Privacy Policy

HotAtlas processes and stores your core gameplay state locally on your device using Apple's native storage mechanisms (Core Data and UserDefaults), including:

• persistent game progress and completed games;
• active game rounds and step counts;
• local country guesses, round results, and local scan records;
• scores, points earned through gameplay, and performance statistics;
• daily streaks and milestone achievements;
• discovered countries and unlocked game modes;
• Daily Challenge local progress and completion history;
• hint balance (available, purchased, earned, or used);
• sound, haptic, accessibility, and visual preferences; and
• in-app purchase entitlement status recognized by the App.

This persistent gameplay data remains stored locally on your device. We do not operate a proprietary server-side database or user profile holding your local save files.

While detailed save files remain local, certain gameplay actions and event parameters (such as in-game country IDs, scan distance categories, step numbers, and answer outcomes) are transmitted to Google Firebase Analytics as detailed in Section 12.

Locally stored information may be included in device backups managed by Apple depending on your device and iCloud backup configuration. Apple controls those backups under its own privacy policy and terms.

HotAtlas does not require you to register an account, log in with credentials, provide a username, or submit an email address in order to play.

Because gameplay is tied to your local device rather than a personal user account, we do not associate your gameplay actions with your real-world identity.

HotAtlas uses world geography as the core theme and mechanic of its puzzles.

All cartographic data, vector maps, and mathematical calculations used for map rendering, tap coordinates, geographic distance, and “Hot & Cold” proximity are processed locally on your device.

A gameplay scan or map tap evaluates:

• virtual coordinates selected on the in-game map;
• spherical distance between the selected point and the mystery country;
• in-game proximity state (e.g., Cold, Warm, Hot); and
• the country identified or selected by that action.

In-game cartography is NOT real-world location tracking: Map interactions, tap coordinates, and scans reflect the virtual in-game puzzle globe. They do not access, monitor, or track your real-world GPS coordinates or physical location.

HotAtlas does not operate a proprietary game server or receive continuous streams of raw map coordinates.

However, when you perform a scan or submit an answer, the App logs structured gameplay event parameters to Google Firebase Analytics. These parameters include in-game country identifiers (target country ID, scanned country ID, selected country ID), game mode, step number, proximity/distance category, repeat tap indicators, and answer outcomes.

Free-form text protection: The App does not collect, record, or transmit arbitrary text typed by the player (such as typed text in countryAnswerSubmit). Only structured outcome metrics and standardized country identifiers are processed.

HotAtlas does not request, access, or collect your device’s precise GPS coordinates or physical location.

Third-party service providers (Google and Apple) receive your device’s IP address when communicating over the network. Google may use this IP address temporarily to derive coarse, non-precise geographic information (such as country or city level) to provide regional analytics, game performance data, and regionally appropriate advertising, subject to their respective privacy practices.

The Daily Challenge puzzle schedule, streaks, and completion state are managed and stored locally on your device.

When you start, play, or complete a Daily Challenge, standard gameplay analytics events (such as round start, completion status, score, duration, and hint usage) are sent to Google Firebase Analytics.

These analytics events help us understand puzzle difficulty, engagement, and balance, but do not rely on an external user-account database or proprietary multiplayer server.

The App may ask for permission to send local notifications, for example to alert you when a new Daily Challenge is available.

Local notifications are scheduled and triggered entirely on your device by the iOS operating system without requiring a remote push-notification server.

You can enable, customize, or revoke notification permissions at any time through iOS Settings.

HotAtlas does not operate a remote push-notification server.

HotAtlas offers in-app purchases processed through Apple’s App Store using the native StoreKit framework. We do not collect, process, or store your payment card numbers, bank account details, or billing address.

The App offers two categories of in-app purchases:

• Consumable in-app purchases: hint packs that grant a specified number of consumable in-game hints.
• Non-Consumable in-app purchases: a permanent access unlock for Capitals mode and the Capital Trainer (product identifier idea.HotAtlas.capitals.unlock).

