Your privacy, protected.

01

Information We Collect

AETHER is designed with a small data footprint. Here is exactly what we collect and why:

Information you provide directly:

• No email, password, or registration form is required to play.
• If you choose Google Sign-In in Settings, Google may share your display name, email address, and profile photo URL. We store those on your existing AETHER account so the same row can be recognised on another phone.
• If you write to us at the contact address below, that message is handled by your email provider, not stored inside the app.

Information collected automatically (stored locally on your device):

• Save file (user://aether.save): Essence balance, shop upgrades, unlocked weapons, owned ships, selected ship, achievements, run stats (runs, best wave, best score, best combo, kills, play time, daily rift), settings, tutorial flag, and used in-app purchase tokens.
• Settings: sound volume, music volume, home-music mute, haptic feedback, dash-button side, and language.
• Auth tokens (local): Firebase user id, id token, refresh token, and provider name, so the app can write your cloud row after a restart.

Information stored in the cloud (Firebase Auth + Firestore):

• On first launch the app creates an anonymous Firebase Auth user. That uid is the key of your document in the leaderboard collection.
• The document may contain: display name, email, photo URL, best score, wave, combo, Essence, run count, kills, play time, daily rift score and date, selected ship, owned ships, achievements, shop, unlocked weapons, used purchase tokens, tutorial flag, settings JSON, and a last-updated timestamp.

02

How We Use Information

We use the information described above solely to run AETHER:

• To keep your Essence, shop, ships, and records when you close the app or change phones (after Google Sign-In).
• To show a public ranking row for your account.
• To remember language, audio, haptics, and control side.
• To grant Essence packs bought on Google Play once, using the purchase token as a receipt so the same buy is not granted twice.
• To restore the same wallet after you sign in on another device.

We do not sell, rent, or trade any data to third parties. We do not build advertising profiles. AETHER does not display ads.

03

Gameplay, Cloud & Sharing

Combat, waves, and image processing for the share card run on your device. Cloud writes are limited to the account fields listed in Section 01.

Permissions declared for the Android export:

• INTERNET: Firebase Auth, Firestore, and Google Play Billing. Required for cloud save, optional Google Sign-In, and Essence purchases.
• VIBRATE: Optional haptic feedback on dash, damage, and level-up. You can turn this off in Settings.

AETHER does not declare photo, microphone, location, or contacts permissions.

Share card: After a run you may share a generated PNG through the system share sheet. AETHER uses Android FileProvider to grant temporary read access to that file. The image is not uploaded by AETHER to our servers.

04

Third-Party Services

AETHER integrates the following third-party services:

Google Firebase Authentication: Creates an anonymous user on launch and, if you choose, links a Google account. Google’s Privacy Policy: policies.google.com/privacy

Google Cloud Firestore: Stores the leaderboard document described in Section 01. Used for ranking and cross-device wallet sync. Not used to store photos or chat.

Google Play Billing: Processes Essence pack purchases. Google receives the payment. AETHER only receives product id, price text, and a purchase token so Essence can be granted once.

Google Play: Distribution, updates, and store ratings follow Google’s policies.

AETHER does not integrate advertising SDKs such as Google AdMob.

05

Analytics & Crash Reporting

The Godot client does not include Firebase Analytics or Firebase Crashlytics. There is no screen-view or event analytics SDK in the game binary.

Google may still collect standard Play Store and Play Billing diagnostics under Google’s own policies when you download the app or complete a purchase.

06

Advertising & In-App Purchases

AETHER does not display advertisements.

AETHER sells consumable Essence packs through Google Play Billing. Packs are one-time grants of in-game Essence. There are no subscriptions, no battle pass, and no paid “Pro” tier.

Current product ids (SKU) and Essence amounts:

• aether_essence_50 — 50
• aether_essence_100 — 100
• aether_essence_150 — 150
• aether_essence_200 — 200
• aether_essence_300 — 300
• aether_essence_500 — 500
• aether_essence_1000 — 1,000 (popular)
• aether_essence_2800 — 2,800
• aether_essence_7500 — 7,500 (best value)

Prices are set in Google Play Console and shown in the app as Google returns them. Refunds follow Google Play’s refund policy. Essence granted for a completed purchase is written to your local save and your cloud document.

This Privacy Policy and the Delivery Agreement are linked from Settings and from the Essence purchase page.

07

Data Storage & Security

Where data is stored: On your Android device in the app sandbox, and in Firebase Auth / Firestore under your uid. We do not operate a separate AETHER game server that stores photos or payment cards.

How long data is retained:

• The local save remains until you clear app data or uninstall (subject to Android backup behaviour).
• The Firestore document remains while the account exists. Switching the Google account in Settings replaces the local wallet with that account’s cloud row.
• Signing out returns the app to a new anonymous account and resets shop, Essence, and tutorial on that device.

Security measures: Local files sit in Android’s application sandbox. Cloud writes use a Firebase ID token. Do not share your device backup if you want the save to stay private.

Backup: Android may back up app files when device backup is enabled. That can include the local save.

08

Children's Privacy

AETHER is not directed at children under the age of 13 (or the applicable age of digital consent in your jurisdiction). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has used AETHER in a way that raises privacy concerns, please contact us at the address below and we will take appropriate steps.

09

Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your data:

• Access: Settings, Collection, Shop, and the ranking row already show what the app stores about you.
• Deletion: You may clear app data or uninstall to remove the local save. To request deletion of the cloud document, email us from the address tied to your Google Sign-In (if any) and include the in-game display name.
• Account control: Google Sign-In is optional. You may stay on the anonymous account created at launch.
• GDPR (EU/EEA users): You may have additional rights under the GDPR, including data portability and the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. For data processed by Google (Auth, Firestore, Play Billing), use Google’s account controls and GDPR resources.
• CCPA (California users): AETHER does not sell your personal information.

10

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the app’s features, applicable law, or our practices. When we make material changes, we will update the “Last updated” date at the top of this document.

Continued use of AETHER after an updated policy is posted constitutes your acceptance of the revised policy.

The current version is accessible via Settings → Legal and the Essence purchase page inside the app, and at the URL where this document is hosted.

11

Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or AETHER’s data practices, please contact us: