Privacy Policy — The Last Bell
This policy explains what information the mobile game The Last Bell (“the game”) handles. The game is published by BlairsLab (“we”, “us”). If you have a question, contact us at privacy@blairslab.co.nz.
Summary
- The game has no accounts and no chat. We do not ask for your name, email, location, contacts or photos.
- Your progress is saved only on your device.
- The Peal, a fortnightly competition, is optional. Only if you join it, the game sends our server a random player id that the game made up, your display name in the Peal, and your best waves in it, so your group’s board can be shown.
- There is no chat and no way for players to contact each other: other players in your Peal group see only display names and best waves.
- The game contains no ads and no analytics or tracking services. Optional in-app purchases are made through Google Play (see below).
- We do not share or sell personal information.
1. Information stored on your device
So you can continue playing, the game saves on your device: your progress (runs, towers, Bell-metal, Foundry upgrades and best wave), your Peal world if you join one, which first-time hints you have seen, and your settings. This stays in the game’s private storage on your device.
2. The Peal (optional)
The Peal is an optional fortnightly competition. If you choose to join it, the game sends our server, which runs on Amazon Web Services in Sydney, Australia:
- a random player id created by the game when it was first opened. It is not linked to your device’s identifiers, your Google account or anything else about you;
- your display name in the Peal. this is a name the game makes up for you (for example “Keeper Wren of Hollowmere”), or, if you have signed in to Google Play Games, your Play Games name;
- for each Peal you take part in: which group you are in, your best wave and how long that run had lasted (used to check scores are possible).
Other players in your group of up to 100 see your display name and best wave. Nobody can send you messages, and we do not use this information for anything except running the Peal. It is sent encrypted (HTTPS) and stored in a database only we can access. If you never join a Peal, nothing is sent.
3. Information we collect otherwise
Apart from the optional Peal, we do not collect information through the game. The game does not request location, contacts, photos, camera, microphone or similar permissions, and it contains no analytics or crash-reporting services of our own.
Google Play may send us anonymous crash and performance reports through its Android vitals service, depending on your device settings. These do not identify you.
4. Children
The game is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children.
5. Keeping and deleting your information
Game data on your device stays there until you delete it. Uninstalling the game, or clearing its storage in Android settings, deletes your progress; we cannot recover it.
Peal records (player id, display name, groups and best waves) are kept so boards and placings can be shown, and for up to 12 months after a Peal ends. To have your Peal records deleted sooner, email privacy@blairslab.co.nz with your display name and the Peal number shown in the game, and we will delete them within 30 days.
6. Your rights
Depending on where you live, including under Australia’s Privacy Act 1988, New Zealand’s Privacy Act 2020, the EU and UK GDPR, and US state privacy laws, you may have the right to access, correct or delete personal information about you. Contact us at privacy@blairslab.co.nz.
7. Changes to this policy
Purchases
Optional purchases are handled entirely by Google Play. We never see your payment details. The game checks Google’s signed receipt on your device and keeps a scrambled (hashed) record of each purchase in its save on your phone, so a purchase is never granted twice and can be restored. No purchase information is sent to our server.
Google Play Games
Signing in to Google Play Games is optional. If you do, your best wave, Wardens mended and Tolls stopped are sent to Google Play Games leaderboards, which Google runs under its own privacy policy, and your Play Games name is used as your display name in the Peal (see above). We do not receive your Google account details.
If a later version of the game adds other optional features that handle information (such as optional video ads), we will update this page and its date before that version is released, and note the change in the game’s update notes.
8. Contact
BlairsLab
Email: privacy@blairslab.co.nz