation (1.5) | Performing our contract with you |
We do not sell your personal information, and the game makes no automated decisions with legal effects.
3Sharing
Information is shared only with the platforms and providers named above: Apple (App Store, iCloud, Game Center), Google (AdMob and its consent platform, Google Play, Google Play Games) and Valve (Steam). Partners in Google's ad network may receive data as described in Google's policies. We may disclose information if the law requires it.
4Retention
- On your device: until you uninstall the game.
- Cloud saves, achievements and leaderboards: kept by Apple, Google or Valve as described in their policies, until you delete them in your account or platform settings.
- Ad data: kept by Google as described in its policies.
5Your choices and rights
- Ads: Settings > Privacy and Support > Ad Privacy Choices (where shown); on iOS also Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking; on Android, reset or delete your advertising ID in your device's Google settings. Or buy Remove Ads.
- Cloud saves: turn off iCloud for the game in iOS Settings, sign out of Google Play Games, or turn off Steam Cloud for the game in Steam.
- Achievements and leaderboards: sign out, or manage your data in Game Center, Google Play Games or Steam.
- Your rights: depending on where you live (for example under the GDPR, UK GDPR or California's CCPA/CPRA) you may access, correct or delete your data, object to its processing, and complain to your data-protection authority. Because the game has no accounts and we hold no data about you, most requests are best made to Apple, Google or Valve; we are happy to help.
6Children
Rootward is not directed at children under 13 (or the minimum age of digital consent in your country), and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. Ads are requested with settings suitable for a general audience. If you believe a child's data was collected, contact us and we will help remove it.
7Security and international transfers
Data the game sends travels over encrypted connections. Apple, Google and Valve may process data outside your country, including in the United States, under safeguards such as the EU Standard Contractual Clauses.
8Changes
If this policy changes, the new version will be posted on this page with a new effective date, and important changes will be mentioned in the game or the store listing.
9Third-party policies
- Google Privacy Policy
- How Google uses information from apps that use its services
- Google advertising
- Apple Privacy Policy (App Store, iCloud, Game Center)
- Steam Privacy Policy
10Contact
Robert GY