Privacy Policy

Effective 19 August 2026. This policy describes the Chess with Friends iOS app (“the app”). It matches what the app declares in its privacy manifest. We do not use this data for tracking or advertising.

What we collect

To run online games between friends, the app collects:

• Email address — used to create and sign in to your account.
• Display name — the name shown to people you play with.
• User ID — an internal identifier for your account.
• Other user content — games, moves, friendships, and head-to-head records.

Each of those is linked to your account and used solely for the app’s own functionality. None of it is used for tracking, and none of it is used for advertising.

Separately, crash data is collected so we can fix crashes. Crash reports are not linked to your identity.

How we collect it

Account data is collected through Firebase Authentication when you sign in with email and password. Sign in with Apple will use the same Firebase account system once that option is enabled. Game, friendship, and record data is stored in Cloud Firestore.

Crash data is collected by Firebase Crashlytics. There is no advertising SDK, and no analytics SDK beyond crash reporting.

You can also play without an account: pass-and-play on one device, and nearby games over the local network, do not require signing in. Anonymous pass-and-play games are not saved to your online records.

Nearby play (local network)

The app can find and play people next to you using Apple’s Multipeer Connectivity over Bluetooth and peer-to-peer Wi‑Fi. That path does not go through the internet. It exists so you can play on a plane, vacation, or anywhere without signal. iOS will ask for Local Network permission before this is used.

How we use it

We use this information only to operate the app: signing you in, showing your profile and handle, running games, keeping friendships, and showing head-to-head records among people you play. We do not sell it. We do not share it with third parties for their own purposes (including advertising or data brokers).

Firebase (Google) hosts Authentication, Firestore, and Crashlytics as infrastructure we use to run the app. Those services process data on our behalf so the product works; they are not a separate “we sold your data to an advertiser” relationship.

Account deletion

You can delete your account in the app: Settings → Delete Account. That removes your profile and handle immediately. Games and move history are kept, because they are also the other player’s record of what was played. After deletion, those games show a placeholder where your profile used to be.

Blocking and reporting

From the Friends view you can block another user. A blocked person is dropped from both of your friends lists and cannot send you a new friend request. To report abuse, email support@4liam.app (the in-app report action opens a pre-filled message to the same address). See the Support page.

Retention

We keep account and profile data until you delete your account. Game records that involve another player are retained as described above so their history stays intact. Crash reports are kept only as long as needed to diagnose and fix problems.

Changes

If this policy changes in a way that affects what we collect or why, we will update this page and the effective date.

Contact

Questions about privacy: support@4liam.app.