1. Introduction
Globetto is an Android geography and travel quiz (flags, capitals, maps, currencies, languages and travel culture) published by an independent developer (hereafter "we" or "the publisher"), who also publishes the MyTravels app. This privacy policy describes what data is collected, how it is used, and what rights you have over it.
Contact: mfodevhub@gmail.com
2. Data stored locally on your device
Globetto saves your progress on your device. This data is not sent to our servers (the optional online backup through Google Play Games is described in section 7). It includes:
- Your learning progress (answers given, review state of each question, stamps and mastery by country) and your daily challenge results and streak
- Your settings (theme, sound, reminder, accessibility, usage statistics and crash reports) and the state of the welcome tutorial
- The lists of countries you visited or want to visit, whether entered by hand or imported from MyTravels (section 3)
- Counters and time limits needed for optional ads and for the 24-hour theme loan
- Question reports that could not be sent yet and wait for the next connection (section 6)
- Whether you own the one-time “Globetto Plus” purchase (last known value, re-checked with Google Play)
Uninstalling the app deletes all of this data. Note that Android’s automatic backup (Google account) may include the app’s preferences, but the main database is excluded from it.
3. Link with MyTravels (optional import)
Globetto can fill in your “My countries” lists from the MyTravels app, by the same publisher. This import is optional and always initiated by you, in one of two ways:
- Direct exchange. Globetto opens a screen of MyTravels installed on the same device. MyTravels asks for your agreement, then returns only the list of countries you marked as visited or wishlist (country code and status). Dates, cities, trips and account are never shared. The exchange happens between the two apps on your device and goes through no server. To know whether MyTravels is installed, Globetto declares the visibility of that single package; no other app is queried.
- Backup file. You pick, with the system file picker, the backup file exported by MyTravels. Globetto reads only the countries from it, on your device.
The imported lists are stored locally (section 2) and are never sent to our servers. A new import replaces only the list that came from MyTravels. If MyTravels is not installed, Globetto offers to open its Google Play page.
4. Advertising (Google AdMob)
Globetto shows ads served by Google AdMob: a banner on the home screen, and optional rewarded ads that you must explicitly accept to watch (for example an extra hint, a second chance after a mistake, or a 24-hour loan of a premium theme). There are no interstitial ads. Globetto Plus removes the banner and the need to watch ads for these advantages.
To serve and measure these ads, Google's Mobile Ads SDK may process an advertising identifier and technical data about your device (device model, OS version, coarse location derived from IP, ad interaction data). On first launch, a consent form (Google's User Messaging Platform, "UMP") is shown where applicable under GDPR (European Economic Area, United Kingdom, Switzerland), letting you choose whether to allow personalized advertising; you can change this choice at any time in Settings. Without advertising consent, no ad is requested. See Google's Privacy Policy for details.
5. Purchases (Google Play Billing)
Globetto offers “Globetto Plus” (optional one-time purchase: no banner, unlimited hints, second chance without ads and all themes), as well as optional one-time donations and a monthly supporter subscription, which unlock nothing in the game. They are processed entirely by Google Play Billing. Globetto never sees or stores your payment details (card number, billing address, etc.): these are handled directly by Google Play under its own privacy notice. The app only receives confirmation of whether a purchase is active. It keeps on your device the last known status and re-checks it with Google Play when it starts online. This status is tied to your Google account and is not part of the online backup.
The “Support me” screen also contains links that open in your browser or in Google Play (rating the app, Buy Me a Coffee, the MyTravels page). Those services have their own privacy policies; Globetto sends them no data.
6. Crash reports, usage statistics (Firebase) and question reports
To find and fix bugs, Globetto uses Firebase Crashlytics, a service of Google. If the app crashes, a technical report is sent to Google/Firebase. It contains the technical details of the error (stack trace, app state at the time of the crash), your device model, Android version and app version, and a randomly generated Firebase installation identifier that is not linked to your identity. These reports contain no data you enter and no information that directly identifies you. Nothing is sent in debug builds.
Purpose: correcting bugs and improving stability. Legal basis: our legitimate interest in maintaining a reliable app. Processor: Google / Firebase, under its privacy and security information. Retention: 90 days on Firebase's side. Opt-out: collection is enabled by default and can be turned off at any time in Settings.
