Privacy Policy

Updated: October 16, 2026

Overview

This Privacy Policy applies to the mobile games published by Ruthless Games LLC ("Ruthless Games," "we," "us," or "our") on Google Play and the Apple App Store:

  • Swipe: Swoop Card Game
  • Simmer: Cozy Merge Kitchen
  • Circuit Empire: Idle Tycoon
  • Euchre: Card Game Night
  • Rigged: Roguelike Spades
  • Pitch: Setback Card Game
  • Mahj Night: American Mahjong
  • Spades

It explains what each game collects, why, who receives it, how long it is kept, and the choices you have. The games differ, so the "Game by game" section describes each one. Where that section is more specific about a game than the general sections, it is the description that applies to that game.

If one of our games is not named above, it does not collect personal information and sends nothing about you off your device. Versions of Rigged before 1.1.0 also collect nothing.

The short version

  • None of our games asks you to create an account. We never ask for your email address, phone number or postal address. We do not collect your precise location, contacts, photos, files, or microphone or camera input.
  • Most of what a game remembers (progress, coins and other currencies, statistics, settings and unlocks) is stored on your device.
  • What does leave your device goes to Google (Firebase, AdMob, Google Play, Play Games) and Apple (App Store, Game Center), who process it for us. When ads are personalized, Google also uses ad data for its own advertising purposes. In multiplayer games, the display name you choose and your moves are shown to the other players at your table.
  • We do not sell your personal information. Some games show personalized ads, which some US state laws call "sharing"; see "Advertising."
  • Payments are handled entirely by Google Play or Apple. We never see your card or bank details.

Data we collect

Kept only on your device

Your progress, currency balances, statistics, settings, cosmetics, purchase entitlements and similar game data are stored on your device. Uninstalling a game or clearing its data deletes them. The exceptions are cloud saves through Google Play Games or Game Center, multiplayer rooms, and purchase records kept by our server; each is described under the game it applies to.

Data types and why we use them

Gameplay analytics (Google Analytics for Firebase)
What it includes: Game events (games started and finished, levels, screens, shop views, ad and purchase events), a random app-instance ID, device model, OS and app version, language, and a country or region Google derives from your IP address
Why we use it: To see which features work, find where players get stuck, and tune balance and ad frequency
Games: All eight

Crash and error reports (Firebase Crashlytics)
What it includes: The error and stack trace, app state at that moment, device model, OS and app version, and a random installation ID
Why we use it: To find and fix bugs
Games: All eight

Game settings download (Firebase Remote Config)
What it includes: A Firebase installation ID, country, language, time zone and OS version
Why we use it: To deliver tuning values such as ad frequency and rewards
Games: Swipe, Simmer, Circuit Empire, Euchre, Pitch

Advertising data (Google AdMob)
What it includes: Your device's advertising ID (on iOS only if you allow tracking), an app set ID, IP address and approximate location, device information, and ad interactions (shown, tapped, watched)
Why we use it: To show and measure ads, prevent ad fraud and, where you allow it, personalize ads
Games: All except Rigged

Anonymous Firebase ID (Firebase Authentication, anonymous sign-in only)
What it includes: A random ID not linked to your name, email or any account; it resets when you reinstall
Why we use it: To claim purchase receipts and, in multiplayer, to seat you at a table
Games: Swipe, Circuit Empire, Euchre, Pitch, Spades

Purchase records (Cloud Functions and Cloud Firestore)
What it includes: Your anonymous Firebase ID, the product, the order or transaction ID, the purchase token, the platform, the store's response, and whether it was a test purchase
Why we use it: To confirm each purchase with Google or Apple, deliver it exactly once, refuse fraudulent receipts, handle refunds, and keep accounting records
Games: Swipe, Circuit Empire, Euchre, Pitch, Spades

Multiplayer room data (Firebase Realtime Database)
What it includes: The display name you choose, your avatar, seat, moves, the built-in emotes you send, and whether you are connected
Why we use it: To run the match; other players in the room see your name, avatar, moves and emotes
Games: Swipe, Euchre

Play Games and Game Center
What it includes: Your player ID, achievements, leaderboard scores and, in some games, a cloud save of your progress
Why we use it: Achievements, leaderboards and restoring your game on another device
Games: Swipe, Simmer, Circuit Empire

Emails you send us
What it includes: Your email address and what you write
Why we use it: To answer you
Games: Any

Except in Simmer and Rigged, Google Analytics may also receive your device's advertising ID where it is available (on iOS, only if you allow tracking). There is no free-text chat in any game. The only text you type that leaves your device is a multiplayer display name.

