Privacy policy

Information used by the game

The game stores the following information on your device so you can continue playing:

• Your selected team and tournament progress.
• Match records, win streaks, and trophies earned.
• Sound, commentary, and language preferences.
• Whether you have viewed the playing instructions.
• Your usage-data choice and Pro purchase status.

The game reads your device’s language setting to select its initial language. If you enable analytics, language information and changes to settings may also be included in usage data. The game does not ask for your name or email address to play, or access your precise GPS location, contacts, photos, microphone, or camera. Local save files are not uploaded to High Bourne Studios; selected gameplay events are shared separately when analytics is enabled.

Optional Firebase Analytics

The Android and iOS game uses Google Analytics for Firebase, a service provided by Google, to help us understand which features are used and improve matches, controls, and the player experience. We rely on your consent for this optional analytics. A build with usage reporting asks you to choose Allow or No thanks before sharing data. You can play the same game if you decline.

If you allow sharing, analytics can include:

• An app-instance identifier generated by Firebase to distinguish an installation and recognise returning players. This is not your name or a game account, but it means the data is not fully anonymous.
• App version, device model, operating system, language, sessions, and approximate location derived from your internet connection’s IP address. This does not require access to your device’s precise GPS location.
• Screens visited, team and division selections, game modes, settings changes, and tutorial use.
• Match and practice activity, including starts, finishes, quits, retries, duration, scores, and summary scrum and lineout statistics.
• Replay viewing, export and sharing actions, and Pro offer and purchase activity, such as whether a purchase succeeds, is restored, or fails. Google may also record automatic purchase events, including product details and price, where supported by the store.

We do not send names, email addresses, custom account identifiers, or complete save histories to Analytics. We do not use this data for advertising. Advertising identifier collection and advertising personalisation are disabled in the game’s analytics configuration.

Google receives and processes analytics data to provide reports to us. Processing may take place outside your country, including in the United States. For information about Google’s handling of data and international transfer safeguards, see Google’s Privacy Policy, Firebase’s privacy information, and Google’s data processing terms.

Changing your analytics choice

Open Settings → About → Usage Data in the game and set Share Usage Data to Off to withdraw your consent. Switching off stops further analytics collection, discards pending game events, and resets analytics data stored on your device. It does not delete information already sent to Google or affect the lawfulness of processing before you withdrew consent.

For a request about previously collected data, contact hello@highbourne.studio. Because analytics uses an installation identifier rather than your name or email address, we may need additional information to locate the relevant records and may be unable to associate them with your enquiry.

Advertising, purchases, and other services

The game has no advertising SDKs, personalised advertising, online accounts, or developer-operated cloud saves. The sponsor boards in the stadium are part of the game’s artwork and do not track you or contact advertising services.

Where available, the optional Pro upgrade is purchased through Google Play or Apple’s App Store. The store processes payment and provides purchase and transaction information to the game to unlock or restore Pro. The game saves your ownership status locally. We do not receive your payment-card details. Store purchase records are separate from optional analytics and are governed by the store’s policies.

Google Play, Apple’s App Store, and your device’s operating system provide their own services, such as app distribution, updates, backups, and diagnostics. Their data handling is governed by their own policies and your settings. See Google’s Privacy Policy and Apple’s Privacy Policy. Device-level backup services may retain or restore local app data; these are separate from the game and are not controlled by High Bourne Studios.

When you contact us

If you email hello@highbourne.studio, we receive your email address and any information you choose to include, such as your name, a description of an issue, or screenshots. Please include only information needed to explain your enquiry.

We use this information to respond to you, investigate the issue, and handle your request. Our email service providers process correspondence to deliver and store messages. We may also disclose information where required by law. We do not sell your personal information or use support correspondence for advertising.

Keeping and deleting information

Local progress and preferences remain on your device until the app’s data is cleared or removed:

• Android: open your device’s app settings, select Sidestep Rugby: Arcade, and clear its storage or app data.
• iOS: open Settings → General → iPhone Storage (or iPad Storage), select Sidestep Rugby: Arcade, and choose Delete App. Offloading the app keeps its documents and data.

Deleting local game data resets your progress and settings. Any device backups, including iCloud or Android backups, must be managed separately through your backup provider.

We cannot access or delete your local saves remotely. There is no High Bourne Studios game account to delete. Support correspondence is retained only for as long as needed to handle your enquiry, resolve related issues, or meet legal obligations. You can request deletion of correspondence by emailing hello@highbourne.studio.

Analytics data already sent to Google is held separately from your local saves. User-level and event-level retention is controlled by the Google Analytics property’s retention settings; aggregated reports may remain available for longer. Clearing app data or uninstalling the game does not automatically delete previously uploaded analytics or store purchase records. See Google’s explanation of analytics retention and contact us for questions about retention or deletion.

Security

Game saves use the device’s app storage and its operating-system protections. Keep your device secure and manage access to any backups. For support enquiries, avoid sending passwords, payment details, or other sensitive information by email. No method of storage or communication can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

Children’s privacy

Optional analytics can include the installation identifiers and usage information described above; it is off by default for all players. Parents or guardians can disable sharing through the game’s Usage Data setting. If you believe a child has shared personal information through the game or a support enquiry, contact hello@highbourne.studio so we can address the request and delete information where appropriate.

Your privacy requests

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, or delete personal information we hold about you, or to object to or restrict its use. Contact hello@highbourne.studio to make a request or raise a concern. These requests concern information we hold, such as support emails and analytics records we can identify; your local game saves remain under your control. You may also have a right to data portability and to complain to your local data protection authority.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy when the game or our data practices change. The current policy will be available on this page with an updated date. Where required, we will provide additional notice or request consent before introducing new data practices.

Contact

High Bourne Studios
Developer of Sidestep Rugby: Arcade
hello@highbourne.studio