Privacy Policy

Mazhobe Mahjong is a game you can play without a network connection. Below is exactly what the app sends to our server and why.

What we store

On first launch the server issues the app an anonymous player identifier — a random number not linked to your name, your Google account or any device identifier. Together with it, the server stores:

• game progress: current and highest level, the moves of an unfinished game, your hint balance;
• game statistics: levels completed and failed, time played, best results, score;
• platform (Android/iOS) and app version;
• your nickname and avatar, if you chose them in the profile — other players see them in the leaderboard and in the ticker on the main screen;
• acorns (in-game currency: earned and spent) and in-game shop purchases paid with acorns;
• leaderboard likes: whom you gave an acorn-like to and on which day.

This keeps your progress from being lost and makes the leaderboard, the shop and likes work the same on any device. The player identifier is shown at the bottom of the game's main screen.

While the game is open and connected, other players can see whether you are online and in a game: friends in their list, everyone else next to your row in the leaderboard.

Nickname and moderation

The nickname is the only thing you type yourself, and every player can see it, so it is checked. When saved, the nickname is compared against a list of banned words on our server. In addition, new and changed nicknames are sent once a day for review to the Anthropic service (Claude model) — only the nickname text is sent, without the player identifier or any other data; Anthropic does not use these requests to train its models. A nickname the review finds offensive is replaced with “Player-XXXX” and can no longer be changed; if you believe this is a mistake, e-mail the address below.

Like any server on the internet, ours sees your device's IP address when it makes a request. It is kept only in technical server logs (abuse protection and troubleshooting); lines about two-player games and received logs there also carry the player identifier. The logs are deleted automatically within 30 days.

App integrity (Play Integrity)

So that only results from an unmodified game reach the leaderboard, when a completed level is submitted the Android app asks the Google Play Play Integrity service for a verdict on the integrity of the app and the device. Google receives information about the device and the installed app under Google's policies; our server receives only the verdict (whether the store recognises the app and the device is intact), checks it against the submitted game and does not store it. Without a verdict the game is accepted but does not count for the leaderboard.

Signing in with Google Play Games

Optionally the game can be linked to a Google account through Google Play Games so that progress, acorns and in-game shop purchases survive a phone change. The game receives from Google only the Play Games player identifier (not your name or e-mail) and sends it to our server, where it is stored next to the player identifier; the game does not read your Play Games nickname or avatar. Signing in on a new device brings back the same player record. Achievements are unlocked in Google Play Games under Google's rules. Without signing in everything works as before, anonymously; the link is deleted together with the player's data (see “Data deletion”).

Paid purchases

There are no purchases for money in the game: acorns are earned only by winning and by likes, and everything in the in-game shop is sold for acorns. The game never asks for or stores payment details.

Advertising

The only advertising in the game is an opt-in video: when you run out of hints you may watch a rewarded video and get a hint. Videos are served by Google AdMob (Google Mobile Ads SDK). For that the SDK uses the Android advertising ID and device data under Google's advertising policies; our server never receives that data. Where the law requires consent (EU, UK, some US states) Google's consent form is shown before the first ad; you can change your choice in the game settings (“Ad privacy”). There are no banners, no ads between levels and no ads you did not ask for. The advertising ID can be reset or deleted in Android settings (“Privacy → Ads”).

Crash reports and technical logs

To find and fix bugs, the app keeps a technical log on the device: loading steps, which screens were opened, which level was started, the app going to the background, and connection events during two-player games (room, disconnect codes and reasons, delays). It keeps the last hour and the start of the latest run. It contains no moves, nicknames, tokens or other players. The log is sent to our server together with your player identifier only when something went wrong: a two-player game broke off (the last hour of the log) or the previous run of the game ended in a crash (the log of that run). A crash report also contains the reason Android gives for the exit (for a freeze, also the system's snapshot of the app's threads), the device model, the Android version and the last lines of the game's technical log (error messages; long codes and identifiers in it are replaced with an ellipsis). Without a connection the report waits on the device for up to three days. Crash reports can be turned off in the game settings (“Other → Crash reports”). Logs are kept for 14 days and used only to fix bugs.

What we do not do

The app does not ask for your name, e-mail, contacts, location or files. It contains no analytics or trackers apart from the advertising SDK described above. Data is never sold and is not shared with anyone, except the nickname text for moderation (see above) and the data Google's advertising SDK processes itself. App permissions: internet access (sync) and vibration (haptic feedback on tap, can be turned off in settings).

Offline

The game works fully offline: progress is always stored on the device, and a copy is sent to the server when a connection is available. If the server is unreachable, you will not notice.

Where data is stored and who can access it

Data is stored on the developer's server at the hosting provider Vultr and is transmitted only over an encrypted connection (HTTPS). Only the developer has access to the server.

Retention and deletion

Data is kept for as long as your player identifier exists. To delete it, e-mail the address below with the player identifier and the deletion code (tapping the “ID” line on the main screen copies both) — the data will be deleted within 30 days (step by step: data deletion). Uninstalling the app erases the identifier on the device, and the link to the server copy is lost.

Children

The app collects no personal data and contains no content requiring age restrictions.

Changes

If the app gains new online features, account sign-in or ads, this policy will be updated before they ship; the date of the last update is shown below.

Contact: stepanz.dev@gmail.com
Updated: 2026-10-20