1 The label on Google Play
Google Play shows the data that Google’s ad software collects for CrewPlay’s ads: one before the podium, one as a game is left part-way, a banner under the Ludo and Carrom boards, and the short video you can choose to watch on the podium to double your coins. Our own promotions, shown when Google has no ad, collect nothing. Nothing else in CrewPlay collects anything, and this page explains why, including the three places where that takes a closer look.
Every app on Google Play declares what data it collects and shares, and Google shows the answer as the app’s Data safety label. Google’s definitions are strict:
- Collected means the app sends data off your device, to its developer or to anybody else, including through code from other companies inside the app.
- Shared means data the app collected is passed on to a third party.
Under those definitions, our declaration for CrewPlay is:
Almost all of it is for CrewPlay’s ads (Privacy Policy, section 8): Google collects it directly, for advertising, measuring ads and preventing fraud, and none of it reaches us. The rest is crash reports (Privacy Policy, section 9): when the app crashes, freezes or trips over an error, Google’s Firebase Crashlytics sends us what broke, so we can fix it. Everything else CrewPlay does collects nothing. Two things deserve a closer look, and each is explained in full in section 9: Google Play purchases, which Google itself handles; and Crew Link, which moves game data directly between phones in the same room. The Daily Challenge word is picked on your phone, so it sends nothing at all.
2 Follow the data
Pick a kind of data to see where it goes. Mostly the answer is “nowhere”: it stays on your phone. Only device information goes to Google, for CrewPlay’s ads.
Names & characters
Saved on your phone. In a Crew Link match they are shown on the other players’ phones, and a room’s host name is visible to anybody on the same Wi-Fi with CrewPlay open. If Android backup is on, they are included in your own Google backup. They never reach us, Google’s ads or any advertiser.
Scores, stats & coins
Saved on your phone, and in your own Android backup if you use one. During a Crew Link match the scores appear on everybody’s screen, and afterwards each phone keeps its own copy of the result. Nobody else ever sees them.
Purchases
You pay Google Play, which handles the whole payment. The app checks Google’s signed receipt on your phone and remembers what you own. Google then shares limited order details with us, such as the order number, product, price, date and country, for our accounts and for refunds. Your card or bank details never reach the app or us.
The Daily Challenge
Picked on your phone, from the date and the word list built into CrewPlay, so everybody gets the same word on the same day. No request is made: it plays the same with or without a signal, and nothing leaves your phone.
Crew Link moves
Your taps travel over your own Wi-Fi straight to the host’s phone, and the game state travels back to every phone in the room. Nothing goes to the internet, and the traffic is not encrypted, so play on a network you trust.
Advertising ID & device info
Only for CrewPlay’s ads. Google’s ad software reads your advertising ID and sees your IP address (and the approximate location it suggests), basic phone details, and how you interact with the ad. It goes to Google, never to us. CrewPlay never asks for location, and the Nearby devices permission that Crew Link uses is declared never for location. Your choices are in Settings → Ad choices and in Android’s own ads settings.
Emails to us
Only if you write to us, from your own email app. We use what you send to help you, keep it no longer than 24 months after our last reply, and never pass it to advertisers.
Crash statistics
When CrewPlay crashes, freezes or trips over an error, it sends a crash report through Google’s Firebase Crashlytics: what went wrong in the code, the phone’s model and Android version, the app’s version and a random installation ID, never your names or scores. Google keeps it for us for 90 days, and we use it only to fix bugs. Google’s ad software sends Google diagnostics about how its ads load and perform. Google Play collects crash and performance statistics for every app, from phones whose owners share diagnostics with Google, and shows us only aggregated, de-identified results.
3 Every type of data
Google’s full list of data types, one by one. Filter to see what stays on your phone, what leaves it, and what CrewPlay never touches.
