Privacy Policy

Last updated: September 28, 2026

PuzzPic ("PuzzPic," "we," "us," or "our") makes a photo-puzzle app for iOS and Android. You can turn your photos into puzzles, share and gift them, and solve puzzles other people make. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and the choices you have. By using PuzzPic you agree to this policy.

Information we collect

Information you provide

• Account information — when you create an account we collect your email address and a username. If you use Sign in with Apple, we instead receive the account identifier Apple shares with us and an email address, which may be an Apple private relay address. If you use Sign in with Google, we receive the account identifier Google shares with us, your email address, and the display name on your Google account. We use that name only to fill in your PuzzPic profile name, and to suggest a handle you can edit before it is saved; we do not receive your Google password.
• Photos and puzzles — the photos you upload to create puzzles, along with the puzzle configuration and any caption you add. These are stored on our backend and object storage so they can be shared and solved.
• Notes on a gifted puzzle — these are handled differently and are not uploaded or stored. A gift note travels inside the link you send, as part of the web address, and the recipient's browser draws it when they finish the puzzle. Because it is part of the address, it does reach our server in the request when the link is opened; we do not log it and we do not retain it. It is not attached to the puzzle, not shown on your profile, and not visible to anyone who does not hold the link.
• Social activity — follows, hearts, puzzles you gift, and reports or blocks you submit.
• Support messages — if you email us, we keep your message and contact details to respond.

Information collected automatically

• Usage and device analytics — via Firebase Analytics we collect app events (for example, opening the app, creating or solving a puzzle), along with device and app details such as device model, operating system version, app version, and general region. Our analytics events are designed to record the shape of activity (counts, durations, and identifiers) and do not include your photo contents, note text, captions, email, or passwords.
• Crash and diagnostic data — via Firebase Crashlytics we collect crash reports and diagnostic breadcrumbs so we can find and fix problems.
• Push notification tokens — a Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) token so we can send you notifications (for example, when someone sends you a puzzle). You can turn notifications off in your device settings.
• Ad request data — if you see ads, our advertising partner (Google AdMob) receives the data needed to serve, frequency-cap and measure an ad and to prevent fraud, which includes a device identifier and your IP address. Every ad request is marked non-personalized. See below.
• Ad measurement with Meta — only if you allow it — PuzzPic asks you once on each device, after you sign in and accept the Terms, whether we may tell Meta (Facebook and Instagram) about a few things you do in the app, so we can see which of our ads bring people to PuzzPic. It is off unless you tap Allow, and until then the Meta SDK in the app is not started. If you allow it, the SDK sends Meta: that the app was installed and opened and how long it was used, that you created an account (and whether by email, Apple or Google), that you created, sent or solved a puzzle (with the puzzle's size and type, and whether it went to a person or as a link), and in-app purchases such as Remove Ads (the product, price and currency). Meta also receives device and app details and your IP address. Meta may link these events to your Facebook or Instagram account, if you have one, and handles them under its own privacy policy. We never send Meta your photos, puzzle contents, captions or username, and we do not give Meta your email. On iOS, if you allow this, we then show Apple's tracking prompt; only if you also allow that does Meta receive Apple's advertising identifier (IDFA). On Android 12 and earlier, Meta may also receive your device's advertising ID; you can reset or delete it in your device's settings.

How we use your information

• To provide the core service: creating, sharing, gifting, and solving puzzles.
• To operate accounts and authenticate you (email or username with a password, Sign in with Apple, or Sign in with Google).
• To power social features such as following, hearts, and gifting.
• To send notifications you have enabled.
• To understand how the app is used, measure performance, and fix crashes and bugs.
• To measure which of our ads bring people to PuzzPic — only if you allow sharing with Meta.
• To keep PuzzPic safe — reviewing reports, enforcing our Terms, and preventing abuse.
• To show ads (unless you purchase the ad-free option) and support the app.

Advertising and the ad-free option

We show ads through Google AdMob. Every ad request PuzzPic makes is flagged non-personalized, so ads are chosen from context rather than from a profile of you. AdMob still receives the data needed to deliver, cap and measure an ad and to detect fraud, such as a device identifier and your IP address. If you allowed tracking in Apple's prompt (see "Ad measurement with Meta" above), iOS also makes the advertising identifier (IDFA) available to AdMob, which may use it for those same purposes; the ads you see stay non-personalized.

Separately, if you allow it, we share the in-app events described above with Meta to measure our own ad campaigns on Facebook and Instagram. We use this to learn which of our ads bring new people to PuzzPic; we do not use it to choose the ads you see inside PuzzPic. You can turn it off at any time in PuzzPic's Settings. PuzzPic offers a one-time "Remove Ads" in-app purchase; after buying it, no ads are requested at all. You can learn about Google's advertising practices at policies.google.com/technologies/ads.

