Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Welcome to GradientBits ("we," "us," "our"). We are committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy applies to our mobile games (e.g., HPChess), our desktop applications (e.g., GeniusNotes), and our website (gradientbits.com) collectively, our "Services."

This policy explains what information is collected, why it is collected, and how you can control your data. As a company based in Poland, we comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

2. Data Controller

The data controller responsible for your information is:

3. Information We Collect (and What We Don't Collect)

We have designed our Services to collect the minimum amount of data necessary to operate and improve them.

a) Information You Don't Provide:

We do not require you to create an account or provide any personal information like your name, email address, or phone number to use our apps or play our games.

b) Information Collected Automatically by Third-Party Services:

Apart from the Mac waitlist (c) and the anonymous usage statistics (d) described below, we do not collect or store personal information on our own servers. However, our applications are distributed through third-party platforms (Google Play, Microsoft Store, Apple App Store) and utilize third-party engines (like Unity). These services may collect data automatically. This data typically includes:

• Device & Technical Information: Your IP address, device identifiers, device type, operating system, and language settings.
• Usage Data & Diagnostics: Information about how you interact with our apps, session times, and crash reports.
• Payment Information: If you purchase premium features (e.g., in GeniusNotes), your transaction is processed securely by the respective app store (Microsoft or Apple). We never see, collect, or store your credit card or payment details.

The services that may collect this data are:

• Unity: (Used for HPChess) May collect analytics and diagnostics. View the Unity Privacy Policy.
• App Stores: Google Play Services, Microsoft Store, and Apple App Store collect data related to your downloads, usage, and purchases. Please review their respective privacy policies.

c) Information You Give Us Voluntarily: the Mac Version Waitlist

If you enter your email address in the "Mac version" waitlist on our website, we store that address, the date of sign-up and the country your connection came from (derived from your network address; the address itself is not kept) in Cloudflare KV, a storage service operated by Cloudflare, Inc. We use this information for exactly one purpose: to send you a single email when the Mac version of GeniusNotes is released. We do not add you to a newsletter and we do not share the list. You can withdraw at any time by emailing support@gradientbits.com, and we will delete your address; addresses are in any case deleted within 30 days after the release notification has been sent.

d) Anonymous Usage Statistics from the GeniusNotes App (version 1.1.5 and later)

GeniusNotes sends us at most three one-time signals per installation: that the app was installed, that the first note was created, and that the app was used on five different days. Each signal carries a random installation identifier generated on your PC (not derived from your hardware, account or name), the event name, the app version, the operating system, whether the app came from the Microsoft Store, and the number of days since installation. No note content, titles, program names or file paths are ever sent. The signals go to a server we operate on Cloudflare, which stores them together with the country of the connection; the IP address itself is not stored.

We use these numbers only to see whether GeniusNotes works and is used (for example, how many installations create a first note). The legal basis is our legitimate interest in understanding and improving the app (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). You can switch the statistics off at any time in GeniusNotes under Settings → Privacy; nothing is sent afterwards. Because the identifier is random and not linked to you, we cannot look up or delete records for a specific person; the data is kept for at most 24 months.

4. Legal Basis for Processing Data

Under GDPR, we need a legal basis to process your data. The data collected automatically by our service providers is processed based on Legitimate Interest. Our legitimate interest is to:

• Operate and maintain our applications.
• Analyze and fix technical issues or crashes.
• Understand how users interact with our apps to improve the experience.

The Mac version waitlist (Section 3c) is different: it is processed on the basis of your Consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR), which you can withdraw at any time as described there.

5. How We Use Your Information

We do not use your data for profiling or direct marketing; the only email we ever send is the single Mac-release notification you can request through the waitlist (Section 3c). The aggregated and anonymized data we can view from our service providers is used solely to ensure our apps run effectively, fix bugs, and improve future updates.

6. Data Sharing

We do not sell or share your personal data with any third parties, other than the service providers (Unity, Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Cloudflare for the Mac waitlist and the anonymous usage statistics) mentioned in Section 3, who collect it directly as part of providing their essential services.

7. Your Data Protection Rights (GDPR)

As a user in the European Union, you have the right to be informed, access your data, rectify inaccuracies, request erasure, restrict processing, and object to processing. To exercise these rights, please contact us at support@gradientbits.com. Since we do not hold personal data directly, we will guide you on how to manage your data through your device settings or third-party providers. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Polish Personal Data Protection Office (UODO).

8. Children's Privacy

Our Services are not directed to children under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we become aware that a child has provided us with personal data, we will take steps to delete such information.

9. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the "Effective Date."