Short version: Borough Buddies is designed to be safe for players of all ages, including children under 13. By default, we collect no personal information whatsoever. Location data is used only to find buddies near you and is never stored as precise history. We don't run ads, sell your data, or include third-party trackers.
1. Who We Are
Borough Buddies ("we," "us," or "our") is the operator of the Borough Buddies mobile game ("the App"). If you have questions about this policy, contact us at buroughbuddies@gmail.com.
2. What We Collect — and What We Don't
Default Guest Mode (no account required)
Every player starts as a device-bound guest. In this mode:
- No personal information is collected. No name, no email address, no date of birth, no profile photo.
- No advertising identifiers. We use a randomly generated UUID stored in your device's secure keychain — never Apple's IDFA, Google's AAID, or any IP-derived fingerprint.
- Location used in-session, not stored. Your GPS coordinates are used only to compute which buddies are near you. We record only the borough (e.g., "Manhattan") where a buddy was caught — never your precise GPS history.
- Auto-generated display name. Your leaderboard name is randomly assigned (e.g., "BrooklynPigeon42"). You never provide it.
- No chat or social features. There is no way for strangers to contact you through the App.
In guest mode, even a young child can play and we hold no information that qualifies as "personal" under any major privacy law, including COPPA.
Optional Account Upgrade
If you choose to create a full account (to back up progress, restore on a new device, or sync across devices), we collect:
- Your email address or Apple/Google sign-in token
- Your date of birth (used solely to determine whether parental consent is required)
- Your game progress: XP total, Buddy Book completion, catch history (borough only, not GPS coordinates)
Account creation is entirely optional. The full game experience is available in guest mode.
Technical Data We Collect Automatically
Like most apps, we collect basic technical data to keep the App running smoothly:
- App version and operating system version
- Crash reports (via a COPPA-configured crash reporting service; crash reports are stripped of any PII before transmission)
- General performance metrics (e.g., screen load times)
We do not use this data for advertising or share it with third parties for their own use.
3. Children Under 13 — COPPA Compliance
Borough Buddies is designed to be safe for children. We comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
Guest Mode (default)
As described above, our default guest mode collects no personal information from anyone, regardless of age. A child under 13 can play the full game without us ever collecting data that requires parental consent under COPPA.
Account Upgrade for Children Under 13
If a player indicates they are under 13 during the optional account upgrade flow, we:
- Do not collect the child's email address or real name.
- Ask for a parent or guardian's email address only.
- Send the parent a Verifiable Parental Consent (VPC) email explaining exactly what data will be associated with the child's account and requesting explicit consent before the account is activated.
- Keep the child in guest mode (with no data loss) unless and until a parent grants consent.
What a Child's Account Stores (After Parental Consent)
- Auto-generated display name (no real name)
- Total XP and Buddy Book completion
- Catch history (borough only — no GPS coordinates, no timestamps beyond the catch date)
We do not collect from children: real names, photos, precise location history, communications, or any information not listed above.
Parental Rights
Parents and guardians may at any time:
- Review the personal information we hold about their child
- Request deletion of their child's account and all associated data
- Withdraw consent and revert the child's account to guest mode
To exercise these rights, email buroughbuddies@gmail.com from the address used during the parental consent flow.
4. How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect only to:
- Run the game (spawn buddies near you, record catches, maintain leaderboards)
- Back up and restore your game progress across devices (accounts only)
- Send parental consent emails (children's account upgrade only)
- Monitor app stability and fix crashes
- Comply with legal obligations
We never use your data for: behavioral advertising, selling to third parties, profiling, or any purpose not listed above.
5. Third-Party Services
We use a minimal set of third-party services, all configured to avoid collecting personal data:
- Crash reporting (e.g., Sentry or Bugsnag): configured to scrub PII from all reports before they leave your device.
- Push notifications (Expo Notifications / Apple APNs / Google FCM): used only to notify you when rare buddies appear near you. You can disable notifications in your device settings at any time.
- Cloud hosting (Fly.io): our backend servers are hosted on Fly.io in the United States.
We do not include: advertising SDKs, Facebook SDK, Google Analytics, Meta Pixel, or any third-party tracker.
6. Data Retention and Deletion
- Guest accounts: Server-side data (tied to your device UUID) is deleted automatically after 12 months of inactivity.
- Full accounts: Retained until you request deletion. To delete your account, email buroughbuddies@gmail.com or use the in-app account settings. Deletion is completed within 30 days.
- Uninstalling the app does not automatically delete your server-side data. If you want your data deleted, please contact us.
7. Data Security
We take reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect the information we hold, including encrypted data transmission (HTTPS/TLS), encrypted storage, and access controls limiting who on our team can access user data. No system is perfectly secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
8. Your Rights
Depending on where you live, you may have rights under laws like GDPR, CCPA, or COPPA to:
- Access the data we hold about you
- Correct inaccurate data
- Request deletion of your data ("right to be forgotten")
- Object to or restrict processing
- Data portability
To exercise any of these rights, contact buroughbuddies@gmail.com. We will respond within 30 days.
9. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes — especially changes that affect children's data — we will provide notice via the App and update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Your continued use of the App after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
10. Contact Us
Questions about this Privacy Policy or your data?