Privacy policy

Who we are

Veratus Games is a brand of Veratus Group Limited, the controller of personal information we use to answer support requests and operate these pages. Contact us at sayhello@veratusgames.com.

This policy covers Tidepost for iPhone and iPad, development and test builds, these web pages and messages you send us. It does not describe a released Android app.

Game progress and preferences

Tidepost stores your stage progress, collected letters, route in progress and preferences locally on your device. The game does not require an account and does not provide cloud progress sync. We do not receive your saved game through the game itself.

Removing the app can remove this information. Device backups and any device diagnostics you choose to share with Apple are governed by your operating-system and account settings. We do not sell personal information or use it for targeted advertising.

Purchases

Apple processes App Store payments and maintains your store transaction history. Tidepost checks purchase and entitlement information to unlock the full game and restore access. We do not receive your full payment card details through the game.

The updated iOS purchase implementation uses Apple's StoreKit directly. Verification takes place through StoreKit; the game receives access status, the localised price and purchase status. It does not send purchase receipts or device identifiers to a Veratus server. Device testing of this implementation is still pending before release.

See Apple's privacy information for its handling of store and device information.

Earlier development and test builds

Earlier test builds used Unity In-App Purchasing 5.4.3. Our audit found that its purchase flow can report information to Unity Insights, including a device vendor identifier, device model, operating system, language, boot time, storage capacity, installation time and purchase or transaction information. That reporting can occur independently of the separate Analytics setting.

We have removed this SDK from the current project. The change does not alter a test build already installed on your device; it requires an updated build. Until then, an older build may still use the reporting path when you use its purchase features.

Unity describes its processing and privacy-request options in its IAP privacy information and privacy policy. We have not verified which records, if any, Unity retained from individual test devices. Contact us for help with a request concerning an earlier test build.

When you contact us

If you email us, we receive your email address, message and any attachments you choose to send. We use this information to answer you, investigate a problem and keep necessary records of its resolution. Please do not send passwords, full payment card details or unnecessary sensitive information.

Support correspondence is handled by Veratus staff using a business Google Workspace account. Our policy is to limit access to staff who need it for support or administration. Google processes and stores the messages as the email service provider.

We rely on our legitimate interests in providing support and improving the game, balanced against your privacy rights. Where a request is necessary to perform a contract with you, or we must retain information to meet a legal obligation, those purposes may provide the relevant lawful basis. We do not use support messages for marketing.

How long we keep support information

We keep personal correspondence while it is needed to resolve your request, deal with a related follow-up or meet a specific legal obligation. We review it when the request is resolved and delete or anonymise it when those purposes no longer require it. We do not keep every resolved email simply because the game is still available.

We may retain a non-identifying issue summary while the app is supported to help fix recurring problems. If we withdraw the app, we review remaining correspondence and remove information that is no longer needed, subject to unresolved requests or legal requirements. Deletion from service-provider backups can follow the provider's recovery and deletion processes rather than occurring immediately.

These web pages

Our pages use no analytics scripts, advertising, contact forms or embedded third-party media. Styles and fonts do not require a third-party tracking service.

GitHub Pages hosts the site. GitHub processes technical request information, such as your IP address, to serve and protect it. See the GitHub Privacy Statement for its purposes, retention and choices. We use hosting to make support and privacy information available, which is our legitimate interest.

Service providers and international processing

Apple, Google, GitHub and, for earlier test builds, Unity may process information in countries outside the UK or your home country. Their roles and practices depend on the service being used. We do not promise UK-only storage.

Google's Cloud Data Processing Addendum describes its Workspace processing and transfer safeguards; its transfer-framework information explains mechanisms such as adequacy frameworks and contractual clauses. The provider privacy links above explain their respective arrangements. Contact us if you need information about safeguards relevant to your request.

Your choices and rights

Depending on the law that applies, you can ask to access, correct or delete personal information we hold, restrict processing, receive eligible information in a portable form, or object to processing based on legitimate interests. These rights are subject to applicable conditions and exceptions.

Email sayhello@veratusgames.com. We may ask for proportionate information to verify your identity. We cannot remotely access or erase your locally stored game progress. Requests about records held independently by Apple or another provider may need to be directed to that provider; we can help identify the appropriate contact.

You can complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office or your local data protection authority.

Children

Tidepost does not require a child to provide a name or create an account. A parent or guardian can contact us about personal information a child may have sent to support. The earlier-test-build disclosure above also applies where such a build is used by a child.

Changes

We will update this policy when our practices change and show the new effective date. Before releasing an updated app, we will check that its data practices and store disclosures match this policy.