| Data type | Collected? | What actually happens |
|---|---|---|
| Approximate location | Yes | By Google’s ad software, from your IP address, for CrewPlay’s ads. No location permission is asked for. |
| Precise location | No | Never read. |
| Name | No | Player nicknames you type are kept on your phone, and shown on the other phones in a Crew Link room you join. |
| Email address | No | The app never asks for it. If you email us, we receive it from your email app, outside CrewPlay. |
| User IDs | No | A random player ID per player, created on your phone. Shared only with phones in a Crew Link room you join, to keep rematches and rivalries together. |
| Address, phone number, race and ethnicity, beliefs, sexual orientation, other personal info | No | Never asked for, never read. |
| Payment info, credit score, other financial info | No | Google Play takes the payment; the app and we never see card or bank details. |
| Purchase history | No | Your purchase record is kept on your phone. Google Play separately shares limited order details with us for accounts and refunds. |
| Health and fitness | No | Never read. |
| Emails, SMS and in-app messages | No | CrewPlay has no chat or messaging of any kind. |
| Photos and videos | No | Never read. A shared score card is a picture the app draws itself. |
| Audio: voice, sound recordings, music | No | The microphone is never used. CrewPlay only plays its own sounds. |
| Files and documents | No | Never read. Export stats creates a new file that you choose where to send. |
| Calendar and contacts | No | Never read. |
| App interactions and other actions | Yes | Only how you interact with CrewPlay’s ads (shown, tapped, closed, watched to the end), by Google’s ad software. Scores, stats and match history stay on your phone; in Crew Link, your moves go to the phones in the room. |
| In-app search history, installed apps | No | Never read. |
| Other user-generated content | No | Only the player names you type, kept on your phone. |
| Web browsing history | No | Never read. Links open in your own browser. |
| Crash logs, diagnostics, performance data | Yes | Google’s ad software, about how its ads load and perform; and CrewPlay’s crash reports, through Firebase Crashlytics, when the app crashes, freezes or trips over an error. Google Play collects its own statistics from phones that share diagnostics with Google. |
| Device or other IDs | Yes | Your advertising ID and app set ID, read by Google’s ad software for CrewPlay’s ads. Reset or delete the advertising ID in Android’s settings. Crash reports carry a random ID for this installation of CrewPlay, which is not the advertising ID and is not linked to you. |
4 What uses a network
Every game plays offline. Only buying, updating, CrewPlay’s ads and Crew Link ever use a connection.
| Feature | Connects to | What travels | Encrypted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buying and restoring | Google Play, through the Play Store app | Your purchase, handled by Google | Yes |
| Checking for updates | Google Play, through the Play Store app: once a day in the app, and twice a day while it is closed unless new-version notes are switched off | Whether a newer version exists | Yes |
| CrewPlay’s ads | Google AdMob | Your advertising ID, IP address, phone and app details, and how you interact with the ad | Yes |
| Crew Link | Other phones on your Wi-Fi, never the internet | Names, player IDs, moves and game state | No, local only |
| Game-night reminders and new-version notes | Nothing: your phone sets and shows them | Nothing | — |
| Links in Settings, and the invitation to rate CrewPlay | Your browser, email app or the Play Store app | Whatever you do there | Yes |
| Every game, the Shop’s coins, stats, settings | Nothing | Nothing | — |
5 Permissions
One permission is ever asked for, Nearby devices for Crew Link. Everything else is granted automatically by Android, or declared by a library and never used.
Nearby devices
NEARBY_WIFI_DEVICESFinding other phones on the local Wi-Fi for Crew Link. Declared never for location, and asked for only when you use Crew Link.
Internet
INTERNETGoogle Play, CrewPlay’s ads, and Crew Link’s connections on your local network.
Network state
ACCESS_NETWORK_STATEKnowing whether you are online, so the app can say so instead of failing.
Wi-Fi state
ACCESS_WIFI_STATECrew Link reads the phone’s own Wi-Fi address to find the room. Used on the phone only.
Change network state
CHANGE_NETWORK_STATEKeeps Crew Link on the Wi-Fi network when mobile data is also switched on.
Vibration
VIBRATEThe little buzz when you press a button or something happens in a game. Switch it off in Settings → Sound and nothing buzzes.
Keep awake
WAKE_LOCKKeeps the screen on during a Crew Link match; also used by Android’s background job system.
Google Play billing
com.android.vending.BILLINGBuying through Google Play.
Private broadcasts
DYNAMIC_RECEIVER_NOT_EXPORTED_PERMISSIONA safety lock Android adds so that only CrewPlay can send messages to its own parts.
Notifications
POST_NOTIFICATIONSGame-night reminders, and the note when a new version is out, each asked for only after you say yes to it in the app. Your phone makes and shows them; nothing is sent anywhere.
Run at startup
RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETEDKeeps the reminders you said yes to, and the look for a new version, going after the phone restarts.
Push messages
c2dm.permission.RECEIVEDeclared by a messaging library that is switched off. Nothing is set up to send CrewPlay a message.
Install referrer
BIND_GET_INSTALL_REFERRER_SERVICEDeclared by a Google measurement library that is switched off.
Foreground service
FOREGROUND_SERVICEDeclared by Android’s background job library. CrewPlay runs no foreground service.
Advertising ID
AD_IDLets Google’s ad software read your advertising ID for CrewPlay’s ads. Reset or delete the ID in Android’s settings.