Key terms regarding in-app purchases include:

• Permanent access, not a subscription: The Capitals unlock is a one-time Non-Consumable purchase providing permanent access; it is not a recurring subscription.
• No points sold: Purchasing Capitals access grants mode access only and does not award score points. Score points cannot be purchased with real money.
• Storefront pricing: All prices are established by Apple for your local App Store storefront and displayed before purchase.
• Restore Purchases: Non-consumable purchases can be restored at any time via the Restore Purchases option in the App.
• Persistence across progress resets: Resetting your local game progress in the App’s settings does not revoke or reset your permanently purchased Capitals unlock.
• Refunds and revocations: If Apple issues a refund or revokes a purchase, the purchased access entitlement is revoked accordingly. However, access to Capitals earned through gameplay achievements (such as reaching 1,000 points) is retained and is unaffected by Apple purchase revocations.

Apple provides the App with technical transaction confirmation data (such as product ID, transaction date, and entitlement status) necessary to unlock content and prevent fraud.

In-app purchase and restoration events are logged to Google Firebase Analytics to validate purchase flows, evaluate conversion, and monitor transaction reliability.

HotAtlas displays scores, streaks, hints, and progression milestones.

Gameplay score and points are not a currency, cryptocurrency, stored-value product, financial instrument, or cash equivalent. They cannot be purchased for real money, redeemed for money, or transferred between users.

Purchasing the Capitals unlock provides an access entitlement, not score points.

All detailed score records and streaks are stored locally on your device in Core Data.

Aggregated round scores, earned points, and milestone events are transmitted as parameters in Google Firebase Analytics events to help us analyze progression pacing and game balance.

HotAtlas displays advertising, including rewarded video ads that you voluntarily choose to watch in exchange for an in-game hint.

Advertising is supplied through Google AdMob and related Google advertising technologies.

Depending on your region, device settings, and consent selections, advertising providers may process technical data, including:

• IP address and approximate location (country/city);
• device model, hardware specifications, and iOS version;
• App version, language, and locale;
• advertising identifiers where permitted by iOS permissions (IDFA);
• ad delivery, impressions, interactions, and rewarded video completion; and
• diagnostic, security, and fraud-prevention signals.

Advertising interactions (such as ad impressions, rewarded ad starts, and completions) are logged to evaluate ad delivery reliability.

Independent operation: Advertising consent choices managed via Google User Messaging Platform (UMP) govern Google AdMob; consent choices for advertising do not disable or alter Google Firebase Analytics, as the two services operate independently.

We do not sell, rent, or provide your local map scans, country guesses, or detailed gameplay save records to advertising networks for profiling.

Where advertising or related technologies involve tracking as defined by Apple, HotAtlas requests permission via Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (“ATT”) framework before accessing your device’s advertising identifier (IDFA).

You have the right to grant or deny this permission.

If you deny tracking permission, you will still receive ads if you choose to watch rewarded ads or use ad-supported features, but they will be non-personalized or contextual.

You can manage or change your tracking preferences at any time in iOS Settings under Privacy & Security > Tracking.

In jurisdictions where legally required (such as the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom under GDPR/ePrivacy), HotAtlas displays Google’s User Messaging Platform (“UMP”) consent form.

The UMP dialog allows you to provide, deny, or customize consent for Google AdMob advertising purposes, personalized advertising, cookies, and certified advertising partners.

Your consent choices are stored locally and communicated to Google's ad SDK in accordance with industry standards (IAB TCF framework).

Advertising consent choices apply specifically to advertising delivery and do not affect local offline gameplay or non-advertising analytics.

HotAtlas integrates Google Firebase Analytics in Release builds of the App to understand feature usage, evaluate puzzle difficulty, optimize game balance, and ensure technical stability.

Categories of analytics events logged by the App include:

• screen views and time spent on screens;
• game lifecycle events: round start, completion, abandonment, and restarts across Countries mode, Capitals mode, Training modes, and Daily Challenge;
• gameplay parameters: mystery country identifier, scanned country identifier, selected country identifier, game mode, step number, proximity/distance category, repeat tap indicator, answer outcome (correct or incorrect), hint requests, hint usage, round score, and duration;
• in-app purchase events: product identifier, purchase initiation, completed transactions, and restoration events; and
• advertising events: ad availability, rewarded ad views, and reward grant events.

Technical identifiers and device information processed by Google Firebase Analytics include:

• Firebase App Instance ID (a pseudonymous, randomly generated identifier unique to the app installation);
• Identifier for Vendors (IDFV) provided by iOS;
• device model, iOS version, App version, language/region setting, and carrier information; and
• IP address, utilized temporarily by Google upon receipt to deduce coarse geographic region (country, region, city) and subsequently discarded or anonymized in accordance with Google's privacy documentation.

Strict privacy boundaries in analytics:

• In-game cartography, not GPS: Country IDs, scan categories, and proximity clues represent virtual puzzle elements; they do not collect, monitor, or track your real-world GPS coordinates or physical location.
• No arbitrary text capture: The App does not collect or transmit arbitrary text typed by the player (such as typed text in countryAnswerSubmit). Only structured outcome flags and predefined country IDs are transmitted.
• No account linkage: Analytics events are not connected to a personal name, email address, or HotAtlas user account.

Crash reporting status: HotAtlas does not currently deploy Firebase Crashlytics or a dedicated third-party crash reporting SDK. Standard anonymized crash reports and app metrics may be provided to developers through Apple's App Store Connect diagnostics if you have enabled 'Share With App Developers' in your iOS Settings.

HotAtlas does not operate a proprietary game backend, custom multiplayer server, or cloud-save database.

Network communications from the App connect directly to established infrastructure operated by our third-party service providers:

• Apple Inc., for App Store downloads, StoreKit transaction processing, and receipt verification; and
• Google LLC, for Google Firebase Analytics logging, Google AdMob ad serving, and Google UMP consent synchronization.

When communicating with these services, standard network connection data (such as IP address, date and time, and technical protocol headers) is processed by those providers under their respective privacy policies.

Because HotAtlas does not operate a proprietary game server, we do not generate or maintain direct server access logs of your gameplay.

Third-party infrastructure providers (Apple and Google) maintain technical transmission and diagnostic logs as part of operating their networks, securing their services, detecting fraud, and complying with applicable legal obligations.

If you use an in-app feature to share a game result, puzzle score, or result card, the App invokes standard iOS share sheets.

iOS presents sharing destinations (such as Messages, Mail, social media apps, or AirDrop) that you select.

Once content is shared outside the App, its handling is governed by the privacy policies and terms of the selected destination or recipient.

If you voluntarily contact us for customer support via email, we may receive:

• your email address;
• your name, if provided in your email client;
• the contents of your message, including any screenshots or diagnostic information you choose to provide; and
• App version and iOS version details you share.

We use this information solely to respond to your inquiry, troubleshoot problems, and maintain support records. We do not use support communications for advertising or marketing purposes.

Information processed in connection with the App is used for the following purposes:

• providing core gameplay features and saving progress locally on your device;
• managing Daily Challenges, hints, and Capitals mode access;
• processing and validating in-app purchases through Apple StoreKit;
• measuring App usage, game balance, puzzle difficulty, and feature adoption via Google Firebase Analytics;
• delivering, displaying, and measuring advertising through Google AdMob;
• honoring your advertising consent choices via Google UMP and Apple ATT;
• sending user-requested local notifications;
• detecting, preventing, and investigating fraud, abuse, and technical failures;
• providing customer support and responding to inquiries; and
• complying with applicable legal, tax, and accounting obligations.

Under the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), UK GDPR, and similar privacy frameworks, we rely on the following legal bases:

Performance of a contract: To deliver requested App features, process in-app purchases, deliver hints, and provide customer support.

Consent: For personalized advertising via Google AdMob, tracking permission via Apple ATT, and regional consent collected via Google UMP.

Legitimate interests: To analyze aggregate gameplay metrics and game difficulty balance via Google Firebase Analytics, secure the App against fraud, improve technical stability, and maintain reliability, where our interests do not override your privacy rights.

Legal obligation: To comply with applicable statutory, tax, or legal requirements.

You can withdraw consent for advertising tracking at any time via iOS Settings or the in-app consent management dialog where applicable.

We do not sell your personal data or provide detailed gameplay logs to third-party data brokers.

Information is disclosed only in the following limited circumstances:

• to Apple Inc., for app distribution, transaction processing, and device-level operating services;
• to Google LLC, for Google Firebase Analytics and Google AdMob / UMP advertising and consent services;
• where required by subpoena, court order, applicable law, or valid governmental authority; or
• in connection with a corporate reorganization, merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, in which case the recipient will be bound by this Privacy Policy.

