Privacy Policy

Who this covers

This policy covers the CodeBeasts Android app (sh.albe.codebeasts) and this website, codebeasts.net. You can contact the developer at [email protected].

Your game data

Your beasts, progress, battle records, achievements, settings and developer profile are stored in the app's local storage. Your developer name is a name you choose for the game; it does not need to be your real name. We do not receive a copy of your collection on our own servers, and the game does not require a CodeBeasts account.

The current app does not use Health Connect, Google Fit, step counting or health and fitness permissions. It does not request access to contacts, a microphone or your photo library. It has no advertising SDK or developer-operated gameplay analytics service. Google SDK diagnostics are described separately below.

How permissions are used

• Camera Reads barcodes and QR codes to create encounters. Recognition happens on your device. The app does not save or upload camera frames. Scan values are used to generate game data; beast data can be included in saves, trades and cards you choose to share.
• Nearby devices, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi Finds and connects to another phone when you choose nearby trading or battling. The connection exchanges a player or device display name and the beast and battle data needed for that session directly between phones. A traded beast is saved in the recipient's collection. Wi-Fi state permissions help manage the local connection.
• Location on older Android versions Android 11 and earlier require a location permission for nearby Bluetooth discovery. The app does not read or store geographical coordinates. On Android 12 and newer, it uses Bluetooth permissions declared "never for location" instead. Android 13 and newer also use the nearby Wi-Fi devices permission with that declaration.
• Internet and network state Support Google services, including Play Games sign-in, cloud backup and restore, SDK diagnostics and service communication. Nearby gameplay data can travel directly between phones without an internet connection.
• Vibration Provides haptic feedback during gameplay. It does not read or collect data.

You can review or revoke camera and nearby permissions in Android's app settings. Features that need those permissions will be unavailable while permission is denied.

Google Play Games and cloud saves

Play Games initializes when the app starts and may sign you in automatically according to your Google Play Games settings. Signing in does not itself upload your collection. The in-game Back up and Restore buttons are separate actions you choose.

A cloud save contains game progress, caught beasts, battle records, achievements and developer profile details, including your chosen developer name. It is stored by Google in the saved-games storage associated with your Play Games account. Google handles the account and player identity needed to connect you to that save. We do not receive a separate copy on our own servers. Core local gameplay remains available when Play Games sign-in is unavailable.

Android device backup

The app also allows Android's system backup and device transfer. Depending on your device and backup settings, Android may copy app data to your configured backup service or transfer it to another device. This is separate from the in-game Back up button. Manage it through your device's backup settings. See Android's backup information.

Google SDK data handling

ML Kit processes barcode images on the device, but its SDK collects technical data for diagnostics and usage analytics. Google lists device and app information, identifiers, performance metrics, configuration and feature events among this data. The barcode model is bundled with the app. See Google's ML Kit data disclosure.

Google's Nearby SDK collects connection performance metrics and device information for usage analytics. Google provides a control under Settings, Google, Usage & diagnostics; the exact settings layout can vary by device. See Nearby's data collection information.

Google services are covered by Google's Privacy Policy. These services mean that network activity and technical data collection can happen even if you have not used the in-game cloud backup.

Sharing cards and playing with friends

When you share a developer or beast card, the app creates a PNG in its temporary cache and gives the app you select permission to read it through Android's share sheet. The card can include your chosen developer name, profile details or beast information. The receiving app handles that shared content under its own policy. Nearby players can also receive the gameplay information needed for trades and battles. Share only details you are comfortable giving to the recipient.

This website and contacting us

This website is served through Cloudflare. Serving and protecting the site involves processing connection information such as your IP address, requested URL and browser information. See Cloudflare's Privacy Policy. We do not add advertising trackers or third-party visitor analytics scripts to the website.

Our own server counts public page views, approximate daily visitors, referring website domains and country-level location supplied by Cloudflare. We do not store raw IP addresses, full referrer URLs, query strings or browser fingerprints in these statistics, and we do not set analytics cookies. A daily-changing keyed digest of the connection IP helps estimate daily visitors. These digests are deleted within 48 hours; aggregate counts are kept for up to one year. Signed-in administrators, known bots and requests with Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control enabled are excluded. Click heatmaps store aggregate counts in coarse page-position cells, separated into desktop and mobile layouts. We do not store clicked text, element identifiers, form entries, precise coordinates or screen recordings. Click cells contain no visitor identifiers.

If you email us, we receive your email address and the information you send. We use this to respond and provide support, and retain correspondence as needed to handle the request and meet legal or security obligations. Links to Google Play or Discord take you to services with their own privacy policies.

The news editor is restricted to website administrators. We store their email addresses, securely hashed passwords and login-session records. Essential session cookies support admin login and protect forms against forged requests. There is no public account registration or commenting. News posts are public only when an administrator publishes them. Authors can set a public display name and upload an avatar, which appear alongside their news posts. These profile details and images are stored with their account; author email addresses are not displayed on public posts.

Retention and deletion

Local progress remains until you clear the app's storage or uninstall it. Cloud and Android backups can remain after uninstalling. Manage those copies through Google Play Games and your device's backup settings. Content already shared with another player or app must be managed with that recipient. Our data deletion page explains these options and how to request help.

Children's privacy

The game is intended for a general audience, including children. It has no ads or developer-operated player account server. Local game data, Google services, backups and sharing work as described above. Parents and guardians can manage device permissions, Google account settings and sharing, and contact us for help with privacy or deletion.

Changes and contact

We will update this policy and its date when the app's data handling changes. For privacy questions, email [email protected].