Privacy Policy — Strait of Hormuz

Short version: We don't collect, store, or sell any personal information ourselves. All game data lives on your device. The only third-party code we include is Google's AdMob SDK, which may collect limited advertising data as described below.

1. Who We Are

Strait of Hormuz is developed and published by Aralel ("we", "us", "our"). If you have any questions about this policy, contact us at games@aralel.com.

2. Data We Collect

We collect nothing. Strait of Hormuz does not have user accounts, registration forms, analytics SDKs, or any backend server. There is no data pipeline from your device to us.

Data stored on your device only

The following is stored locally using iOS UserDefaults and never leaves your device:

Data	Why
Salvage currency balance	Meta-progression — ship unlocks
Unlocked ships	Unlock state across sessions
Selected hull	Remember last-used ship
Lifetime best score & distance	Personal best display
Onboarding completed flag	Skip tutorial after first launch

This data is never transmitted anywhere. Deleting the app removes it entirely.

3. Google AdMob (Third-Party Advertising)

The app displays banner advertisements served by Google Mobile Ads SDK (AdMob). AdMob is provided by Google LLC. We use ads to keep the game free.

What AdMob may collect

According to Google's published disclosures, the AdMob SDK may collect the following categories of data, depending on your App Tracking Transparency (ATT) consent:

Data Type	Purpose	Linked to You?
Approximate location (IP-based)	Ad targeting	No
Usage data (app launch, interactions)	Analytics / advertising	No
Diagnostics (crash data)	Stability	No
Device identifiers (limited mode)	Ad attribution via SKAdNetwork	No
Device identifiers (IDFA — only if ATT granted)	Personalized ads / tracking	Yes (if ATT granted)

When you first launch the app, iOS will show an App Tracking Transparency prompt. If you choose Ask App Not to Track, AdMob operates in limited mode (SKAdNetwork attribution only — no IDFA, no cross-app tracking). If you grant permission, AdMob may serve personalized ads using your device's advertising identifier. You can change this at any time in Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking.

We do not control what Google collects or how it is used beyond our integration. For full details see Google's privacy policy: policies.google.com/privacy.

4. Children's Privacy

Strait of Hormuz is rated 9+ on the App Store (Infrequent/Mild Cartoon Violence). The app is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. Google's AdMob SDK uses the iOS app rating to serve age-appropriate ads.

5. Data Retention & Deletion

All game data lives on your device. To delete it, delete the app from your iPhone. There is no account to delete and no server-side data to request removal of.

For data collected by Google AdMob, refer to Google's data controls at myaccount.google.com/data-and-privacy.

6. Your Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may have rights regarding your personal data including access, correction, deletion, and objection to processing. Because we collect no personal data ourselves, exercising these rights primarily concerns Google's data. Contact Google or adjust your device-level privacy settings.

If you believe we've made an error or have questions, email games@aralel.com.

7. Third-Party Links & SDKs

The app contains no links to external websites and no third-party SDKs other than Google Mobile Ads SDK (Apache 2.0 license). No social media SDKs, analytics services, or tracking libraries are included.

8. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Material changes will be reflected in an updated "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Continued use of the app after a change constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

9. Contact

Questions or concerns about this privacy policy?

Aralel
games@aralel.com