Privacy Policy

Introduction

Welcome to Rank'em! We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal data. This privacy policy explains how we handle information when you use our party game app and website.

Information We Collect

Information You Provide

• Display Name: You choose a name to display during gameplay
• Emoji Avatar: You select an emoji to represent yourself in games
• Game Choices: Your rankings and guesses during gameplay
• Roasts: If you write a line about a settled Partner Challenge result, we store that text so the other person in that thread can read it
• Optional Sign-In (Apple or Google): Only if you choose to back up your Partner Challenge progress. We receive a provider user identifier, plus an email address if the provider shares one — see Optional Sign In with Apple or Google below

Information Automatically Collected

• Anonymous Device ID: A random identifier created on your device the first time you open the app, with no name, email, or contact details attached, so your Partner Challenge threads and streaks keep working
• Game Session Data: Room codes, game state, and scores during active gameplay
• Technical Data: Device type, operating system, and app version for troubleshooting
• Crash & Diagnostic Data: If the app crashes or hits an error, we collect a crash report (error message, stack trace, device model, OS version, app version) so we can find and fix the bug
• Usage Data: In-app events such as starting or finishing a game, used for analytics and advertising measurement
• Advertising Identifier (IDFA, iOS only): Collected only if you allow tracking when prompted by the iOS App Tracking Transparency dialog
• Push Notification Token: Only if you turn on notifications. A token issued by Apple or Google that lets us deliver a notification to that one device, stored against your anonymous device ID along with the platform and your time zone (so we do not wake you at 3am) — see Push Notifications below

Optional Sign In with Apple or Google

Partner Challenge has an optional Save streak option that lets you sign in with Apple or Google. It exists for one reason: so your Partner Challenge progress can be reconnected to you if you reinstall Rank'em or move to a new phone. Nothing else about the app changes whether or not you use it.

What We Receive

• Provider User Identifier: The stable ID Apple or Google uses for your account. We store it alongside the anonymous device ID you already have, so the two are linked
• Email Address (only if shared): Apple and Google decide whether to share an email address with an app, and Apple can send a private relay address instead. If we receive one, we store it only for support and abuse handling — never for marketing, and it is never shown in the app
• Name and Other Basic Profile Fields: The sign-in response can include basic profile details such as a name. We do not store them, and your in-app identity stays the display name and emoji you picked. The one exception is a Google profile photo, which is kept on your device so your own profile button can show it — it is never uploaded to our servers, never shown to other players, and is removed when you Disconnect
• Link Date: When you linked each provider, so the app can show you what is connected

What It Does Not Do

• It is never required. You can play both Party Mode and Partner Challenge without signing in, and no game is gated behind an account
• It does not replace your in-app identity. Signing in links a provider identifier to the anonymous device ID you already have; your display name and emoji behave exactly as before
• It is not a public profile. Other players never see your Apple or Google account, your email address, or a provider name — only the display name and emoji you chose. The one thing signing in does change is that someone you play Partner Challenge with can tell whether you have signed in at all, because nudges are only available between two people who both have. That is a yes or no, shared only with someone you already play with, and it says nothing about which provider you used or what it told us
• It does not reach into your accounts. We do not request your contacts, friend lists, or any provider data beyond the basic sign-in details above

Disconnecting

You can unlink at any time from inside the app: tap the profile button at the top of the Partner Challenge home (or the mode picker) and choose Disconnect. Before anything is linked, the same sheet opens from Save streak in Partner Challenge. Disconnecting clears the provider identifier and link date, and clears any stored email address once no provider is linked; your Partner Challenge streaks stay where they are and you keep playing.

Deleting Your Account

The same sheet has Delete account, which goes further and cannot be undone. It removes the provider identifiers, the link dates, any stored email address, and your Partner Mode threads — including for the person on the other side of each one, since a thread is shared. Party games you played stay in their rooms for the other players, without your account attached to them. Your device then starts over with a new anonymous ID, so you can keep playing with a clean slate. No support request is needed, but you can still email privacy@rankem.io if you would like anything else removed.

Analytics and Advertising

We use a small number of third-party services to understand how the game is used and to measure the effectiveness of our ads:

• PostHog (analytics): We log anonymous gameplay events (like a game starting or ending) to understand how the game is played and improve it. These events are not linked to your real-world identity.
• Meta (Facebook) App Events (advertising measurement): Our iOS app sends app activity events (such as app opens and games played) to Meta so we can measure and optimize our app install ads. If you allow tracking via the iOS App Tracking Transparency prompt, these events include your device's advertising identifier (IDFA); if you decline, events are sent without it and Apple's privacy-preserving SKAdNetwork is used for ad measurement instead.

Your Tracking Choices (iOS)

• The first time you open the app, iOS asks whether to allow tracking. Declining does not limit any game features.
• You can change your choice anytime in iOS Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking.
• You can also limit ad tracking globally in your device settings.

