Privacy Policy

Magnet Squared · Effective 2026-09-23

This policy explains what data the Magnet Squared mobile game (for Android and iOS) and this website collect, and why. The app and this website are made by Owen Lee ("we", "us").

In short: the game has no accounts. If you choose to join the global leaderboard, we store the display name you pick and your ranked games, and your name and best scores are public. You can remove them at any time. The app shows ads from Google AdMob, and Google collects some device data to serve and measure them. You can limit this, as described below. We don't sell your data, and the leaderboard isn't used for ads or tracking.

Data the game stores on your device

• Your best score and your ad consent choices.
• If you join the leaderboard: your player ID, a secret key that proves the ID is yours, your display name, and any finished games waiting to be sent (for example, while you're offline). If you tap Not now, that choice is stored too.
• This data stays on your device. Uninstalling the app (or clearing the site's data in your browser) deletes it. That doesn't remove anything already on the leaderboard: see Removing yourself.

The global leaderboard

The leaderboard is optional. It's run by us on Cloudflare, which hosts the service and its database for us (see the Cloudflare Privacy Policy). The app on Android and iOS and the web demo at /play all use the same leaderboard.

What is sent, and when

• At the start of each game, the app asks our server for the game's starting layout, so that the game can be ranked later. This request contains no personal information, but like any internet request it comes from your IP address. This happens whether or not you have joined the leaderboard.
• When you join, you choose a display name. Our server creates a random player ID and a secret key for it. We store the name, the ID, the time you joined and a one-way hash of the key; the key itself stays on your device.
• After each game you finish (once you've joined), the app sends the game: its starting layout, the list of blocks you tapped, whether it was played on Android, iOS or the web, and the time. Our server replays the taps to work out the score itself, and stores the game with that score.

We don't collect your real name, email address, contacts, location, photos, advertising ID or any device identifiers for the leaderboard, and we don't link leaderboard data to the ads data described below.

What is public

Your display name and your best score (all-time and for the current week) are shown to everyone who opens the leaderboard, with your rank. Your player ID, your other games and the details of your taps are not shown. Don't use your real name or anything else that identifies you as your display name.

Why we use it

Only to run the leaderboard: to show names and ranks, to check that each score came from a real game, and to prevent abuse. The legal basis is providing the feature you asked to use and our legitimate interest in keeping it fair and safe.

Preventing abuse

To limit automated abuse, our server counts requests per IP address for up to one hour. It stores only a salted one-way hash of the address, never the address itself, and deletes each count within two hours. We may hide or rename a display name that is offensive, impersonates someone or breaks the law, and hide scores that look like cheating. To report a name, use Report a name on the leaderboard or email us.

Removing yourself

Open Ranks and tap Remove me (twice, to confirm). This immediately deletes your display name, player ID and every game stored with them from our server. You can also change your name there at any time.

If you've uninstalled the app or cleared your browser data, your device no longer holds the key, so you can't remove yourself from the app. Email us with your display name and we'll delete it.

How long we keep it

Your display name and ranked games are kept until you remove yourself or ask us to. Weekly boards restart every Monday (UTC), but the games stay in your all-time record. The rate-limiting counts are deleted within two hours. Records that a starting layout has been used (which contain no personal information) are deleted after about a day.

Advertising (Google AdMob)

The app is free and supported by full-screen ads shown between games. Ads are served by Google AdMob, a service of Google LLC. To serve ads, Google's software in the app may collect and process:

• device identifiers, such as the Android advertising ID or, on iOS, the IDFA (only if you allow tracking; see below)
• your IP address, which may be used to estimate your general location
• device and app information, such as device model, operating system version, app version and language
• ad interactions, such as which ads were shown and whether they were tapped
• diagnostic information, such as crash and performance data from the ads software

Google uses this data to deliver ads, to measure how ads perform, to prevent fraud and abuse, and, where you have allowed it, to personalize ads. How Google uses this data is described in How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services and in the Google Privacy Policy.

We don't receive this data in a form that identifies you. We only see aggregate reports, such as how many ads were shown.

Your choices

Consent in the EEA, UK and Switzerland

If you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or Switzerland, the app asks for your consent before ads use your data, using Google's consent form. You can change your choice at any time: open Help in the game and tap Privacy options.

Tracking on iPhone (App Tracking Transparency)

On iOS, the app asks your permission before the advertising identifier (IDFA) can be used. If you choose Ask App Not to Track, ads are still shown, but they aren't personalized using the IDFA. You can change this later in Settings › Privacy & Security › Tracking.

Personalized ads on Android

You can reset or delete your advertising ID in Settings › Google › Ads (the exact menu path varies by device). Once the ID is deleted, apps can't use it to personalize ads.

United States privacy rights

Depending on the state you live in (for example California, Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia or Utah), you may have the right to opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information for targeted advertising. Where these laws apply, the app offers this choice under Help › Privacy options. The Android and iOS settings described above also limit ad personalization.

Children

Magnet Squared is not directed at children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect personal information from them. Leaderboard display names are public, so children shouldn't use their real name there. If you believe a child has provided personal information through the app or the leaderboard, contact us and we will remove it.

This website

This website doesn't use cookies, analytics or trackers, and it loads nothing from third parties. The playable demo at /play shows no ads. It saves your best score in your browser's local storage, which never leaves your device. If you join the leaderboard from the demo, it works exactly as described above, and your player ID and key are kept in your browser's local storage. Our hosting provider, Cloudflare, may keep standard server logs (such as IP addresses and request times) for security and to operate the service.

Data retention and security

Data the game stores on your device stays there until you uninstall the app. Leaderboard data is kept as described above. Data collected by Google through AdMob is retained according to Google's policies, linked above. The app, the website and the ads software all use encryption in transit (HTTPS).

Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct or delete personal data we hold about you, or to object to how we use it. For the leaderboard, you can change your name or remove yourself in the app at any time. For anything else, or a copy of your leaderboard data, email us with your display name. You can also complain to your local data protection authority.

Changes to this policy

If this policy changes, we'll update this page and the effective date above. Significant changes will also be noted in the app's release notes.

Contact

Questions or requests about privacy: support@magnetsquared.com