Cryptica — Privacy Policy

Effective date: 19 October 2026

Cryptica is a cryptogram puzzle game for iPhone, iPad and Android, made by Maxim Cucerenco. This policy covers both versions, which work the same way; where they differ, it says so. It explains what the app does — and does not do — with your data.

Your progress stays on your device

Everything Cryptica records about you — solved levels, stars, streaks, hint tokens, how many new levels you have opened today and which puzzle you are part-way through — is stored only in the app’s own files on your device. Progress is kept separately for each puzzle language. Cryptica has no account of its own, no sign-in of its own and no server of its own, so the developer cannot see how you are playing. Deleting the app deletes this data.

If you back up your device — to iCloud or a computer on iPhone and iPad, or with Google’s backup on Android — the system may include these files in that backup. The backup belongs to your Apple or Google account; the developer has no access to it.

What Cryptica itself collects

Nothing. The app contains no analytics service and sends no data of its own to the developer or to anyone else.

If you have chosen to share diagnostics with app developers — on iPhone and iPad under Settings → Privacy & Security → Analytics & Improvements, on Android through your device’s usage and diagnostics setting — Apple or Google may pass the developer reports of the app crashing. They describe the crash, not your progress.

Leaderboards and achievements

On iPhone and iPad, Cryptica uses Apple’s Game Center. If you are signed in to Game Center, your best scores and achievement progress are sent to Apple and appear under your Game Center nickname — not your name and not your email address. That is an Apple account, not one belonging to Cryptica: the developer never sees your Apple Account details and cannot sign you in or out. iOS asks once, on first launch; declining leaves the whole game playable, and you can turn Game Center off at any time in Settings → Game Center. What Apple does with that data is covered by Apple’s own privacy policy.

On Android, Cryptica can use Google Play Games for the same leaderboards and achievements. If you play with a Play Games profile, your best scores and achievement progress are sent to Google and appear under your Play Games gamer name — not your name and not your email address. That is a Google account, not one belonging to Cryptica; you manage it in the Google Play Games app or your Google Account, and Google’s privacy policy covers what Google does with it. Without a profile the whole game is playable.

Your puzzle progress is not sent to Game Center or Play Games and is not synced between devices.

Advertising

Cryptica shows banner ads, and rewarded videos that play only when you tap for one; the button says first what the video gives you. There are no interstitial ads anywhere in the app. Both are served by Google AdMob (the Google Mobile Ads SDK).

Cryptica asks Google for non-personalised ads only, so Google does not use your past activity to choose them. To serve and measure ads, limit how often you see the same one and prevent fraud, Google may still collect device information such as your IP address (used to estimate an approximate location), device identifiers, the ads you have seen or tapped, and crash and performance diagnostics. Google describes this in its privacy and terms and lists the companies it may work with in its advertising partners documentation.

Consent. In the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, Cryptica shows Google’s consent form before any ad is requested. Wherever privacy law calls for it — there, and in some US states — Settings → Privacy options in the app opens the form again, so you can change your choice at any time.

iPhone and iPad. Cryptica may ask, with Apple’s App Tracking Transparency prompt, whether advertisers may use your device’s advertising identifier. Outside the EEA, the UK and Switzerland it asks once, on first launch. Inside them it asks only after you have agreed in the consent form, and never after you have refused there. If you choose Ask App Not to Track, iOS does not give the identifier to the app or to its advertising partners. You can change your answer under Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking, and limit Apple’s own ad personalisation under Settings → Privacy & Security → Apple Advertising.

Android. The Google Mobile Ads SDK can read the advertising ID that Google Play services gives apps on your device. You can reset or delete it in your device’s settings; on most devices it is under Settings → Google → Ads or Settings → Privacy → Ads.

Cryptica Pro removes all advertising: with Pro, the app shows no ads. The consent form and the Google Mobile Ads SDK still start when the app opens, so Google may still receive the device information the SDK sends when it starts.

Purchases

Cryptica Pro and the hint pack are sold through Apple’s In-App Purchase on iPhone and iPad, and through Google Play Billing on Android. Apple or Google handles the payment; the developer never sees or stores your payment details. The app asks Apple or Google only which purchases you hold, so that Pro can be restored on your other devices and each hint pack is credited exactly once.

Children

Cryptica’s content is suitable for all ages — it is rated 4+ on the App Store — but the app is not directed at children. On Google Play its target audience is 13 and over, and it is part of neither Apple’s Kids Category nor Google Play’s Designed for Families programme. It shows advertising, as described above.

The quotations in the game

Every puzzle is a passage that is in the public domain or a traditional proverb, and the rights holder is recorded for each one. This is about the content, not about you — no information about you is involved in it.

Changes to this policy

If the app changes in a way that affects this policy — a new advertising partner, or analytics of any kind — this page is updated and the effective date above changes with it.

Contact

Questions about this policy, or about what the app does, are welcome: cucerenco.m23@gmail.com.