Third parties and service providers

We share information with the following providers to run the service and, where you allow it, to measure our advertising:

• Our backend (Parse Server on Linode) — hosts your account, puzzles, and uploaded photos, and stores images in object storage. This is our own infrastructure operated on a Linode server.
• Google / Firebase — Analytics, Crashlytics, and Cloud Messaging, as described above. See firebase.google.com/support/privacy.
• Google AdMob — advertising.
• Meta Platforms — measuring our ad campaigns on Facebook and Instagram, only if you allow it (see "Ad measurement with Meta" above). See facebook.com/privacy/policy.
• Apple — Sign in with Apple and App Store in-app purchases.

We do not sell your personal information. We may disclose information if required by law, to protect our rights, or to investigate abuse or safety issues.

Photos and content you share

Puzzles you share or gift are viewable by the people you send them to, and puzzles you post publicly may be visible to other PuzzPic users. Please only upload photos you have the right to share. You can delete puzzles you have created from within the app.

Data retention

We keep your account information and content for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the service. When you delete a puzzle, we remove it from the app; backups and logs may persist for a limited period before being overwritten. Analytics and crash data are retained according to Firebase's default retention settings. When you delete your account, we delete or de-identify your personal information within a reasonable period, except where we must keep it to comply with legal obligations or resolve disputes.

Deleting your account and data

You can delete your PuzzPic account, and all of the data associated with it, at any time. This applies to the PuzzPic app on both iOS and Android.

Delete your account from inside the app

1. Open PuzzPic and sign in.
2. Open the Settings tab.
3. In the Account section, tap Delete account.
4. Review the list of what will be removed, then tap Continue.
5. Type your username (or the word DELETE if your account has no username) to confirm, then tap Delete my account.

Deletion happens immediately on our server. You are signed out and the app removes its local copy of your data from the device.

What is deleted

• Your account and profile (username, display name, email address, avatar, and any linked sign-in identifier).
• Every puzzle you created, including the photos and captions attached to them.
• Your solves, scores, points, and streaks.
• Gifts you sent and gifts you received, including any notes attached to them.
• Your follows and followers, in both directions.
• Your push-notification registration, so we stop sending you notifications.

What is kept, and for how long

• Purchase records. The one-time "Remove Ads" purchase is held by Apple or Google against your store account, not by us. We keep no purchase record of our own once the account is gone. If you reinstall and sign in with the same store account, the purchase can be restored.
• Backups. Server backups that include your data are rotated out within 30 days of deletion. We do not restore deleted accounts from backups.
• Crash and analytics data. Aggregated diagnostics held by Firebase are retained according to Firebase's default retention settings and are not linked back to a deleted account.
• Events shared with Meta. If you allowed sharing with Meta, the events already sent are held by Meta under its own policy; deleting your PuzzPic account does not delete them. Turning sharing off in Settings stops our events and the advertising identifier straight away; the Meta SDK is fully off from the next time the app starts.
• Legal holds. We may keep specific records where we are required to by law or to resolve a dispute, and only for as long as that obligation lasts.

Delete some of your data without deleting your account

You can delete any puzzle you created from inside the app: open the puzzle from your profile and choose Delete. Deleting a puzzle removes its photo and caption from PuzzPic.

Request deletion by email

Children's privacy

PuzzPic is not directed to children under 13, and you must be at least 13 years old (or the minimum age of digital consent in your country, if higher) to use it. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

Your choices and rights

• Notifications — turn push notifications on or off in your device settings.
• Sharing with Meta — off unless you tap Allow when asked. You can change your answer at any time in PuzzPic's Settings. Turning it off stops our events and the advertising identifier straight away; the Meta SDK itself is fully off from the next time the app starts (until then it may still report that the app was opened or closed). On iOS you can also turn tracking off for PuzzPic in Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking; on Android you can reset or delete your advertising ID in your device's settings.
• Advertising — PuzzPic serves only non-personalized ads, so there is no ad-personalization setting to turn off. You can still limit ads generally in your device settings, and the one-time Remove Ads purchase removes them from the app entirely.
• Access and deletion — contact us to access or delete your data.

Depending on where you live (for example, the EEA/UK or California), you may have additional rights over your personal information, such as the right to access, correct, or delete it. To exercise any of these, contact us using the details below.

Data transfers and security

Our servers and service providers may process data in the United States and other countries. We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your information, but no method of transmission or storage is completely secure.

Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the "Last updated" date above, and significant changes may be announced in the app.

Contact us

Questions about this policy or your data? Email our support contact: moathothman@me.com.

This policy is provided in good faith for a small independent app and is not legal advice. We recommend having counsel review it before a large-scale launch.