Privacy policy

What we collect

An anonymous account

When you first open HiroPals we create a random account ID. It isn’t linked to your name, email or phone number. Your phone keeps it in its secure Keychain so a reinstall finds the same account.

Your game

Your pal (its name, kind, age, how it’s feeling and how much it has grown), the name you asked your pal to call you, your coins, the things you own and where you put them, and your settings. This lives on your phone and is copied to our servers as a backup. We also keep up to 10 earlier versions of the backup, in case something goes wrong.

Sign in with Apple (optional)

If you choose “Continue with Apple” to keep your pal safe, Apple gives us an identifier for your Apple ID so we can recognize you on a new phone. We don’t ask Apple for your name or email.

Invites and friends

Your account gets an invite code. If a friend joins with your code, we record that, along with the name they asked their pal to call them and their pal’s name and kind, and show those to you on your Friends tab. If you join with someone’s code, they see the same about you.

Play dates

When you start a play date, HiroPals looks for your friend’s phone nearby using Local Network and Nearby Interaction. The two phones talk to each other directly; we never see or store your location. We record that the two of you had a play date, when and for how long, and what each pal did (played or shared a snack), along with each pal as it looked that day (its name, kind, stage and colors, and the name it calls its owner). Your friend sees your pal on their Friends tab, and you see theirs.

Share links

When you tap Share, we publish a small page for your pal (its name, kind, stage, age and mood, and the name your pal calls you) at a link anyone with that link can open. Nothing is published until you share.

Purchases

Apple handles payment. Our purchase provider, RevenueCat, receives your anonymous account ID and the purchase details so we can deliver what you bought, and we keep a record of each purchase with your account. We never see your payment details.

What we don’t collect

We don’t collect your email, phone number, contacts, location, photos or advertising ID. There are no ads and no third-party analytics or tracking in HiroPals. Reminder notifications (“your pal is hungry”) are scheduled on your phone; we don’t send them from a server.

Who helps us run HiroPals

• Supabase stores accounts, backups, invites, play dates, purchase records and share pages (hosted in the United States).
• Vercel hosts this website and share pages.
• Expo delivers app updates; like any download, that involves basic technical information such as your device type and app version.
• Apple provides the App Store, payments and Sign in with Apple.
• RevenueCat processes in-app purchases.

They only use your information to provide their service to us.

Children

HiroPals doesn’t ask for anyone’s real full name, email, phone number or location, and works without any sign-up. The only names in the game are the ones you make up for your pal and for what your pal calls you. We recommend using a nickname. If you’re a parent and want your child’s data removed, delete the account from Settings in the app or email us.

Keeping and deleting your information

We keep your backup for as long as you have an account. To delete everything, open your pal’s tab, tap the gear, then Delete my account. That removes your account, backups, invite code, share page, play dates, purchase records and friend records from our servers right away, and resets the app on your phone. Apple and RevenueCat keep their own records of purchases, as required for payments and refunds. You can also email us and we’ll do it for you.

Changes

If we change this policy, we’ll update the date at the top and, for important changes, let you know in the app.

Contact

Questions? Email acrmsupport@gmail.com.