Privacy Policy

PikuBots ("we", pikubots.com) is a game for phones and the web. This policy covers the game, this website and the online services the game uses. It says what we collect, why, who helps us process it, how long we keep it and what you can do about it. Questions: hello@pikubots.com.

What we collect

Account identifiers. To sign you in we keep a random account id and the details of the sign-in method you choose: an email address, a username and a password (we store only a salted hash of the password, never the password itself), or the account id that Sign in with Apple or Google gives us, with the email address that service shares (with Apple this can be a private relay address). Your device keeps a key so that the game can keep you signed in. The game may also let you play as a guest under a temporary id.

Gameplay and progress. What the game needs to be a game: your in-game name, level, progress, robots, items, in-game currency balances, match results, rankings and season records, your settings, and, where the game has them, friends, parties, clans and in-game messages.

Purchase records. When you buy something in PikuBots, the App Store or Google Play takes the payment; we never see your card or bank details. We receive and keep a record of what you bought, its store transaction id and whether it was later refunded, so that we can give you what you paid for and reverse it if the purchase is refunded.

Crash and diagnostic reports. The game can send reports when something goes wrong: the kind of failure, a technical message, the game version, the phone model and its system version. A report is used only to find and fix the problem. Where the game offers the switch, you can turn these reports off in its settings.

Device and technical information. Your device model, system version, language and the game version, and the IP address our servers see when your device connects. Our servers keep short technical logs to run the service and stop abuse.

Rewarded ads. PikuBots may let you choose to watch a video ad for an in-game reward. When you do, an advertising service provider serves the ad and receives information about your device; it uses your device's advertising identifier only if you allow tracking when your phone asks you. We receive only a notice that you finished the ad, so that we can give you the reward. You never have to watch an ad.

Player content and reports. When you write things other players see, such as your in-game name, a clan name or a message, we keep what you write so that the game can show it, and we filter it for offensive words. When you report a player we keep your report, what it is about and our decision, so that we can review it under our Terms.

Why we use it

• to create your account, sign you in and keep you signed in;
• to save your progress and your items, and to give you what you buy or earn;
• to run matches, events, contests and leaderboards (other players can see your in-game name and results);
• to find and fix crashes and to keep the game running well;
• to keep the game fair and secure, and to handle reports, refunds and fraud;
• to answer you when you write to us, and to send the emails you ask for, such as a password reset.

What we do not do

We do not sell your personal data. We do not use it to build advertising profiles, and our own code does not track you across other companies' apps or websites. We use your data only to run PikuBots and to support you.

Who helps us

We use service providers to run PikuBots: hosting and database providers, payment and purchase-record providers, analytics and crash-reporting providers, advertising providers for the optional rewarded ads, and an email delivery provider. They are bound by contract to process data only on our instructions and to keep it safe. When you sign in with Apple or Google or buy through the App Store or Google Play, they also process data under their own privacy policies. Our providers may process data in countries other than yours; we expect the same protection wherever it is processed.

How long we keep it

We keep account and game data while your account exists. When you delete your account we delete your account identifiers and your game data (see how to delete your account). We keep the records of purchases and refunds, and of matches already played, linked to no name or email address, for as long as we need them for accounting, refunds and fraud prevention. Crash reports and technical logs are kept for a short time only. Deleted data leaves our backups within about 30 days.

Your choices and rights

You can change your in-game name, turn crash reports off where the game offers it, refuse ad tracking when your phone asks or later in its settings, and delete your account in the game or by email. Depending on where you live (for example under the Data Privacy Act of 2012 in the Philippines, the GDPR in the EU and UK, or the CCPA in California) you may also have the right to see, correct, export or delete your data, or to object to how we use it. Write to hello@pikubots.com and we will answer within 30 days. In the Philippines you may also complain to the National Privacy Commission, and elsewhere to your local data protection authority.

Children

PikuBots is not directed to children under 13 (or the minimum age where you live), and we do not knowingly collect their personal data. If you believe a child has given us personal data, write to us and we will delete it.

Security

We protect your data with technical and organisational measures, and we limit who can see it to the people who need it to run the game. No system is perfectly secure; if a breach affects you, we will tell you as the law requires.

Changes and contact

If we change this policy we will post the new version here with a new date, and tell you in the game when the change is important. Questions or requests: hello@pikubots.com.