The short version. Snowball Showdown is a single-player game with an online coin economy. To run it we keep a pseudonymous account for you, a record of the coins you earn and spend, and — if you choose to watch rewarded adverts — Google's advertising service processes your device's advertising ID to show them. We never collect your name, email address or contacts, we do not sell data, and you can export or delete your account from inside the game at any time.
Virtual Autonomy Ltd is the data controller for the game's own systems. Registered in England and Wales, company number 08409229, registered office Lytchett House, 13 Freeland Park, Wareham Road, Poole, Dorset, BH16 6FA. Privacy contact: [email protected].
| Data | Where it comes from | Why we use it | Legal basis (UK GDPR) |
|---|---|---|---|
| A sign-in identifier — the Google account subject ID and/or Google Play Games player ID | Google, when you sign in | To recognise your account across devices. We store only this identifier — not your name, email address or profile. | Contract |
| An internal player ID (a random identifier we generate) | Us | Everything else about your account is linked to this, not to your Google identity. | Contract |
| Your coin ledger — every earn, spend, reward and purchase, with timestamps | Your play | To keep your balance correct and to resolve disputes. The ledger is append-only: entries are never silently edited. | Contract |
| Round records — when a round started and ended, and single-use round tickets | Your play | Fairness and anti-cheat: a reward is only paid for a round that actually happened. | Legitimate interests (keeping the economy fair) |
| Purchase records — Google Play order references and product IDs, if you buy coins | Google Play Billing | To deliver what you paid for, handle refunds, and meet UK tax record-keeping rules. | Contract; legal obligation |
| Device integrity verdicts — Google Play Integrity results (e.g. “genuine device”), not raw device data | Google Play Integrity, via your device | To stop tampered apps and emulators minting coins. | Legitimate interests (anti-fraud) |
| Server logs — your IP address, request times and outcomes | Your device's connection | Security and keeping the service running. | Legitimate interests (security) |
| Advertising identifiers and ad interaction data | Your device, via the Google Mobile Ads SDK | To show rewarded adverts and confirm you watched one. See section 3 — Google is the processor/controller for this data, and it is only used with your consent for personalised ads. | Consent (personalised ads); legitimate interests (non-personalised ads) |
We do not collect your name, email address, phone number, contacts, precise location, photos or messages. Sign-in goes through Google; we never see your password.
The game offers optional rewarded adverts: you may choose to watch an advert for extra coins. Adverts are served by Google AdMob. When an advert is requested, Google's SDK on your device processes your device's advertising ID and technical details (device model, operating system, app version, approximate location derived from IP) to select and show the advert, and to detect fraud.
When you finish watching an advert, Google sends our server a signed confirmation naming the round you watched it for. That confirmation is what credits your coins; it contains no personal data beyond the round reference.
Your choices. In the UK and EEA you will be asked, before any advert is shown, whether you consent to personalised advertising. You can change your answer at any time from the game's settings. If you decline, you may still be offered non-personalised adverts. You can also reset or delete your advertising ID in your device's settings (Android: Settings → Google → Ads).
How Google uses this data is described in Google's Privacy Policy and How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services.
We do not sell personal data and we do not share it with anyone else, except where the law requires.
Our own servers are in the United Kingdom. Google processes data in the United States and elsewhere under its standard contractual protections (the UK International Data Transfer Addendum / EU Standard Contractual Clauses).
| Data | Kept for |
|---|---|
| Sign-in identifier and sessions | Until you delete your account — then removed immediately |
| Coin ledger entries not linked to a purchase | 90 days after account deletion, then purged |
| Purchase records and purchase-linked ledger entries | Up to 7 years (UK tax law), pseudonymised after account deletion |
| Raw advert and integrity confirmations | 90 days, then only the derived outcome |
| Server logs containing IP addresses | 30 days |
| Dormant accounts | Deleted after 3 years of inactivity, after notice where we can give it |
| Backups | Age out within 35 days; deletions propagate as they do |
We answer requests within one month.
Snowball Showdown is not designed for children and is intended for players aged 13 and over. We do not knowingly collect data from children under 13; if you believe a child has created an account, contact us and we will delete it.
Connections are encrypted (HTTPS). Session tokens are stored only as one-way hashes. The coin ledger is append-only and every reward is verified server-side, never trusted from the device.
We will post any changes here and update the effective date. Material changes will be announced in the game.
Virtual Autonomy Ltd · [email protected] · Lytchett House, 13 Freeland Park, Wareham Road, Poole, Dorset, BH16 6FA