Privacy Sandbox advertising
ACCESS_ADSERVICES_AD_ID, _ATTRIBUTION, _TOPICSAndroid’s newer advertising permissions, used by Google’s ad software where the phone supports them.
6 Security practices
HTTPS for everything online, Android’s private storage for everything on your phone, and nothing for anybody to break into on a server.
- Encrypted in transit: every internet connection CrewPlay makes uses HTTPS. Crew Link’s traffic never leaves your local network and is not encrypted; it carries game information only.
- Stored privately: CrewPlay’s data lives in Android’s private app storage, which other apps cannot read on a normal phone.
- No servers: there is no CrewPlay account database to leak.
- Purchases verified: only a genuine, paid Google Play purchase unlocks anything.
- Untrusted input checked: everything arriving over Crew Link is validated before use.
Read more on our Security & Disclosure page.
7 Deleting your data
There is no account to delete. Everything lives on your phone, so you can remove it yourself in seconds.
- Reset CrewPlay: Settings → Your data → Reset everything clears players, coins, stats and settings on this phone. Purchases stay with your Google Account.
- Or clear its storage: Android Settings → Apps → CrewPlay → Storage → Clear storage.
- Or uninstall: removing CrewPlay removes everything it stored.
- Android backups: if your phone backs up apps, delete old backups in your phone’s backup settings or in the Backups section of Google Drive.
- Anything we hold: email us and we will delete your emails with us, and any order information we are not legally required to keep.
Because CrewPlay has no accounts, Google Play does not need an account-deletion page for it.
8 What’s inside the app
Every library in CrewPlay that could touch data, and whether it is switched on.
| Library | What it does | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Google Play Billing | Purchases and restoring them | On Google handles the payment |
| Google Play in-app updates | Asking Play whether a newer version exists | On Through the Play Store app |
| Android WorkManager | The twice-a-day look for a new version while the app is closed, and the note when Google Play has just installed one | On Unless new-version notes are switched off |
| Google Mobile Ads and User Messaging Platform | CrewPlay’s ads, and the ad-consent form | On Consent is asked first where the law requires it |
| Firebase Crashlytics (with Core and Installations) | Crash reports: crashes, freezes and errors the app recovered from | On Release builds only; kept 90 days |
| Firebase Analytics and Messaging | Analytics and push messages | Off Switched off in the build |
| Connectivity and network info | Online or offline; the phone’s own Wi-Fi addresses for Crew Link | On Used on the phone only |
| Permission handler | Asking for Nearby devices | On Only for Crew Link |
| Local notifications | Setting and showing game-night reminders on the phone | On Only after you say yes |
| Share and link launcher | The share sheet, and opening links | On Only when you tap |
| Wakelock | Keeping the screen on in Crew Link | On |
| Hive, SQLite, preferences | Saving your crew, scores and settings | On On your phone only |
| Flame, audio, animation, fonts | The games, their sounds and the look | On Fonts are bundled, never downloaded |
9 How we answered Google Play
Our answers to Google Play’s questions, and the reasoning behind the ones that need it.
Yes Does the app collect or share any of the required user data types?
Yes, for CrewPlay’s ads and its crash reports, and nothing else. Google’s Mobile Ads software collects, and shares with Google, approximate location (from the IP address), app interactions (with the ad), diagnostics and device or other IDs (the advertising ID and app set ID). We declare each as used for advertising or marketing, analytics and fraud prevention, security and compliance; not processed ephemerally; and required, since an ad cannot be shown without it (Premium removes every ad but the coin-double video, which plays only if you choose it). That video comes from either of Google’s two rewarded formats — a rewarded video, or a rewarded interstitial when no video is available — and the same software collects the same data for both.
CrewPlay’s crash reports, through Google’s Firebase Crashlytics, collect crash logs, diagnostics (the phone’s model, Android version and state when it broke) and device or other IDs (a random ID for this installation). We declare each as collected, not shared (Google processes them for us as a service provider), used for analytics (finding and fixing crashes), not processed ephemerally, and required.
Nothing else CrewPlay does sends user data to us or to a third party. Three features take a closer look:
- Google Play purchases. The payment is collected by Google Play’s billing system, not by the app. Google’s guidance says payment information collected directly by such a service does not need declaring. The purchase record is checked only on your phone.
- Crew Link. Game data travels only between the players’ own phones on their own local network, when they choose to play together. It never reaches us or any third-party service; each player sees exactly what they would see round one shared phone.