What we never collect

We do not collect your real name, email address (other than when you email us), phone number, postal address, precise location, contacts, photos or videos, files, calendar, microphone or camera input, health or fitness data, messages, browsing history, or the list of other apps on your device.

Game by game

Swipe: Swoop Card Game

  • Analytics and crash reports: as described above. If your device's region is in the EEA or the UK, Swipe asks before turning these on; elsewhere they are on by default. Anyone can turn them off or on at any time in Settings > Help & Inquiries > Data Collection. Analytics is switched off on emulators, test devices and test builds.
  • Apple Ads attribution (iOS, version 4.3.51 and later): if analytics is on, Swipe asks Apple's AdServices service whether it was installed from an Apple Search Ads campaign. Apple answers with the campaign, ad group and keyword IDs, the conversion type and the country. We store those with your analytics data to measure our own advertising. This uses no advertising ID and needs no tracking permission.
  • Ads: Google AdMob rewarded videos (optional, for in-game rewards) and full-screen ads. Ads may be personalized where you allow it. On iOS the app shows Apple's tracking prompt before ads start. Where consent is required, Google's consent message appears first and can be reopened at Settings > Help & Inquiries > Ad Privacy Choices. The Remove Ads purchase stops the full-screen ads.
  • Purchases: one-time purchases (including Remove Ads) and Swipe+, a monthly auto-renewing subscription. Our server checks each receipt and subscription with Google or Apple and keeps the records described above, plus the subscription's status and expiry.
  • Multiplayer: anonymous Firebase sign-in and a Realtime Database room. The room also records whether you hold Swipe+. Rooms are deleted automatically once a match has ended or the room is more than 24 hours old. An invite you send through your phone's share sheet contains the room code, a join link and your display name. On Android, if a friend installs from your invite, the room code is read from Google Play's install referrer on their device.
  • Play Games / Game Center: achievements and leaderboards. On Android, if you are signed in to Google Play Games, your progress, currencies, unlocks and statistics are backed up to Play Games saved games so you can restore them on another device. There is no cloud backup on iOS.
  • Also: Remote Config. Reminder notifications are scheduled on your device; no push server is involved.

Simmer

  • Analytics and crash reports: if your device's region is in the EEA, the UK, Switzerland, a UK Crown dependency or Gibraltar, or your device has no region set, Simmer asks before anything is collected. Elsewhere collection is on by default. Anyone can turn it off or on at any time in Settings > Help & Inquiries > Data Collection. Google Analytics in Simmer never receives your advertising ID, and Simmer never sends advertising signals to Analytics.
  • Ads: optional reward videos only, through Google AdMob. There are no banners or full-screen ads. Simmer's ads are never personalized, are limited to G-rated content, and every ad request is flagged as coming from a user under the age of consent. Where consent is required, Google's consent message appears before any ad is requested; change your choice at Settings > Help & Inquiries > Ad Privacy Choices. Simmer never asks to track you on iOS.
  • Game settings: Remote Config runs on every launch to download balance values, whether or not you have agreed to analytics, because the game needs it to work.
  • Purchases: through Google Play or the App Store. Simmer has no purchase server.
  • Play Games (Android): at launch the app tries to sign you in to Google Play Games silently. If you are signed in, achievements are recorded and your game (progress, currencies, board, recipes, kitchen level, stars, a few timestamps, and whether you bought Unlimited Energy or the Starter Pack) is saved to Play Games saved games so you can restore it. It contains no order IDs or payment details. You can decline Play Games or delete the saved game there.
  • Also: reminder notifications are scheduled on your device. The in-app review prompt is shown by the store itself.

Circuit Empire

  • Analytics and crash reports: if your device's region is in the EEA or the UK, the app asks at first launch, and nothing is collected until you agree. Elsewhere these are on by default. Anyone can turn them off or on at any time in Settings > Privacy > Analytics. While this is off, no rewarded ads are offered.
  • Sign-in problems: if the anonymous sign-in fails, the app records the error code as a crash report entry and an analytics event, only while Analytics is on.
  • Ads: optional reward videos only, through Google AdMob (double offline earnings, a production boost or a free crate). Ads may be personalized where you allow it. Where consent is required, Google's consent message appears before any ad is requested; reopen it at Settings > Privacy > Ad privacy choices. On iOS the app asks Apple's tracking permission before ads start.
  • Purchases: gems, starter packs and other items. Our server checks each receipt with Google or Apple and keeps the purchase records described above.
  • Play Games / Game Center: achievements, leaderboards, and a cloud save of your progress so you can restore it on another device.
  • Also: Remote Config. Reminders (offline earnings full, a free crate ready, a contract ending) are scheduled on your device; no push server is involved.