Crash and Error Reporting

To keep Rank'em stable, we use a crash and error monitoring service to automatically report problems the app runs into:

• Sentry (crash & error monitoring): When the app crashes or an error occurs, Sentry receives a diagnostic report so we can reproduce and fix it. These reports include the error and stack trace, the device model and operating system version, the app version, and a short trail of the in-app actions leading up to the problem. They are used only for debugging and app stability, never for advertising, and are not linked to your real-world identity.

Crash reporting is active only in released native builds of the app. We do not send your display name, emoji, game choices, email, phone number, or location to Sentry.

How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Enable multiplayer gameplay and real-time game synchronization
• Display your chosen name and emoji to other players in your game room
• Calculate and display scores during gameplay
• Maintain game sessions while you're actively playing
• Back up your Partner Challenge progress to an Apple or Google account, if you choose to sign in
• Improve app performance and fix technical issues

Push Notifications

Partner Challenge plays out over days, so we can tell you when the other person moves. Notifications are off until you turn them on, and we only ask after you have sent your first invite — never on first launch.

We send exactly four kinds of notification:

• Someone guessed a ranking you wrote
• Someone wrote a ranking for you to guess
• Someone you play with nudged you. This is one of the two another player sends deliberately rather than the game sending it for them. It is limited to one a day from each person you play with, it is only available between two people who have both signed in and already played a round together, and it carries no message they can write — only their display name
• Someone you play with roasted a settled result. This one does carry a line they wrote, so it can appear on your lock screen, and it is limited to the first roast each person sends you in a thread each day

No marketing, no promotions, nothing else. If you turn notifications on, your device is issued a push token by Apple or Google. We store that token, the platform, and your time zone against your anonymous device ID, and we pass the token to the Expo Push Service, which relays the message to Apple or Google for delivery. The notification text contains the other player’s display name and, for a result, how many they got right — nothing else about you travels with it.

You can turn notifications off at any time in your device settings. If you do, or if you uninstall the app, the token stops working and we delete it the next time we try to use it.

Data Storage and Retention

• Game Data: Stored temporarily during active game sessions
• Session Duration: Game data is automatically deleted when the game ends or after 24 hours of inactivity
• Partner Challenge: Partner Challenge threads, prompts, answers, roasts, and streaks are kept so the mode works from one day to the next, tied to the anonymous device ID rather than to your real-world identity. Deleting a thread deletes its roasts for both of you
• Optional Account Link: If you sign in with Apple or Google, the provider identifier, the link date, and any email address the provider shared are kept until you disconnect or delete your account in the app, or ask us to delete them
• Push Notification Token: Kept while notifications are on, and deleted as soon as Apple or Google tells us the device no longer accepts them
• No Long-Term Storage: Aside from Partner Challenge and the optional account link above, we do not maintain long-term user profiles or gameplay history

Data Sharing

We do NOT sell or rent your information. We share limited data only in these cases:

• With Other Players: Your display name, emoji, rankings, and scores are visible to others in your game room
• Service Providers: We use hosting services (Google Cloud) to run the app
• Analytics & Advertising Partners: Anonymous usage events go to PostHog (analytics) and Meta (ad measurement), as described in the Analytics and Advertising section above
• Crash Reporting Provider: Diagnostic crash and error reports go to Sentry, as described in the Crash and Error Reporting section above
• Push Delivery: If you turn notifications on, the notification and your device token go to the Expo Push Service and on to Apple or Google, as described in the Push Notifications section above
• Legal Requirements: If required by law or to protect our legal rights

Children's Privacy

Rank'em is designed to be family-friendly and does not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. We do not require any personal information to play the game. If you believe a child has provided information to us, please contact us.

Your Rights and Choices

• Anonymous Play: You can use any display name you choose
• Optional Sign-In: Apple and Google sign-in is opt-in, and you can Disconnect it in the app whenever you like
• Data Deletion: Game data is automatically deleted after each session. If you signed in, Delete account in the app removes the linked account and your Partner Challenge history for good; for anything else, email privacy@rankem.io
• No Account Required: Playing never requires an account, and we don't create one for you

Security

We use industry-standard security measures to protect your information during gameplay, including encrypted connections (HTTPS/WSS) and secure cloud infrastructure. However, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure.

Third-Party Services

We use the following services to operate Rank'em:

• Google Cloud Platform: For hosting and infrastructure
• Expo: For mobile app development and distribution
• Expo Push Service: For relaying push notifications to Apple and Google, only if you turn notifications on (Expo Privacy Policy)
• PostHog: For anonymous product analytics
• Sentry: For crash and error monitoring (Sentry Privacy Policy)
• Meta (Facebook): For advertising measurement on iOS (Meta Privacy Policy)
• Apple and Google: For the optional sign-in only, used if you choose to back up your Partner Challenge progress (Apple Privacy Policy, Google Privacy Policy)

These services have their own privacy policies and we encourage you to review them.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new policy on this page and updating the "Last Updated" date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this privacy policy or our privacy practices, please contact us: