Privacy Policy

1. The short version

• We collect the minimum needed to run each app, and only what the app you use actually requires — often no more than an email address to sign in.
• We never sell your personal information, and we do not share it except with the service providers that make the app work (hosting, sign-in, payments, advertising), each described below.
• Where an app shows ads, they are served by Google under a consent choice you control; where required by law, we ask for your consent first.
• You can delete your account and its data at any time, from inside the app or by contacting us — see section 9.
• Data you create stays associated with your account and is deleted when you delete it. We keep no more than we need, for no longer than we need.

2. Information we collect

Depending on which app you use and the features you choose, we may collect:

• Account identifiers. If the app offers accounts, your email address, and — where you sign in with Google or Apple — the identifier and verified email those providers return to us. We store passwords, when used, only as a salted one-way hash, never in readable form; several of our apps use email-code or provider sign-in and store no password at all.
• Content you create. The data you enter or generate in the app — for example budget entries and categories (PBudget), saved or contributed map locations (ACMap), saved ideas or results (TrendWatcher, HypercasualGames, Books of Infinite Answers). This is stored to provide the service to you.
• Purchase information. If the app offers paid features or subscriptions, the purchase is processed by Apple, Google, or Stripe. We do not receive or store your full card number; we receive only a confirmation, a transaction/receipt identifier, and the status needed to unlock what you bought.
• Advertising and device identifiers. In ad-supported apps, our advertising partners collect an advertising identifier, IP address, coarse device and diagnostic information, and ad-interaction data, as described in section 4.
• Technical and log data. To operate and secure the service, our servers process standard request data such as IP address, device/browser type, timestamps, and error logs, and set essential cookies or local storage needed to keep you signed in. We use no third-party analytics or tracking SDK of our own beyond what is listed in section 4.

We do not collect your contacts, photos, microphone, precise background location, health, or biometric data, and we request device permissions only in the narrow cases described in section 11.

3. How we use information

• To create and operate your account and provide the app's features;
• To save, sync, and display the content you create;
• To process purchases and deliver what you paid for;
• To secure the service — authenticate you, rate-limit abuse, prevent fraud, and debug problems;
• To fund free apps through advertising, subject to your consent choices;
• To send you essential service email (for example a sign-in code, a security notice, or a response to your request) — we do not send marketing email;
• To comply with law and enforce our terms.

4. Third-party services

We rely on a small set of reputable providers to run these apps. Each acts under its own privacy policy; for advertising and payments they are independent controllers of the data they collect, which we do not control. We share with them only what their function requires.

Advertising consent

Where required by law (for example the EEA, UK, and Switzerland), a consent dialog from Google's User Messaging Platform is shown before any personalized ads are served; you may decline and receive non-personalized ads instead, and change your choice later in the app's settings where offered. On iOS, tracking is requested through Apple's App Tracking Transparency prompt; declining limits ads to non-personalized delivery. Apps and app tiers without advertising run no advertising SDK.

5. Legal bases (EEA/UK users)

Where the GDPR or UK GDPR applies, we process personal data on these bases: performance of a contract (Art. 6(1)(b)) to provide the account and features you request and to complete purchases; consent (Art. 6(1)(a)) for personalized advertising, withdrawable at any time; legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f)) in securing the service, preventing fraud and abuse, serving non-personalized ads, and keeping the apps working; and legal obligation (Art. 6(1)(c)) where we must retain or disclose data by law.

6. Data retention

We keep account and content data for as long as your account is active, and delete it when you delete your account, subject to short operational backups that cycle out within a rolling window and any records we must keep for legal, tax, or fraud-prevention reasons. Transactional email and server logs are retained only for a limited period needed to operate and secure the service. Data collected by advertising, payment, and sign-in providers is retained under their own policies, which we do not control.

7. International transfers

Our infrastructure and our providers may process data in countries other than yours. Where such transfers are subject to the GDPR or similar laws, they rely on recognized safeguards such as EU Standard Contractual Clauses, as described in the providers' policies linked above.

8. Your rights and choices

• Access, correct, export, or delete your personal data — from within the app where the feature is offered, or by contacting us.
• Delete your account and data at any time (section 9).
• Withdraw advertising consent via the in-app privacy options, the ad's "AdChoices" affordance, or your device ad settings; reset or delete your advertising ID in Android (Settings → Privacy → Ads) or iOS (Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking).
• Object, restrict, or complain to your local supervisory authority.

Contact us at the address in section 13. We respond within 30 days, or any shorter period required by law. We will not discriminate against you for exercising a privacy right.

California (CCPA/CPRA)

We do not sell or share (as those terms are defined by the CCPA/CPRA) your personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising beyond the consent-controlled ad serving described in section 4, and we do not knowingly sell or share the personal information of consumers under 16. California residents may exercise the rights to know, delete, correct, and opt out by contacting us.

China (PIPL)

Where the Personal Information Protection Law applies, we process personal information on the bases stated above, obtain separate consent where the PIPL requires it (including for advertising), and honor the rights it grants. Third-party processing is governed by each provider's own policy.

9. Deleting your account and data

Apps with accounts provide in-app account deletion (typically Settings → Account → Delete account), which removes your account and the content associated with it from our systems. You can also request deletion by emailing us, or via the deletion page linked from the app's store listing. Deletion is permanent once processed, save for any records we are legally required to retain.

10. Security

All network communication uses encrypted connections (HTTPS/TLS). Passwords, where used, are stored only as salted one-way hashes; sessions use signed, expiring tokens; and we apply rate limiting and standard hardening. No system is perfectly secure and we cannot guarantee absolute security, but we design to minimize what we hold and to protect what we do.

11. Permissions

Our apps request only the permissions a feature needs, in context and with its purpose stated — for example network access (all apps), and location only in ACMap and only to show and add nearby map locations when you choose to. Declining an optional permission never blocks the core of the app. We do not access contacts, photos, microphone, or files unless a clearly labeled feature requires it and you allow it.

12. Children

Our apps are intended for a general audience and are not directed at children under 13 (or the equivalent minimum age in your jurisdiction), and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. Advertising, where present, is configured in line with Google Play's Families policy and Apple's guidelines. If you believe a child has provided us personal data, contact us and we will delete it.

13. Changes and contact

We may update this policy at any time — for example to reflect new apps, features, or store requirements. The current version always lives at this URL with the "Last updated" date above; posting it here constitutes notice, and your continued use of an app after an update signifies acceptance. Material changes will also be noted in the affected app's store listing.

PPVNX / Lichen Zhu
Email: [email protected]
We aim to answer every privacy inquiry within 30 days.