Euchre: Ruthless Card Game

  • Analytics and crash reports: if you are in the EEA, the UK or Switzerland (judged from your device's region setting and from Google's consent tool), the app asks before turning these on, and nothing is sent until you agree. Elsewhere they are on by default. Anyone can turn them off or on at any time in Settings > Share Usage Data.
  • Ads: Google AdMob rewarded videos (optional; for in-game rewards and for hosting extra multiplayer rooms) and full-screen ads after the scoreboard between hands. Ads may be personalized where you allow it. On iOS the app asks Apple's tracking permission. Where consent is required, Google's consent message appears first and can be reopened at Settings > About & Help > Ad privacy choices. The Remove Ads purchase stops the full-screen ads.
  • Purchases: Crystal bundles and Remove Ads. Our server checks each receipt with Google or Apple and keeps the purchase records described above.
  • Multiplayer: anonymous Firebase sign-in and a Realtime Database room. Your display name is the one you type (up to 14 characters). Invite links contain only the room code. On Android, the first launch after installing from an invite link reads the room code from Google Play's install referrer, on your device. Head-to-head records are kept on your device only.
  • Also: Remote Config. The in-app review prompt is shown by the store itself.

Rigged: Roguelike Spades

  • From version 1.1.0: Google Analytics for Firebase (game events such as a run started or ended, an unlock earned, the Full Game offer shown, app opens and sessions) and Firebase Crashlytics. Neither is used for advertising, and the app never collects your device's advertising ID. If your device's region is in the EEA, the UK or Switzerland, or is unknown, the app asks first and sends nothing until you say yes. Elsewhere it is on by default. Anyone can turn it off or on at any time in Settings > USAGE DATA.
  • Earlier versions collect nothing.
  • No ads. Rigged shows no advertising and never asks to track you.
  • Purchase: one optional purchase, the Full Game, through Google Play or the App Store. Analytics logs that the purchase happened. Rigged has no purchase server, no account and no online play.

Pitch: Setback Card Game

  • Analytics and crash reports: if your device's region is in the EEA, the UK or Switzerland, or Google determines that European consent rules apply to you, Pitch asks first and sends no analytics or crash reports until you agree. Elsewhere they are on by default. Anyone can turn them off or on at any time in Settings > Share Usage Data. This switch does not affect ads, the game-settings download, or the anonymous ID used to confirm purchases.
  • Ads: Google AdMob optional videos for in-game currency, and full-screen ads between hands. Ads may be personalized where you allow it. On iOS the app asks Apple's tracking permission after Google's consent message; declining still shows ads, just not personalized ones. Change your ad choice at Settings > About & Help > Ad privacy choices. Remove Ads stops the ads between hands; the optional videos stay available.
  • Purchases: Crystals and Remove Ads. The app signs in with an anonymous Firebase ID and our server checks each receipt with Google or Apple and keeps the purchase records described above.
  • There are no accounts, no chat and no online play.

Mahj Night: American Mahjong

  • Single-player only. There is no account, no login, no online play and no chat.
  • Kept only on your device: coins, statistics, settings, cosmetics, your Remove Ads entitlement, and the counters that limit how often ads appear. Android backup is switched off for this game, so this data is not copied to Google Drive or a new phone. Uninstalling, clearing data or moving to a new device loses your coins (including bought coins), statistics and cosmetics. Remove Ads can be restored with Restore purchases.
  • Analytics and crash reports: off until you turn them on in Settings > Purchases & Privacy > Share anonymous usage data, and you can turn them off again there at any time.
  • Ads (Google AdMob): a full-screen ad only when you dismiss the scoreboard between hands, limited in number and frequency, and optional reward videos. Ad content is limited to PG. Where consent is required, Google's consent message appears before any ads are requested; reopen it at Settings > Ad privacy choices. On iOS every ad is non-personalized and the app never asks to track you. On Android, ads may be personalized using your advertising ID where you allow it.
  • Purchases: Remove Ads and coin packs, through Google Play or the App Store. Mahj Night has no purchase server.

Spades

  • Analytics and crash reports: if your device's region is in the EEA, the UK or Switzerland, Spades asks before turning these on. Elsewhere they are on by default. Anyone can turn them off or on at any time in Settings > Privacy > Analytics.
  • Ads: Google AdMob rewarded videos (optional) and full-screen ads. Ad content is limited to T. Ads may be personalized where you allow it. On iOS the app asks Apple's tracking permission. Where consent is required, Google's consent message appears first and can be reopened at Settings > Ad privacy choices.
  • Purchases: gem packs and VIP, a monthly auto-renewing subscription. The app signs in with an anonymous Firebase ID, and our server checks each receipt and subscription with Google or Apple and keeps the purchase records described above.
  • Delete Account & Data: Settings > Account > Delete Account & Data removes your anonymous ID, wipes the game's data on your device, and strips your ID, purchase token and store response from our purchase records (see "How long we keep data").
  • Also: reminder notifications are scheduled on your device. Spades has no online play in this version.

Your choices

  • Google's ad consent message (User Messaging Platform). Every game with ads uses it. Where the law requires consent or an opt-out for personalized ads (the EEA, the UK, Switzerland, and US states with consumer privacy laws), Google's message appears before ads are personalized. Reopen it from the "Ad privacy choices" item in the game's settings; that item appears only where it applies.
  • App tracking on iOS. Swipe, Circuit Empire, Euchre, Pitch and Spades ask Apple's permission before your advertising ID can be used. Declining still shows ads, but not personalized ones. Change this any time in iOS Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking. Simmer, Mahj Night and Rigged never ask and never track you.
  • Usage data (analytics and crash reports). Each game's switch is listed under "Game by game." These switches control Google Analytics and Crashlytics only. They do not change the anonymous ID used for purchases or multiplayer, or what Remote Config needs to run. Turning a switch off stops new collection; it does not delete data already sent (see "Deleting your data").
  • Your device's ad settings. Opt out of personalized ads, or reset or delete your advertising ID: on Android in Settings > Google > Ads (or Settings > Privacy > Ads); on iOS in Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking.
  • Uninstalling a game stops all collection by it, deletes everything it stored on your device and resets its random IDs, so new data cannot be linked to old data.

Advertising

Every game except Rigged shows ads through Google AdMob. We do not use any other ad network or ad mediation. Simmer's ads are never personalized, and neither are Mahj Night's on iOS. Otherwise AdMob may use your device's advertising ID to personalize ads, subject to the choices above.

We do not sell your personal information. Personalized ads served by Google may count as "sharing" for cross-context behavioral advertising, or as "targeted advertising," under some US state privacy laws. You can opt out through the "Ad privacy choices" item where it appears, or by opting out of ad personalization in your device settings.

How Google uses data from apps that use its services: https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites

In-app purchases

Some games offer optional purchases of virtual items, Remove Ads, a full game, or a subscription (Swipe+ in Swipe, VIP in Spades). All payments are processed by Google Play or the Apple App Store; we never see or store your card, bank details, billing address or store account. In Swipe, Circuit Empire, Euchre, Pitch and Spades, our server checks each purchase with Google or Apple and keeps a record of it, to deliver it once, prevent fraud and restore purchases. Simmer, Rigged and Mahj Night have no purchase server.

Service providers

We use only Google and Apple services, and only those listed for each game above:

  • Google AdMob and Google's User Messaging Platform (ads and ad consent)
  • Google Analytics for Firebase and Firebase Crashlytics (analytics and crash reports)
  • Firebase Remote Config and Firebase Installations (game settings)
  • Firebase Authentication, anonymous sign-in only (anonymous ID)
  • Firebase Realtime Database (multiplayer rooms)
  • Cloud Functions for Firebase and Cloud Firestore (purchase checks and records; clean-up of old Swipe and Euchre rooms)
  • Google Play Games Services and Google Play Billing (Android)
  • Apple Game Center, StoreKit and AdServices (iOS)

Each has its own privacy policy:

Storage, sharing and security

Game data is stored on your device unless this policy says otherwise. Data held on our behalf (purchase records, multiplayer rooms, analytics and crash reports) is stored on Google's Firebase and Google Cloud servers. We disclose data only to the providers above, in the roles described, and, in multiplayer, to the other players in your room. We may also disclose information if the law requires it. All data the games send travels over encrypted (TLS) connections. We hold no passwords and no payment details.

