Privacy Policy

Summary

• Tichu Master has no ads, no third-party ad SDKs, and no cross-app tracking.
• Solo games against AI opponents work without creating a named account. Most solo game data stays on your device.
• Online features use Supabase to run multiplayer games, friends, invites, ratings, and the public leaderboard.
• Push notifications are optional and use Firebase Cloud Messaging only to deliver app-related game messages.
• Apple or Google sign-in is optional. It lets you recover your profile across devices and reinstalls.
• We do not sell personal information.

Who we are

Tichu Master is built and operated by Jonas Schmidhalter, an independent developer based in Switzerland. In this policy, “Tichu Master”, “we”, “us”, and “our” mean Jonas Schmidhalter and the Tichu Master app, website, and related services.

For privacy questions, use the current support/contact channel on the App Store or Google Play listing.

What this policy covers

This policy applies to:

• The Tichu Master mobile app for iOS and Android.
• Online play, friends, invites, ratings, and leaderboards.
• The Tichu Master website at tichu-master.com.
• Support requests you send through the current App Store or Google Play support/contact channel.

This policy does not cover Apple, Google, Firebase, Supabase, Vercel, or other third-party services when you interact with them directly. Their own privacy policies apply to their services.

Information we collect

The exact information depends on how you use Tichu Master. We keep the product usable without collecting more than the feature needs.

Data you provide

• Display name and handle code: used so friends and opponents can identify you in online games. A handle looks like Name#ABC123.
• Friends you add: username, handle code, remote profile id, and date added.
• Support requests: message contents, screenshots, device details, app version, and any other information you choose to send.
• Optional sign-in information: if you use Apple or Google sign-in, Supabase Auth may receive your provider account identifier, email address, and profile information made available by Apple or Google.

Data generated by app use

• Local game records: game mode, player names, scores, timestamps, status, and saved state for unfinished games.
• Online game records: game id, seats, display names, user ids for human players, bot seats, turn state, scores, game actions, card-play events, rating updates, and timestamps.
• Leaderboard data: username, handle code, ELO rating, games played, games won, and recent rating changes.
• Local network discovery data: if you use local network multiplayer, the app may broadcast a room name, host port, and player count on your local network so nearby devices can find the game.
• Settings: language, sound, haptics, animations, hints, bot difficulty, and notification preference.
• Push notification data: device push token, platform, notification permission state, and message routing data.

Technical data

• Authentication data: Supabase user id, anonymous session, linked Apple or Google identity if you choose to sign in, and authentication timestamps.
• Network and server logs: IP address, request time, browser or device metadata, and error logs may be processed by Supabase, Firebase, Vercel, Apple, or Google as part of running the service.
• Crash and install diagnostics: Apple App Store and Google Play may provide us with aggregated diagnostics and install metrics through their developer dashboards.

We do not intentionally collect precise location, contacts, photos, camera data, microphone data, health data, payment card details, or advertising identifiers.

Local data on your device

Tichu Master stores local preferences and game state using standard device storage such as UserDefaults on iOS and SharedPreferences on Android. This includes:

• Language and gameplay preferences.
• Your display name and generated handle code.
• Solo game state so you can resume unfinished AI games.
• Local game history and statistics.
• A local cache of your friends list.
• Whether optional prompts were already shown.

Local data stays on your device unless it is needed for an online feature, for example publishing your display name and handle so friends can find you. Deleting the app normally removes local app data from that device.

If you use local network multiplayer, devices on the same network may see limited discovery details such as the room name, host port, and player count. This is used only to find joinable games on your local network.

Online play and leaderboard data

Online play uses Supabase for authentication, database storage, realtime updates, matchmaking, friends, invites, and leaderboards. Online features require a network connection and a Supabase-backed user id. At first launch, the app may create an anonymous Supabase session so online features can work without an email or password.

When you use online features, we store information needed to run and protect the game:

• Your profile row: Supabase user id, display name, handle code, platform, created date, updated date, ELO rating, games played, and games won.
• Friends and invite records: who added or invited whom, room code, invite status, and timestamps.
• Matchmaking records: queue status, selected display name, match mode, and queue time.
• Game records: game id, mode, state, phase, seed, current seat, team scores, target score, and timestamps.
• Seat records: seat number, user id, bot flag, display name, join time, and last-seen heartbeat.
• Game actions: ordered gameplay events such as deals, Tichu calls, passes, plays, bombs, trick wins, round scores, and game end events.
• Private hand data for online games, protected so players can read only their own hand.
• ELO history: game id, participating profile ids, final scores, rating deltas, and finish time.

The public leaderboard shows player handles and rating stats for profiles with played games. Do not choose a display name that reveals personal information unless you want it visible to other players and website visitors.

Optional sign-in

You can use Tichu Master as a guest with an anonymous Supabase session. You may also choose Apple or Google sign-in to make your friends, rating, and online profile easier to recover across devices and reinstalls.

If you use Apple or Google sign-in, Apple or Google authenticates you and sends identity information to Supabase Auth. Depending on the provider and choices you make, this may include your provider account id, email address, and name. We use that information only for account authentication, account recovery, abuse prevention, and support.

We do not use Apple or Google sign-in information for advertising. We do not sell it.

Push notifications

Push notifications are optional. If you enable them and accept the system prompt, the app uses Firebase Cloud Messaging and local notifications to deliver Tichu Master messages such as game invites, turn alerts, and game results.