- Game-night reminders and new-version notes. Reminders only with the player’s yes, set with the phone’s own alarm and shown by the phone itself. Apart from them, a note when a new version of CrewPlay is out: from the phone’s own question to Google Play, the in-app update check above, asked twice a day while the app is closed, or from Android telling the app it has just been updated. Nothing about either leaves the phone, so there is nothing to declare.
Yes Is all of the user data collected by the app encrypted in transit?
Yes. Google’s ad software and the crash reports, like every internet connection CrewPlay makes, use HTTPS. Crew Link’s local traffic is not encrypted, never leaves your network and carries game information only.
Yes Can users ask for their data to be deleted?
You can delete everything CrewPlay stores yourself in seconds (section 7), and ask us to delete anything we hold, crash reports included (they are also deleted by themselves after 90 days). What Google’s ad software collects is Google’s: reset or delete your advertising ID in Android’s settings, and see Google’s own privacy tools.
Yes Does the app use the advertising ID?
Yes, for advertising only: Google’s ad software reads it for CrewPlay’s ads. CrewPlay itself never reads it.
N/A Does the app need an account-deletion link?
No. CrewPlay has no accounts to create or delete.
Not yet Has the app had an independent security review?
Not yet. Our own security review and its fixes are summarised on our Security & Disclosure page.
10 When this page changes
We update this page, and our Google Play label, before any version that changes the answers ships.
This page was checked against CrewPlay version 1.0.0 on 15 October 2026. Version 1.1 describes the ad after a match; version 1.2 the Daily Challenge word, which is now picked on the phone; version 1.3 the short video you can choose to watch on the podium to double a match’s coins; version 1.4 the banner under the Ludo board and our own promotions; version 1.5 the Vibration switch, which now stops every buzz; version 1.6 the second kind of Google ad that can play the coin-double video; version 1.7 the full-screen ad as a game is left part-way; version 1.8 the banner under the Carrom board; version 1.9 the game-night reminders, which send nothing anywhere; version 1.10 the reminders’ new rhythm and, apart from them, the new-version notes, which come from the phone itself; version 1.11 the crash reports, through Firebase Crashlytics. If a future version would collect or share anything more, including if analytics are ever introduced, we will update this page, our Privacy Policy and our Google Play declaration before that version is released.
Version history
| Version | Date | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| 1.11 | 2 Nov 2026 | Crash reports: when the app crashes, freezes or trips over an error, Google’s Firebase Crashlytics sends us crash logs, diagnostics and a random installation ID, kept 90 days and used only to fix bugs. The answers to Google Play add crash logs, diagnostics and device IDs, collected for analytics and not shared. |
| 1.10 | 30 Oct 2026 | Game-night reminders come more often while the app is quiet, still at most one a day. Apart from them, a note when a new version is out, which the phone looks for twice a day while the app is closed and hears of from Android as it is updated. Nothing is collected or shared, and the answers to Google Play are unchanged. |
| 1.9 | 15 Oct 2026 | Game-night reminders, only with your yes: notifications the phone makes and shows itself, so nothing is collected or shared and the answers to Google Play are unchanged. The notifications permission is now asked for, after a yes, on Android 13 and later. |
| 1.8 | 12 Oct 2026 | A banner under the Carrom board, as under the Ludo board. The same Google software collects the same kinds of data for it, so the answers to Google Play are unchanged. |
| 1.7 | 12 Oct 2026 | A full-screen ad as a game is left part-way. The same Google software collects the same kinds of data for it, so the answers to Google Play are unchanged. |
| 1.6 | 12 Oct 2026 | The coin-double video can come from Google’s rewarded interstitial format when no rewarded video is available. The same software collects the same data, so the answers to Google Play are unchanged. |
| 1.5 | 12 Oct 2026 | Switching off Vibration now stops every buzz in the app, games included. The answers to Google Play are unchanged. |
| 1.4 | 11 Oct 2026 | A banner under the Ludo board, which the same Google ad software shows, and our own promotions when Google has no ad, which collect nothing: the answers to Google Play are unchanged. |
| 1.3 | 11 Oct 2026 | A second ad, and only when you choose it: a short video on the podium that doubles a match’s coins. The same Google ad software collects the same kinds of data for it, so the answers to Google Play are unchanged. |
| 1.2 | 9 Oct 2026 | The Daily Challenge word is picked on your phone now: the word service, its request and its row in these answers are gone. |
| 1.1 | 22 Sep 2026 | The one ad after a match: what Google’s ad software collects, the advertising ID permission, and our new answers to Google Play. |
| 1.0 | 22 Sep 2026 | First version. |