We do not operate a proprietary server-side database of player profiles.

HotAtlas does not sell personal information or gameplay history for monetary consideration.

Under certain state privacy laws (such as the California Consumer Privacy Act / CPRA), delivering personalized advertising through third-party ad networks may be classified as a “sale” or “sharing” for targeted advertising.

You may opt out of personalized advertising and tracking through Apple’s App Tracking Transparency prompt or in iOS Settings under Privacy & Security > Tracking.

Apple and Google operate global infrastructure and may process technical connection data, analytics events, and advertising requests on servers located in the United States and other countries outside your country of residence.

These service providers utilize recognized legal transfer mechanisms (such as Standard Contractual Clauses) to protect cross-border data transfers in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

Persistent gameplay save files stored locally on your device are not internationally transferred by us.

Data retention differs between local device storage and third-party service data:

Local device storage: Persistent gameplay records, scores, settings, and progress stored in Core Data and UserDefaults remain on your device until you reset your game progress within the App or uninstall the App. Deleting the App removes all locally stored save data from your device, subject to Apple iCloud backups configured by you.

Firebase Analytics data: Deleting the App or resetting local progress does not automatically delete analytics events that were already transmitted to Google Firebase Analytics servers prior to deletion. Transmitted analytics data is retained in Google's cloud infrastructure in accordance with configured Firebase Analytics retention periods (such as 2 months or 14 months for user-level and event-level data) and Google's standard data policies, after which it is deleted or aggregated.

Customer support data: Support emails and communications are retained for as long as necessary to address your request, maintain support records, resolve disputes, and comply with legal obligations.

We employ reasonable administrative and technical measures to protect information under our control.

Local data is safeguarded by Apple iOS security controls, sandboxing, and device encryption.

Communications with Google and Apple services are secured via industry-standard Transport Layer Security (TLS) encryption.

No transmission method or storage system can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. You are responsible for protecting your device access, passcode, and Apple ID credentials.

Depending on your jurisdiction (including the EEA, UK, California, and other jurisdictions), you may have rights regarding personal information, including the right to:

• request access to personal information;
• request deletion of personal information;
• request correction of inaccurate information;
• object to or restrict certain processing; and
• lodge a complaint with your local data protection supervisory authority.

Because HotAtlas does not operate user accounts, player logins, or a proprietary database of gameplay records, we cannot directly identify individual players or associate analytics events with specific individuals from an email address.

You can directly exercise your rights over local data at any time by resetting your progress in the App’s settings or by uninstalling the App.

To exercise privacy rights or ask questions regarding data handled by HotAtlas, contact us at the email address provided below.

HotAtlas is a general-audience educational puzzle game and is not directed to children under 13 (or under 16 where required by applicable local law).

The App does not require accounts, usernames, or personal profile creation.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children in violation of applicable laws (such as COPPA or GDPR).

If you believe a child has provided personal information to us through a support email, please contact us so that we can promptly delete that information.

HotAtlas features cartographic data, country names, borders, capitals, and geographic classifications solely for puzzle gameplay and educational entertainment.

Borders, territory representations, country labels, and geographic classifications within HotAtlas do not constitute political statements, diplomatic recognition, endorsement, or legal determinations by HotAtlas.

Geographic content is adapted and curated to support intuitive gameplay. HotAtlas must not be relied upon as an authoritative legal, political, territorial, or navigation reference.

HotAtlas actively utilizes the following third-party service providers:

• Apple Inc. (Apple App Store and StoreKit in-app purchase infrastructure): https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/
• Google LLC (Google Firebase Analytics): https://firebase.google.com/support/privacy and https://policies.google.com/privacy
• Google LLC (Google AdMob & User Messaging Platform): https://policies.google.com/technologies/ads and https://policies.google.com/privacy

Each third-party service processes information according to its own privacy policy and terms.

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically to reflect changes in our gameplay features, third-party technologies, platform rules, or legal requirements.

The updated Policy will be published at this URL with a revised “Last Updated” date.

Material changes will be notified through the App or by updating this page.

If you have questions, concerns, or privacy requests regarding HotAtlas, please contact:

[email protected]