MatchWell Privacy Policy

MatchWell is an eco-themed Match-3 puzzle game. The story levels, endless mode, and local multiplayer are fully offline. The game also has an optional global leaderboard and online multiplayer, and unlike most of our apps, those features do send a small amount of data to our own server. This policy says exactly what, when, and how to have it deleted.

What We Collect

If you use the online features, our server receives a random install ID (a number the app makes up — not a hardware ID), the nicknames you choose (leaderboard username, multiplayer display name, room names), and your game statistics (stars, completed levels, medals, scores and moves). If you switch on cloud save, it also receives a password hash — never the password itself.

That is all. MatchWell never collects your name, email, phone number, location, or contacts, and it contains no analytics, no crash reporting, no advertising, and no third-party tracking of any kind. If you only play offline, nothing is sent to us at all.

Leaderboard & Online Multiplayer

The install ID is created the first time you open the Leaderboard or Multiplayer screens and accompanies requests from then on — it lets the server tell players apart without knowing who anyone is. Publishing to the leaderboard sends your username and game stats; playing an online match sends your display name, the room's name and settings, and your live score while the match runs. Room passwords are stored only as secure hashes.

Two things are visible to others: the global leaderboards are public — anyone can see published usernames and stats — and in online rooms, other participants can see your display name and room details. Pick a nickname rather than your real name if you'd rather not be identifiable.

Like nearly every web service, our server also keeps routine access logs (the request and the IP address it came from) for security and operations. These logs rotate automatically and are kept for about two weeks; we don't use them for anything else.

Cloud Save

Cloud save is optional and stays off until you switch it on. When you do, the save already on your device — the install ID, the nicknames you chose and your game statistics — is copied to SeMo Lab's server so you can move it to another device. It holds nothing beyond what is described above: no email, no phone number, no location, no real name.

Switching it on also sets a password. Only a bcrypt hash of it is stored — we never hold the password itself, and it cannot be read back out of the hash. Signing in on a new device hands the save to that device and deactivates the previous one, so the save is live on only one device at a time.

To stop anyone guessing that password, five wrong attempts lock the account for fifteen minutes. That lock is counted per player account, not per device or network address, so protecting it costs us no extra information about you. The trade-off is that someone who knows your player name can lock you out for fifteen minutes by guessing badly on purpose; tell us if that ever happens to you.

A cloud save is kept until you delete it — uninstalling the game does not remove it. You can erase it yourself from Settings → Delete account, which asks for this password before it does so.

The Climate Clock

The main menu shows live climate data fetched from climateclock.world when the game starts. That request carries no personal data — but as with any web request, the provider can see your device's IP address. Their handling of it is covered by their own policy; if the fetch fails, the game silently shows built-in values.

Google Play Games

If you use Google Play Games, it signs you in when MatchWell starts, as it does for any game, and the achievements you earn are recorded on your Play Games profile. Google then receives the fact that your profile plays MatchWell and each achievement you unlock, including any you had earned before the game supported Play Games. This goes from your phone to Google under Google's privacy policy, and who can see your achievements is set in Play Games itself.

MatchWell reads nothing from your Play Games profile and sends nothing about it to SeMo Lab. If you decline the sign-in, or don't use Play Games, the game plays exactly the same and your achievements stay on your phone.

Local Multiplayer (Nearby Devices)

Local multiplayer works over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi between nearby phones and uses no internet at all. While discovering players, your chosen display name is broadcast so nearby devices can find you — the install ID is not shared in this mode. The radio layer is handled on-device by Google Play services.

Data Stored on Your Device

Your game progress, endless-mode saves, settings, install ID, and chosen names are stored in the app's private storage on your phone, which Android shields from other apps. This data is excluded from Android's cloud backup. "Reset All Progress" in Settings clears your progress; uninstalling the app removes everything stored on the device.

Server Data: Retention & Deletion

Leaderboard and multiplayer records live on SeMo Lab's own server — no third party hosts, processes, or receives them, and the server sends nothing onward. Nothing expires on its own: your leaderboard entry and cloud save are kept until you delete them. Uninstalling the game does not delete them (a reinstall simply starts fresh with a new install ID). The one exception is our routine access logs, which rotate automatically after about two weeks.

Deleting your data. You can remove your account and everything we store about you at any time from Settings → Delete account in the app. That erases your leaderboard entry, your cloud save and any multiplayer rooms you created, immediately and permanently, and frees your player name for someone else.

If you no longer have the app installed, email info@semo-lab.com with your player name and we will delete the account and confirm by reply. Full instructions are on the account deletion page.

Permissions

MatchWell requests internet access (leaderboard, online multiplayer, and the Climate Clock), the Bluetooth / Wi-Fi / nearby-devices permissions for local multiplayer, and vibration, which buzzes when you make a match and can be turned off in Settings. On Android, scanning for nearby devices also requires the location permission — that is an Android rule for Bluetooth scanning; MatchWell never reads your GPS position and no location ever leaves the device.

One transparency note: the Google Nearby library the game bundles declares a few permissions of its own (such as camera, microphone, and storage) inside the app package. MatchWell never requests or uses them — they are never granted and no code touches them.

Children and Minors

MatchWell contains no advertising, no in-app purchases, and no chat. The only things another player can ever see are a chosen nickname, a room name, and game scores. We recommend that younger players use a made-up nickname rather than a real name.

We knowingly collect nothing else from anyone, of any age. A parent or guardian can have a child's leaderboard entry deleted at any time by emailing info@semo-lab.com.

Your Rights

Under laws such as the GDPR and the CCPA you can ask what data we hold about you, ask for a copy, and ask for it to be deleted. For MatchWell that data is pseudonymous — an install ID, a nickname, and game stats — and we cannot connect it to a real person unless you tell us your username. Email info@semo-lab.com and we will look it up, share it, or erase it. We do not sell or share personal information with anyone. If you use Google Play Games, Google receives your achievements as described above, under its own policy.

Everything on the device itself is under your control: reset progress in Settings or uninstall the app to remove it.

Changes to This Policy

If MatchWell's privacy practices ever change, this page will be updated and the date above revised. Material changes will be described here rather than quietly amended.

September 28, 2026: added the Google Play Games section, which covers the achievements recorded with Google if you use Play Games, and the vibration permission.

Contact

For privacy questions about MatchWell, contact: info@semo-lab.com