Your game.Your device.

01 · The publisher

Who we are and what this covers

FutureSpark Studio Ltd (“FutureSpark”, “we”, “us” or “our”) publishes ShiftBound. We are the controller for personal information we receive through product support, purchase verification and our website. Apple and Google also act as independent controllers for their app-store, account, billing and platform services.

This notice covers ShiftBound. The wider studio website has a separate privacy overview.

02 · On your device

Game data stored locally

ShiftBound saves the information needed to play and resume, which may include:

• campaign progress, level results, stars and personal scores;
• Daily Echo results and your local Rift League record;
• settings such as sound, haptics and reduced motion;
• your chosen callsign and a random installation identifier used by purchase checks and, if you join the online League, to associate your profile with your results;
• public player IDs you choose to block in the League; and
• cosmetics and game preferences.

Your callsign is public when you post a League score. Avoid using your real name, contact details or other sensitive information.

03 · Game services

Optional online Rift League and safety reports

Campaign play does not require an account and is not uploaded. The Rift League is an optional online leaderboard, not live player-versus-player matchmaking. When you join, the app sends your chosen callsign and a random installation identifier to our Cloudflare-hosted service. The service stores a hashed form of that identifier with your callsign. When you submit a completed Daily Echo while joined, the app sends the puzzle seed and move sequence so the service can replay and verify it. The service stores the verified score and related result statistics (such as date, moves, shifts and perfect-bond status), then publishes your callsign, seasonal score and number of Echoes played on the standings when you have a verified result. We do not ask for an email address or create a game account. Cloudflare hosts the service and may process standard network and security information, such as an IP address, to deliver and protect it under its own privacy terms.

If you report a callsign in the app, the service stores a hash of your installation identifier, the reported player's public ID, a snapshot of their callsign when you report it, your selected reason category (offensive callsign, impersonation or other), the report status and the time it was submitted. Reports are category-only; there is no free-text report field. The service limits each reporter identifier to five reports in any rolling 24-hour period. Reports are reviewed manually by FutureSpark; reports are not automatically reviewed or actioned. We use them to assess and respond to safety concerns about the public League. The current draft recommendation is to consider legitimate interests as a possible lawful basis for this narrow manual report process. The assessment is incomplete, has not been approved by the controller, and has not been legally validated. We limit reports to preset categories, apply a submission limit and review them manually. You can contact us through the Support page if you object to this use or have a concern.

Leaving the League deletes your online profile and score results, but does not delete safety reports that are still being handled. Safety reports are stored separately. Reports marked actioned or dismissed are automatically deleted 12 calendar months after their recorded resolution date (the report'sresolved_at date). Unresolved reports are reviewed at least quarterly and deleted or anonymised sooner when they are no longer needed; they do not have an automatic expiry. For a concern about a callsign or report, contact us through the FutureSpark Support page.

04 · Optional advertising

Advertising and consent

The store release can show occasional interstitial adverts at selected Campaign result checkpoints. Ads are not shown during a puzzle. The app uses Google’s User Messaging Platform to gather consent where required and requests non-personalised ads. Ads are not requested unless the consent flow says they may be; available choices can be revisited through Ad Privacy Options in Settings where required.

Google Mobile Ads may process device and advertising identifiers, app and device information, consent choices, and technical data. Google says its Android SDK may automatically collect and share a device's IP address (which can be used to estimate general location), product interactions such as app launches, taps and video views, diagnostics about app and SDK performance (such as launch time, hang rate and energy use), and device or account identifiers such as Android Advertising ID and App Set ID where applicable. Google describes uses that include advertising, analytics and fraud prevention. Its iOS disclosure also lists IP address, crash and performance data, device identifiers, advertising data and user interactions. The exact data handled can vary by platform, SDK version and features enabled. Google's processing is governed by its own terms and privacy information. Where the app presents Ad Privacy Options in Settings, you can revisit the available choices.

See Google's disclosures for the Android Mobile Ads SDK and the iOS Mobile Ads SDK, and Google's privacy policy .

05 · Purchases

Apple and Google store purchases

If in-app purchases are enabled, the app sends limited transaction details to FutureSpark's purchase-verification service so the store can confirm an item and the game can deliver it once. Depending on the platform, this can include the store platform, product identifier, transaction identifier, a random installation identifier and (for Google Play) a purchase token. We do not use these details to build an advertising profile.

The verification service is hosted by Cloudflare. It checks the transaction with Apple or Google and stores a limited verification record, including hashed proof and installation identifiers, platform, product, transaction reference, store environment and verification time. This record helps prevent duplicate delivery and resolve purchase support issues. It is retained as reasonably needed for those purposes and applicable legal obligations. Cloudflare processes service data under its own terms.

We use purchase details to fulfil the store transaction and provide the purchased item, and to prevent duplicate or invalid delivery in our legitimate interests. Apple, Google and Cloudflare may process information in other countries under their own privacy terms and applicable transfer safeguards.

Optional purchases, if offered, may include consumable Gem packs used for in-game cosmetics and a one-time purchase to remove occasional adverts. Gems are for visual cosmetics only; they do not provide gameplay power or puzzle solutions. Gem balances are stored in the local game save and do not sync across devices. Prices and availability are shown by the store before purchase.

06 · Contacting us

Support and technical information

If you contact support, we receive your email address, message and any details or attachments you choose to provide. We use them to respond, diagnose the issue and maintain a reasonable support history. Please do not send passwords, purchase tokens, payment details, or personal information that is not needed to explain the issue.

We handle support messages to take steps you request and in our legitimate interests in supporting ShiftBound and improving reliability.

The app does not include FutureSpark analytics in the current release. Apple, Google and the device operating system may process technical information needed for app distribution, store purchases, crash reporting or platform services under their own privacy terms.

07 · Retention and rights

Keeping information and your rights

Local game data, including the list of League players you block, remains on your device until you remove it, clear the app's data or uninstall the app, subject to your device backup settings. Online League profile and result records remain while you participate and are deleted when you use Leave League in the app. Leaving does not delete safety reports that are still being handled. Reports marked actioned or dismissed are automatically deleted 12 calendar months after their recorded resolution date (the report'sresolved_at date). Unresolved reports are reviewed at least quarterly and deleted or anonymised sooner when no longer needed; they do not have an automatic expiry. Purchase verification records and support messages are kept only while reasonably needed for delivery, support, record-keeping, legal obligations or claims.

UK data-protection law may give you rights to access, correct, erase or restrict information we hold, and to object to certain processing. Contact us to make a request. You may also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office .