Food Empire — Privacy Policy

This policy explains what the Food Empire mobile game stores, what leaves your device, and the choices you have. It applies to version 4 of the app, the rebuilt game, and replaces the policy written for earlier versions. That earlier policy is kept, unchanged, at privacy-policy-v3.html for anyone still using version 3.

What stays on your device

You can play Food Empire without signing up or logging in. On first launch it creates a random player ID and a player name such as “Chef 4821”, which you can change. Your progress (cash, upgrades, workers, districts, titles and achievements), a record of your purchases and of the items you own (see Purchases) and your settings are saved as files in the app's own storage.

Unless you choose to sign in with Google (see the next section), none of this is uploaded to us, and the game does not sync it between devices. Android's own backup, if it is switched on in your phone's settings, may copy these files to your Google account so they come back on a new phone; that copy is kept by Google for you, and we cannot read it. Deleting the app deletes the files from your phone. Reset Progress in Settings deletes your empire.

Your kit's name and number. If you own the Striker Kit, the name and number you type in the Kit Maker are stored only on your device, in the game's account file beside your player name. The game does not send them to us or to anyone else: they are not in your cloud save, not in any analytics event or crash report, and not shown to other players. Android's own backup, as above, may copy the file for you. A name and number typed while only trying a kit on are not stored at all.

If you played the earlier version of Food Empire, the new game checks once, on your device, whether that version's saved game is still there, so it can give you the Founding Chef title. It only looks for the old save's name and never reads or sends its contents.

Signing in with Google (optional)

Signing in is optional, and the whole game works without it. Until you sign in, nothing in this section applies to you.

If you choose Sign in with Google, Google shares the following with us through Google Firebase Authentication:

• the name and email address on your Google account;
• an account ID that identifies your Google account to Firebase.

We never receive your Google password, and we do not ask for your contacts, photos, files or any other Google data.

How we use it. Only to sign you in, to show you which account you are signed in with, and to keep a copy of your empire in the cloud so you can carry on playing on another phone. Your name and email address are never shown to other players, never used for advertising, and never sold. They are shared with no one except Google, which stores them for us.

What is stored. While you are signed in, a copy of your saved game (the progress and purchase record described above), your empire score, your total play time, a random ID for your device and the time of each save are stored in Google Cloud Firestore, linked to your account. Only your account can read it from the game. If two of your phones disagree, the copy that was replaced is kept beside it so it can be restored. As the developer we can see this data in our Firebase console, and we look at it only to help you when you ask or to fix a problem.

Other players. Food Empire does not show your account to other players. If that changes, for example with a leaderboard for friends, this policy will be updated first.

Keeping and deleting it. We keep this data until you delete your account. Signing out stops syncing and leaves the game on your phone. Delete account on the Account screen permanently deletes your account and every cloud copy of your empire. You can also ask us to delete it by writing to info@stackryx.co.uk from the email address of the account, and we will do so within 30 days. You can remove Food Empire's access to your Google account at any time at myaccount.google.com/connections.

Food Empire's use of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.

Advertising

Food Empire is free and supported by advertising through Google AdMob. Rewarded ads are always your choice: you watch one in exchange for a bonus, and nothing in the game requires it. The game also shows a small banner at the top of the menu screens and, now and then, one full-screen break on your way back to the home screen. No ad is shown while you are playing.

To serve and measure ads, and to prevent fraud, the Google Mobile Ads SDK collects:

• your device's IP address, used to estimate your general location;
• how you interact with the app and with ads, such as app launches, taps and video views;
• diagnostic information, such as app launch time, hang rate and energy use;
• device identifiers: the Android advertising ID and the app set ID.

This data is encrypted in transit and sent to Google, not to us. We never receive it. Google handles it under its own privacy policy, at policies.google.com/privacy, and explains how it uses data from apps that show its ads at policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.

Analytics and crash reports

To learn whether players come back and which parts of the game work, and to fix crashes, the version of Food Empire installed from Google Play uses Google's Firebase Analytics and Firebase Crashlytics. They collect:

• game events, such as an upgrade bought, a worker hired, a district opened, an achievement earned, a play session started or ended, whether a rewarded offer was shown and taken, and whether the menu banner was shown or tapped. Events describe what happened in the game, never who you are;
• Shop events: that the Shop was opened, which item was chosen (a Cash Crate, the Starter Pack, Remove ads, or one of the items you keep, such as a boost, a kit, a season pass or the VIP Club membership), whether the purchase was completed or cancelled, and whether it passed Google Play's check that it was genuine; that a reward was claimed with a pass (which reward, and which pass); that a season tier was reached or its reward claimed (which season and tier, which track, and the kind of reward, never how much); that the VIP Club's daily claim or its Manage subscription link was used, and that the membership started, was cancelled or ended; that the Kit Maker was opened (from which screen), and that a kit was saved or switched on or off (which club's colours and which cut, never the name or number on it, nor whether you typed one); and that an item the game had on record was no longer on your Google Play account (which item, and how many days since Google Play last confirmed it). They carry no price, no card or bank details, no order number and no purchase token;
• a random Firebase installation ID, which counts installs without identifying you, and is replaced if you reinstall the app;
• your device model, Android version, language, app version and a general location derived from your IP address;
• when the game crashes: the error, the code that failed and the device's state at the time (for example free memory and orientation).

The same version also uses Firebase Remote Config to switch timed events, such as a weekend with bonus sales, on and off, to show ads less often or switch them off, and to take an item off sale in the Shop, without an update. It sends the Firebase installation ID and app version to Google to fetch the current schedule, and nothing else.

Analytics does not collect your advertising ID, and its data is not used to personalise ads. This data is encrypted in transit and processed by Google on our behalf; we see reports and counts, not a record of you. Google keeps crash reports for 90 days. Development builds collect nothing.

In the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, Analytics collects game events, including the Shop events, only if you agree in the consent form described under Your choices. Crash reports are collected from every player, so that crashes can be fixed.

Checking the app is genuine

To protect our Firebase services, such as the cloud save, from copies of the game that have been tampered with, the version of Food Empire installed from Google Play uses Firebase App Check with Google Play Integrity. When the game talks to those services, Google Play services on your phone checks that the app is the genuine Food Empire from Google Play, running on a genuine Android device, and passes the result to Firebase App Check.

To make that check, Google uses information about your device and the app, under its own privacy policy. We do not receive that information: we see only how many requests passed or failed the check. It is used for security and to prevent fraud, never for advertising or analytics. Development builds do not use it.

Purchases

Everything you can buy in Food Empire is optional. The game sells Cash Crates (in-game cash), a one-time Starter Pack (in-game cash and the Gold awning look for your lemonade stand) and Remove ads, which switches off the banner and the full-screen break ad for good. Rewarded ads stay available and optional. It also sells ten items you buy once and keep: four income boosts (VIP Guests, Golden Kitchen, Double Income and the Promoter), Night Manager, the VIP Card, two reward passes (Ad-Free Plus and the Skip Pass), and the Supporter Pack and Supporter Extras. It sells the Striker Kit, a football kit for your character, and Kit Colours for it, which change looks only and are also bought once and kept. There is also a Season Pass for each season, bought once for that season, and the VIP Club, a weekly subscription that renews until you cancel it in Google Play. The Terms of Sale explain what each one is.

Payment. Payment is handled entirely by Google Play: we never see your card or payment details. Google handles them under its own privacy policy. When you buy something, Google Play tells the game which item was bought and gives it a purchase token (a code Google Play gives each payment) and an order number.

Protecting payments. With each purchase the app gives Google Play a coded number made from the random ID your copy of the game created when it was installed, which cannot be turned back into it. Google Play uses it to protect you and us from fraudulent payments.

What the game records. So that each payment is delivered exactly once, never missed and never paid twice, the game keeps a purchase record in your saved game. For each purchase it holds:

• the purchase token and the Google Play order number;
• which item was bought, and how many;
• the in-game cash it delivered (a season's cash reward adds a line of its own, so that it is paid once);
• the date and time it was recorded.

It holds no name, email address, card details or price.

Where it is kept. On your phone, inside your saved game. If you sign in with Google, it is also in the cloud copy of your empire in Google Cloud Firestore, linked to your account, like the rest of your save.

How long. The record is part of your saved game and lasts as long as the save does. It keeps your newest 200 purchases, and drops older lines, except that the line for an item you buy once (Remove ads, the Starter Pack, the ten items you keep, the Striker Kit and Kit Colours) is always kept. We use it only to deliver purchases and, if you ask us, to answer a question about one.

Deleting it. Deleting the app deletes the copy on your phone. Delete account deletes the cloud copy with the rest of your cloud save; the account deletion page explains how, including by email if you no longer have the game.

Getting purchases back. The app keeps a note on your device of every item you keep: Remove ads, VIP Guests, Golden Kitchen, Double Income, Night Manager, the VIP Card, Ad-Free Plus, the Skip Pass, the Supporter Pack and Supporter Extras, the Striker Kit and Kit Colours, each with the time Google Play first and last confirmed it. It sits in the game's account file, beside your player name and ID, not in your empire, so RESET PROGRESS and a franchise leave it alone. The app asks Google Play at launch which one-time purchases your account owns (these items and the Starter Pack look), so they come back after a reinstall. Cash you bought cannot be restored from Google Play: it comes back only with your cloud save.

Seasons and the VIP Club. The same account file keeps your season progress (the season, your XP and tier, and which rewards you have claimed), the looks, frames and titles you have earned, the days of Night Manager a season gave you, and the VIP Club's record: when Google Play last listed the membership, whether it is set to renew, and the day of your last daily claim. It holds no price, card details or purchase token of the subscription. It stays on your phone (Android's backup may copy it for you). Google Play, not the game, keeps your subscription, its payments and its cancellation: you manage it in Google Play, and deleting the game or your account data does not cancel it. The game asks Google Play which subscriptions you hold each time it starts and when you return to it.

Your kit. The same account file keeps how your Striker Kit is dressed: the club, the cut, whether it is switched on, and the name and number you typed. It stays on your phone (Android's backup may copy it for you), and the name and number are never sent anywhere: see What stays on your device.

Pass limits. If you own Ad-Free Plus or the Skip Pass, the same account file keeps a short record of the rewards you claimed with it (which reward, and when, for today and the last few minutes), so the pass's limits of 12 a day and 3 every 15 minutes hold when you restart the game. It stays on your phone.

Refunds. When the game asks Google Play what your account owns and an item it has on record is no longer there, which usually means the purchase was refunded or charged back, it sends one Shop event saying which item and how many days since Google Play last confirmed it (see Analytics), and keeps the item. We also review the list of refunded and charged-back orders that Google Play gives us for Food Empire (the order number, the item, and when and why it was refunded). We use both only to watch for refunds and misuse.

Your choices

If you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or Switzerland, the app asks for your consent before any ad is requested, using Google's consent form. The same answer decides whether Firebase Analytics collects game events. You can change your answer at any time in Settings → Privacy and cookie settings.

Anywhere, you can reset or delete your advertising ID in your device settings under Google → Ads or Privacy → Ads. That stops it being linked to your earlier activity.

What this adds up to

We do not sell personal data.

Children

Food Empire is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them.

Changes to this policy

We will update this policy before the app starts collecting anything new, and the effective date at the top will show when it last changed.

Contact

Questions about this policy can be sent to info@stackryx.co.uk.