Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

"Chessnook" (the "app", "we", "our") is an iOS application that lets you play Chinese chess (Xiangqi), dark chess (Banqi), and other chess variants. The app is published on the Apple App Store and runs fully on your device.

2. What data the app handles

Data we store on your device

To make the app work, we save the following locally in iOS user defaults / app sandbox:

• Your in-progress game state, so you can resume after closing the app
• Your settings (language, theme, sound, AI difficulty, etc.)
• Your puzzle progress and stats
• Whether you have completed in-app purchases (validated against Apple, not us)

This data never leaves your device through Chessnook. If you delete the app, the data is removed with it.

Data we do not collect

• We do not ask for your name, email address, or phone number.
• We do not run accounts or sign-ins.
• We do not operate analytics servers — we have no servers at all.
• We do not access your contacts, camera, microphone, photos, or location.

3. Third-party services

Google AdMob (advertising)

Chessnook is free and shows banner ads supplied by Google AdMob (a service of Google LLC). When ads are displayed, AdMob may receive the following information from your device in order to choose and serve an ad:

• Device identifiers, including the IDFA (only if you allow tracking — see §4) and other technical IDs
• Advertising-related data (e.g. which ads have been shown to your device)
• Coarse location derived from your IP address
• Product interaction events strictly related to ads (e.g. impressions, taps)

This data is collected and processed by Google, not by Chessnook. Google's use of this data is governed by the Google Privacy & Terms.

If you purchase Remove Ads from inside the app, no further ad calls are made and no ad data is shared with Google AdMob from Chessnook after that point.

Apple (in-app purchases & distribution)

The app is distributed through the Apple App Store, and in-app purchases are processed by Apple via StoreKit. Apple may collect data related to your purchase and device under its own privacy policy. Chessnook only receives a yes/no result for whether you own a given product.

4. App Tracking Transparency

On first launch, iOS will ask whether you allow Chessnook to track your activity across apps and websites. This prompt is required by Apple and your answer is respected by us and by Google AdMob:

• If you allow tracking, AdMob may use your IDFA to show more relevant ads.
• If you ask the app not to track, your IDFA is not shared, and you will see less personalized ads.

You can change your decision any time from iOS Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking.

5. In-app purchases

Chessnook offers one-time in-app purchases (such as removing ads and unlocking themes). Purchases are handled entirely by Apple. We do not see or store your payment details. We only receive a signed receipt confirming whether you own a particular product, which we use to unlock its content locally on your device.

6. Children's privacy

Chessnook is family-friendly and does not have chat, social features, or user-generated content. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

For users under the age of 13 (or the applicable age in your region), we recommend a parent or guardian set up Family Sharing & Screen Time to manage advertising and purchases. Removing ads (via in-app purchase) eliminates the third-party ad data flow described in §3.

7. Your rights (GDPR / CCPA)

Because Chessnook does not collect or store personal data on our side, there is no account to access, correct, or delete with us. Your local data lives only on your device and you can delete it at any time by uninstalling the app.

For the advertising data handled by Google AdMob, you may exercise your rights directly with Google through the controls described in their privacy policy. You may also disable personalized ads system-wide via iOS Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking.

8. Changes to this policy

If we update this policy, we will change the "Last updated" date at the top of this page and, where appropriate, surface a notice inside the app. Material changes will be communicated before they take effect.

9. Contact us

Questions, concerns, or requests about this policy can be sent to zhiii0x@gmail.com. We're a small team and we'll respond as soon as we can.