Privacy policy

Last updated: October 25, 2026

This page is about the Set the Stars game for iPhone, iPad and Android. It says, in plain words, what information the game uses, why, and what you can do about it.

Who we are

Set the Stars is made by Joshua Makes. To ask anything about this policy or your information, write to info@joshuamakes.ca.

“We” and “us” on this page mean the maker of the game. The game uses services from Google, Apple and Google Play, named below, which have their own privacy policies.

What stays on your phone

The game keeps these on your phone only: your best moves and stars for each puzzle, the puzzle you are in the middle of, your days in a row and your streaks, which groups of constellations are open, your settings, how many hints you have used today, when the last ad showed, and whether you own Remove ads.

None of it is sent to us. It is deleted when you delete the game. Your phone’s own backup (iCloud, or your Google account on Android) may include it, as it does for most apps.

Ads (Google AdMob)

Unless you buy Remove ads, the game shows an ad now and then between puzzles, never during one, and a short video when you ask for an extra hint after the day’s free one. The ads come from Google AdMob.

• Every ad is family-friendly: the game only accepts ads rated G.
• Every ad is non-personalized: Google does not use your past activity to choose it.
• On iPhone and iPad the game never asks to track you, so Apple never gives the advertising identifier to the game or to Google.

To show ads, count them, limit how often you see one, and stop fraud, Google’s ad software in the game collects: your IP address (which can show your general area, such as your city), identifiers for ads (on Android, your phone’s advertising ID and app set ID), which ads you see and tap, and technical information such as crashes and how fast the game runs. Google explains how it uses this information at policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites, and its privacy policy is at policies.google.com/privacy.

On Android you can reset or delete your advertising ID in your phone’s Settings, under Privacy, then Ads.

Counting plays (Google Analytics for Firebase)

To learn whether the game works for the people who play it, for example whether they come back the next day, or which puzzles are too hard, we use Google Analytics for Firebase. It sends Google:

• that the game was opened, and for how long it was played;
• each puzzle started and finished, with its name, how many moves it took, whether it was perfect, and how many hints were used;
• whether the first-time tutorial was finished or skipped, and when a hint is used;
• when you turn a setting on or off (sound, vibration, bigger tray pieces or reduce motion), which one, and whether it is now on or off;
• when you share a Daily result, but not what you shared or who you shared it with;
• if you buy Remove ads, the purchase and its price, which Google Analytics may record by itself;
• the kind of phone and its system version, the game’s version, your language, and your country and region, which Google works out from your IP address (Google Analytics does not keep the IP address itself);
• a random number made for this copy of the game, so that a return visit can be counted. It is not your name, your email or your phone’s advertising ID, and deleting the game deletes it.

Analytics is only for understanding how the game is played. It never collects the advertising ID, its advertising features are turned off, and it is not linked to any advertising account. We look only at totals, such as “how many players came back a week later”. Google Analytics keeps the detailed records for 2 months and then deletes them; only totals stay in the reports.

Google’s page on Firebase and privacy is at firebase.google.com/support/privacy.

Game settings from the internet (Firebase Remote Config)

The game asks Firebase, at most twice a day, for a few numbers that tune it, such as how often an ad may show and how many free hints there are each day. For this, Firebase uses a random number for this copy of the game, and receives the game’s version, your phone’s system version, your language, your country and your time zone. If the game cannot reach Firebase, it uses its own numbers.

If you are in the European Economic Area, the UK or Switzerland

The first time you play, Google’s consent form opens. There you choose whether Google may store and use information on your phone for ads, and for measuring how the game is used.

• Until you have chosen, analytics records nothing at all.
• If you say no, analytics counts plays without any number for your phone, so your plays cannot be connected to each other.
• Whatever you choose, ads are rated G and never personalized.

Your choice is kept on your phone. You can change it at any time: tap Privacy choices at the bottom of the game’s menu.

Buying Remove ads

Remove ads is a one-time purchase that takes every ad away and makes hints unlimited. You buy it through the App Store or Google Play. Apple or Google handles the payment, and we never see your card or account details. The store tells the game only whether you own Remove ads, and the game remembers that on your phone. Restore purchases asks the store again, for example on a new phone. Apple’s privacy policy is at apple.com/legal/privacy.

Sharing a Daily result

When you tap Share after a Daily puzzle, the game opens your phone’s own share sheet with a few lines of text: the date, the constellation, your moves and the game’s web address. Nothing is sent unless you choose where to send it. Where there is no share sheet, the text is copied for you to paste.

Children

The game is listed for ages 13 and up, and we know that younger children often play on a parent’s or grandparent’s phone. The game never asks anyone for personal information, has no chat and no way to contact other players, and its ads are rated G and never personalized. If you think a child has sent us personal information, for example by email, write to us and we will delete it.

Keeping and deleting your information

• Delete the game to delete everything it keeps on your phone, along with its random numbers. A new copy starts afresh.
• Analytics records are not linked to your name, and Google deletes them after 2 months.
• Because we cannot tell who you are from these records, we cannot look them up by your name or email. If you have a question or a request, write to us and we will help as far as we can.

Your rights

Depending on where you live (for example the European Economic Area, the UK, Switzerland, Canada or some US states), you may have the right to ask what information we hold about you, to have it corrected or deleted, to object to how it is used, and to withdraw a consent you gave. Write to info@joshuamakes.ca. In the European Economic Area, the UK and Switzerland you can also complain to your data protection authority.

Where the law asks for your consent for ads and analytics, we rely on that consent. Otherwise we rely on our legitimate interest in running, improving and paying for a free game. We do not sell or rent your information to anyone. Google may handle the information described here in the United States and other countries.

This website

This website has no cookies, no trackers and no analytics. The company that hosts it keeps short technical logs, as every web host does.

Changes to this policy

If this policy changes, we will update this page and the date at the top.