To send notifications, Firebase gives the app a push token. We store that token with your Supabase profile, along with your platform (ios, android, or web) so messages can reach the right device. If you disable push notifications in the app or your system settings, we stop using the token for delivery.

Website and support

The Tichu Master website is hosted on Vercel. The website is mostly static and does not set up its own advertising or analytics SDKs. Hosting providers may process standard request logs, including IP address, user agent, requested URL, referrer, and timestamps, to deliver and secure the site.

The leaderboard page reads live ELO data from Supabase on the server and renders it as website content. The browser receives the rendered leaderboard, not our Supabase secret key.

If you contact support, we use your message and contact details to respond, investigate issues, improve the app, and keep appropriate records of the conversation.

How we use information

We use information for these purposes:

• Provide solo play, online play, matchmaking, private rooms, friends, invites, push notifications, game history, and leaderboards.
• Authenticate accounts and keep profiles recoverable when you choose Apple or Google sign-in.
• Calculate scores, enforce game rules, maintain ELO ratings, and prevent rating manipulation.
• Debug crashes, fix bugs, protect the service, and prevent abuse.
• Respond to support requests.
• Comply with legal, platform, and store obligations.

Where applicable under GDPR and Swiss data protection law, our legal bases are performance of a contract, legitimate interests in running and securing the app, consent for optional notifications and optional provider sign-in, and compliance with legal obligations.

How we share information

We do not sell personal information. We do not share personal information with ad networks or data brokers. We share limited information only where needed to operate Tichu Master:

• Other players: see your display name, handle, seat, online game actions, scores, and rating information needed for gameplay and leaderboards.
• Nearby devices on your local network: may see room discovery details if you use local network multiplayer.
• Supabase: hosts authentication, database, realtime, edge functions, and online game data.
• Firebase Cloud Messaging: delivers optional push notifications.
• Apple and Google: distribute the app, provide optional sign-in, process platform diagnostics, and operate their app stores.
• Vercel: hosts the website and may process website request logs.
• Service providers used for email/support: process messages you send to support.
• Legal or safety requests: if required by law, court order, platform rules, or to protect users, rights, security, or the integrity of the service.

Retention

• Local game records: stored on your device. Finished and stale local records are pruned over time, and app deletion normally removes them from the device.
• Online profile: kept while your online profile exists so friends, ratings, and leaderboards work.
• Online games and ELO history: kept as long as needed for gameplay, dispute handling, leaderboard integrity, abuse prevention, and product improvement.
• Push tokens: kept while push notifications are enabled or until replaced, disabled, or deleted.
• Support requests: kept as long as needed to answer you, maintain records, and improve the app.
• Server logs: retained by hosting and infrastructure providers according to their operational policies.

You can request deletion of online profile data by emailing us. Some records may be retained in limited form where necessary for legal obligations, fraud prevention, security, backups, or preserving the integrity of completed multiplayer games and public leaderboards.

Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect information. Examples include HTTPS transport, Supabase row-level security for user data, authenticated RPCs for game mutations, server-side handling of secret keys, and provider-managed authentication for Apple and Google sign-in.

No internet service can be guaranteed 100% secure. Please choose a display name that does not reveal sensitive personal information.

Children

Tichu Master is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. The app does not include ads, behavioral tracking, open chat, or in-app purchases. Online features may show user-chosen display names and gameplay records to other players.

If you believe a child provided personal information through online play or support, contact us and we will take appropriate steps, including deletion where required.

International transfers

We are based in Switzerland. Our providers may process information in Switzerland, the European Economic Area, the United States, and other countries where they or their subprocessors operate.

When personal information is transferred internationally, we rely on provider safeguards such as data processing agreements, standard contractual clauses, adequacy decisions, and other lawful transfer mechanisms where required.

Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights under Swiss data protection law, GDPR, UK GDPR, California privacy law, or similar laws. These rights may include:

• Access the personal information we hold about you.
• Correct inaccurate information.
• Delete your personal information.
• Receive a copy of your information in a portable format.
• Object to or restrict certain processing.
• Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent.
• Complain to a data protection authority.

To exercise these rights, use the current App Store or Google Play support/contact channel. Include your Tichu Master handle code if your request relates to an online profile. We may need to verify that you control the relevant profile before acting on a request.

Deleting your data

You can reduce or delete data in these ways:

• Delete the app to remove local data from that device.
• Remove friends from the friends screen.
• Disable push notifications in the app or system settings.
• Send a deletion request through the current App Store or Google Play support/contact channel with your handle code to request deletion of online profile data. See Delete your account for the full step-by-step process.

We aim to respond to privacy requests within 30 days. If a request is complex or legally restricted, we will explain the reason.

Store privacy notes

For Apple App Store and Google Play privacy disclosures, Tichu Master may need to disclose categories such as user ID, email address if optional sign-in is used, gameplay content, product interaction, diagnostics, and identifiers used for app functionality. These categories are used for app functionality, authentication, notifications, multiplayer, support, security, and diagnostics. They are not used for third-party advertising or tracking.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as Tichu Master changes. When we make a meaningful change, we will update the “Last updated” date above. If a change materially affects your privacy, we will provide a more prominent notice where appropriate.

Contact

For privacy requests, support, or questions about this policy, use the current support/contact channel listed on the App Store or Google Play.

Jonas Schmidhalter - Tichu Master
Switzerland