Children

Our games are not directed to children under 13, or under the age of digital consent where you live (16 in some EEA countries), and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them.

  • Pitch, Mahj Night and Spades are intended for adults (18 and over).
  • Rigged and Circuit Empire are intended for players 13 and older.
  • Simmer is a gentle game suitable for a general audience, so it is built for a mixed audience: its ads are never personalized, ad content is limited to G-rated, every ad request is flagged as coming from a user under the age of consent, and there are no accounts, no chat and no name entry.

If you believe a child under 13 has given us personal information through one of our games, contact us and we will delete what we hold and can identify.

How long we keep data

  • On your device: until you delete it. Uninstalling a game or clearing its data removes it immediately.
  • Analytics events: 2 months, then deleted automatically by Google Analytics. Aggregated reports (totals that do not identify anyone) may be kept longer.
  • Crash reports: 90 days.
  • Purchase records on our server (Swipe, Circuit Empire, Euchre, Pitch, Spades): 7 years, for accounting and fraud prevention. Where a game offers account deletion (Spades), the records are kept for that period without your identifier: your anonymous ID is replaced with a placeholder, and the purchase token and the store's response are removed. The order ID, product, platform, status and dates stay, so refunds and repeated receipts can still be checked.
  • Multiplayer rooms: in Swipe and Euchre, deleted automatically once the match has ended or the room is more than 24 hours old.
  • Play Games and Game Center data (achievements, scores, cloud saves): kept by Google or Apple until you delete it.
  • Advertising data: kept by Google under its own policies.
  • Emails to us: as long as needed to answer you and keep a record of the request.

Deleting your data, and your rights

Deleting your data. Most of what our games know is on your phone, so uninstalling a game deletes it and resets its IDs. In Spades you can also use Settings > Account > Delete Account & Data. For data held by us or our providers, email support@ruthless-games.com with the subject "Data deletion." Tell us which game, your platform and roughly when you played, and anything that helps us find you, such as your multiplayer display name or an order number from your store receipt. Because our games have no accounts, we sometimes cannot identify your data; if so, we will tell you rather than guess. We will act within 30 days and tell you what we could and could not delete. Purchase records are kept as described above, without your identifier. You can also delete Play Games data from the Play Games app or your Google Account, manage Game Center data through your Apple Account, and reset or delete your advertising ID at any time.

If you are in the EEA, the UK or Switzerland. We are the controller of the data described here; Google and Apple are controllers of their own services. We rely on your consent for personalized advertising and, where a game asks for it, for analytics and crash reports; on our legitimate interests in keeping the games working and improving them and in preventing fraud; and on performance of a contract to deliver and restore what you buy. You have the right to access, correct or erase your data, to restrict or object to its processing, to data portability, and to withdraw consent at any time (this does not affect processing already carried out). Write to support@ruthless-games.com to exercise any of these. You may also complain to a data protection authority: in the UK the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk); in Switzerland the FDPIC (edoeb.admin.ch); in the EEA, your country's authority (listed at edpb.europa.eu).

If you are in California or another US state with a consumer privacy law. We collect identifiers (advertising ID, app-instance and installation IDs, the anonymous Firebase ID, Play Games or Game Center player ID), commercial information (purchases), internet or other electronic network activity (in-game usage and ad interactions), approximate location derived from your IP address, device and diagnostic information, and, in multiplayer, the display name you choose. Each is used for the purposes described above and disclosed only to the providers listed. We do not sell personal information. We may "share" it for targeted advertising only as described under "Advertising." We do not knowingly sell or share the personal information of anyone under 16. You have the right to know what we collect, to have it deleted or corrected, to opt out of sharing for targeted advertising, and not to be treated differently for exercising these rights. Email support@ruthless-games.com to exercise them; you may use an authorized agent.

International transfers

Google and Apple operate globally, so the data described here is processed on their servers, including servers in the United States. Those transfers rely on the safeguards those providers put in place, such as the EU Standard Contractual Clauses and, where applicable, the EU-US Data Privacy Framework and its UK and Swiss extensions. Details are in their policies linked above.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time, for example when a game adds or removes a service. The "Updated" date at the top shows the latest version. We post a change here before the game update that needs it is released.

Contact us

Questions about this policy, or requests about your data:

Ruthless Games LLC support@ruthless-games.com