Last updated: 2026-09-24
I&M Games ("we", "us") develops Etchling, a daily picture-logic puzzle game for Android. This policy explains what information Etchling and the third-party services it uses collect, why, and what choices you have. It covers this app only, not any website or other product.
Etchling has no account, no login, and no chat or user-generated content. Your puzzle progress, streak, and settings are stored only on your device. The app shows ads (through Google AdMob and the LevelPlay mediation network), uses Firebase Analytics to understand how the game is used, and uses Firebase Crashlytics to learn when the app crashes. All of them follow the privacy choices you make in Google's consent form where the law requires one, and all can involve device/advertising identifiers being shared with those providers under their own privacy policies. You can change your choices at any time in Settings.
Your daily streak, which puzzles and packs you've completed, your sound/haptics preferences, and your completion calendar are saved locally on your device (in the app's private storage area) so your progress survives closing and reopening the app. This data is not an account, is not tied to your name or email, and is not transmitted to us. Uninstalling the app or clearing its storage deletes it permanently and cannot be recovered — we have no copy of it.
Etchling shows ads through Google AdMob, mediated by the LevelPlay (ironSource) platform, which in turn can route a given ad request to one of several third-party ad networks. Showing an ad can involve your device's advertising identifier (e.g. Android's Advertising ID) and general technical information (device type, approximate location derived from IP, app version) being shared with AdMob, LevelPlay, and the network that ultimately fills the ad, for the purpose of selecting and measuring that ad. Etchling never sells your data itself, but these advertising partners operate under their own privacy policies and may combine what they receive from Etchling with information from other apps or sources:
The ads you may see are a small banner at the bottom of the screen, an occasional full-screen ad between puzzles (never while you are solving one), and optional rewarded videos you choose to watch — for an extra Check, to earn a Reveal, to unlock a puzzle pack early, or to replay a past day's daily puzzle. Each rewarded video asks you to confirm before it plays. Etchling never requires an ad to be watched to keep playing the core daily puzzle.
Etchling uses Firebase Analytics (a Google service) to record in-app events — for example, that a puzzle was started or completed, how long it took, whether a streak continued, or that a setting was opened — so we can tell whether the game is working and enjoyable. These events do not include your name, email, or any text you type, because the app never asks for any. Analytics only runs when your privacy choices allow it (see below). Firebase Analytics can involve a device identifier and general technical/usage information being sent to Google; see Google's own policy for how Firebase handles that data:
Etchling uses Firebase Crashlytics (a Google service) so we can find and fix crashes and errors. If the app crashes or hits an unexpected error, a report is sent to Google containing technical details: what the app was doing when it happened (for example, which screen was open), the device model, Android version, app version, and a random identifier created for this installation of the app. Crash reports contain no name, email, or anything you type, and are never used for advertising. Like analytics, crash reporting only runs when your privacy choices allow it (see below). Firebase's privacy information above covers Crashlytics too.
Where the law requires it — for example in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland — Etchling shows Google's consent form the first time you open the app, and again whenever it is needed. Ads and analytics follow what you choose there. If you do not consent to information being stored on and read from your device, Firebase Analytics and crash reporting stay off and any ads shown are not personalized; you can still play the full game. If you live in a US state with a consumer privacy law, the same Google form lets you opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information. You can review or change your choices at any time from Settings, under Privacy Options (shown whenever a choice applies to you); a change takes effect straight away.
Etchling is a general-audience puzzle game and is not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us information in a way this policy doesn't account for, contact us using the address below and we will address it.
On-device data (progress, streak, settings) is retained until you uninstall the app or clear its storage — entirely under your control. Analytics event data sent to Firebase is retained according to Google's own Firebase Analytics data retention settings for this project, and crash reports according to Firebase Crashlytics' own retention period. We do not maintain a separate server or database of player data outside these third-party services.
Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, or delete personal data, and to object to or restrict certain processing (for example, under the EU/UK GDPR or similar regional laws). Because Etchling itself stores no personal data on any server we control, the practical way to exercise these rights today is: (1) decline or withdraw consent in the consent form, or later under Settings > Privacy Options, and (2) uninstall the app or clear its storage to remove all on-device data. For anything related to data already sent to Google/Firebase/AdMob/LevelPlay, those providers' own privacy policies (linked above) describe how to make requests directly to them.
Etchling requests only the permissions it needs to connect to the internet, show ads (including access to your device's advertising ID, which you can reset or delete in your device's settings) and vibrate for haptic feedback. The advertising and analytics components it includes also add a few standard permissions Android grants without asking you (for example, checking the network connection). Etchling never asks for access to your location, camera, microphone, contacts, calls or files.
If what Etchling collects or how it's used changes, this text will be updated and the "Last updated" date above will change accordingly.
Questions about this policy or Etchling's data practices: iandmgames.studio@gmail.com