Privacy policy

At a glance

Gameplay saves

Where: Your device

Why: Resume play and keep progress, points and settings

Advertising data

Where: Google AdMob and its advertising services

Why: Deliver and measure ads, manage choices and prevent fraud

Purchase-service data

Where: Apple or Google, and RevenueCat

Why: Check, verify, restore and manage the ad-free upgrade, including checks before a purchase

Website requests and support messages

Where: Hosting and email providers, and Black Rune Studios

Why: Deliver the website and answer your enquiry

Gameplay saves

Our games store progress and settings on your device. In Nova’s Lab, that includes progress, Research Points, unfinished puzzles, cosmetic selections and unlocks, and settings such as Colour aid and audio preferences. The gameplay code does not upload these saves to us, AdMob or RevenueCat. We do not operate a gameplay account or cloud-save service.

Your operating system may include app data in device or cloud backups. Backup and restore behavior depends on your device and settings, so we cannot promise that local saves never appear in a backup or that uninstalling erases every copy.

Each game also caches purchase status locally so a verified ad-free upgrade can work offline. That cache is separate from your gameplay save. An in-game Reset progress control is not a data-deletion control. In Nova’s Lab, it resets level and cure progress and clears an unfinished puzzle, but keeps Research Points, cosmetics, preferences, daily bonus history and the purchase-status cache.

Advertising and your choices

The free versions of our games use Google AdMob for banner, interstitial and optional rewarded ads. The Google Mobile Ads SDK may process IP addresses, approximate location inferred from IP, advertising or app/device identifiers, app launches, taps and ad interactions, and app or SDK crash and performance information. These support advertising, measurement, service improvement and fraud prevention.

When consent is required, Google’s consent service manages the relevant choices. Ad requests are gated by whether that service permits requests. Where required, you can reopen the form through Settings > Ad privacy choices. On iOS, tracking permission is separate; declining it prevents use of the IDFA and the app requests non-personalised ads. On Android, advertising identifier controls are available in your device settings.

Non-personalised ads can still involve identifiers and other data for delivery, frequency limits and reporting. Declining personalisation does not itself remove ads. A verified Remove Ads upgrade stops new banner, interstitial and rewarded ad requests while it remains active; it does not erase data already processed.

Learn more in Google’s Privacy policy and Google’s explanation of data from partner sites and apps.

Purchases and RevenueCat

Each game offers an optional one-time Remove Ads upgrade where available. Payment is handled by Apple’s App Store or Google Play. We do not receive your full payment card details.

We use RevenueCat to check purchase status, validate and restore the upgrade, and handle changes such as refunds. When billing is configured, it initializes at app launch and may communicate with RevenueCat before you buy anything. The SDK creates an anonymous app user ID; no Black Rune login is required.

RevenueCat processes that identifier, purchase and entitlement records, receipts or purchase tokens when relevant, and technical information such as the platform, device type and operating-system version. This can include timestamps such as when the app was last used. Purchase reporting helps us manage the upgrade. An anonymous ID is an identifier, not a promise that no information is processed.

Our games do not send gameplay progress, in-game points, cosmetic selections or your name and email to RevenueCat. RevenueCat processes purchase information on our behalf. Its Privacy policy describes its services and data-processing role.

Restore Purchases uses the same store account that bought the upgrade. It restores eligible purchase access, not local gameplay saves. We do not promise cross-platform transfer between Apple and Google.

Website visits and support

Our website is hosted on AWS Amplify. Requests to deliver pages and images include network information such as your IP address, browser details and requested URL. Our hosting provider processes that information to deliver and secure the site. This website does not embed advertising, analytics scripts or externally hosted fonts.

When you email us, we and our email service providers process your email address, message and any attachments you choose to send. We use them to respond, investigate problems and handle purchase or privacy requests. Please send only what is needed and do not send passwords or full payment card details.

We have not added a separate gameplay analytics or crash-reporting service. Advertising and purchase providers may still process their own service information as described above. Links to external sites are governed by those sites’ policies.

Retention and service providers

Local gameplay data remains on your device until it is removed, overwritten or affected by backup and restore. Support correspondence is retained as needed to handle your enquiry, related follow-up, disputes and legal obligations.

Uninstalling a game does not automatically delete purchase history held by Apple, Google or RevenueCat, or advertising records. Purchase records may be needed to maintain or restore access, handle refunds, prevent fraud and meet legal obligations. Provider retention depends on the service, our arrangements with it and applicable law.

Our service providers may process information outside your country, including in the United States. Their applicable agreements and policies describe the safeguards for their processing. Contact us about information processed on our behalf.

Your rights and deletion

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct or delete personal information, object to or restrict processing, withdraw consent, request portability, or complain to your data-protection authority. Applicable opt-out rights can include certain advertising uses. Available rights and exceptions depend on the law that applies.

Email support@blackrunestudios.com to make a request. We may ask for enough information to locate a support or purchase record and verify the request. RevenueCat records use an anonymous app user ID, so your email address alone may not identify a record, especially if you have not made a purchase. Requests involving RevenueCat depend on locating the relevant record; Apple and Google also provide controls for information they handle under their own policies. We may need to retain limited records for legal obligations or transaction disputes.

To remove local gameplay data, uninstall the app and review device or cloud backups separately. A privacy deletion request is separate from a refund and may affect future purchase recovery. See support for data deletion and the in-game ad privacy controls for consent choices.

Audience and children

Our games, including Nova’s Lab, are general-audience games intended for teens and adults aged 13 and over. They are not designed or marketed for children under 13 and do not currently include an age-verification screen.

If you are a parent or guardian and believe a child under 13 has provided personal information through one of our games or support, email support@blackrunestudios.com. If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under 13, we will take appropriate steps to delete it, including asking service providers to remove information processed on our behalf where applicable. We may need enough information to locate the relevant record, as explained in Your rights and deletion.

Changes and contact

We publish updates here and change the last-updated date. Where required, we provide additional notice of material changes.