Usage statistics (Firebase Analytics). To understand how the app is used and improve it, Globetto also uses Firebase Analytics. It records only categories and ranges, never exact amounts or personal content: screens opened, quiz series started, completed or abandoned with a score range, question types and categories, daily challenge start and completion, steps of the welcome tutorial, accessibility and reminder settings changes, use of hints and second chances, theme choice, ads watched, Plus and support screens, Play Games sign-in and synchronisation outcome, achievements unlocked, sharing of the daily result, and the outcome and size range (never the countries themselves) of a MyTravels import. These events are tied to a pseudonymous Firebase installation identifier, not to your identity. The advertising identifier is not collected by Analytics and its advertising purposes (ad storage, ad user data, ad personalization) are disabled.
Consent and opt-out: in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, collection only starts if you give your consent in the consent form (UMP, section 4); elsewhere it is enabled by default. In all cases you can turn it off at any time in Settings and change your consent choice in the privacy options. Purpose: improving the app. Processor: Google / Firebase. Retention follows Firebase's settings; you may ask us to delete the data tied to your installation (section 13).
Question reports. The “Report this question” button lets you tell us about a wrong answer, a typo or a flag/map problem. Sending is entirely voluntary. The report goes to a single Supabase project shared by the publisher's apps (table feedbacks), together with: the reason you chose, your optional comment (500 characters at most), the question identifier and the content version, the app name (Globetto) and version, and your Android version, device model and language. No other information is attached. Please do not put personal information in your comment. If you are offline, the report is kept on your device and sent later. We use these reports only to correct the content; they are kept only as long as needed for that purpose, and you can ask us to delete yours at any time (section 13).
7. Google Play Games Services (achievements and online backup)
Globetto uses Google Play Games Services for achievements. Signing in is optional and the app works fully without it. If you are signed in, Google's SDK lets Globetto recognise your Play Games profile (nickname and avatar) and records the achievements you unlock. This data is processed by Google under its Privacy Policy and is not sent to our servers. The SDK may also send technical and diagnostic data to Google. You can manage or delete your Play Games data from your Play Games profile or your Google Account.
Online backup (Saved Games). When you are signed in to Play Games, Globetto also stores a copy of your durable progress (the review state of your questions and the history of your daily challenges) in your Google account through Google's “Saved Games” feature, so you can resume on another device. Your country lists and settings are not part of it. The copy is kept by Google, not on our servers, and we have no access to it. Without sign-in, the save stays local. You can delete it from your Play Games profile or your Google Account.
8. Daily reminder and sharing
The daily challenge reminder is optional and off by default. If you enable it, a notification is scheduled locally on your device at the time you choose; no data is sent. When you share your daily result, Globetto only hands a text (score, emoji grid and link to the Play Store page) to the sharing menu of Android; you choose the app and the recipient, and Globetto itself sends nothing.
9. Audience (18 and over)
Globetto is intended for an audience aged 18 and over. It is not directed at children and we do not knowingly collect personal data concerning minors.
10. Data we do not collect
Globetto does not collect your name, email address or any directly identifying information, your GPS location, your photos, contacts or media files, or your payment details (handled entirely by Google Play, see section 5). The app has no user account of its own and requires no sign-up. The only data that can leave your device is described in sections 4, 5, 6 and 7.
11. Android permissions used
- INTERNET: needed to serve ads, process the purchase, send crash reports and usage statistics, synchronise Play Games and send the question reports you choose to submit. The quiz itself works offline.
- ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE (added by the Google and Firebase libraries): used to check network availability.
- POST_NOTIFICATIONS and RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED: for the optional daily reminder, requested only if you enable it in Settings. The notification is scheduled locally on your device (and re-scheduled after a restart); no data is sent.
The app also declares the visibility of a single other package (MyTravels) so that it can tell whether it is installed (section 3). No other system permission is requested.
12. Communication security and sharing with third parties
The app's network communication goes through HTTPS. We do not sell, rent, or share your data with any third party ourselves. The following services process data on our behalf or on their own account, each under its own privacy policy: Google AdMob (ads, section 4), Google Play Billing (purchase, section 5), Google / Firebase (Crashlytics and Analytics, section 6), Supabase (question reports, section 6, privacy policy) and Google Play Games Services (section 7). See Google's Privacy Policy.
13. Your rights (GDPR)
We hold no data that directly identifies you. Your progress stays on your device and you can delete it at any time by uninstalling the app (section 2). You can stop crash reports and usage statistics at any time in Settings (section 6). You may ask us for access to, or deletion of, the question reports you sent (section 6) or of crash and statistics data tied to your installation, by writing to mfodevhub@gmail.com; since this data is not linked to your identity, we may ask you for details such as the date of sending or your app version to find it. For advertising consent (section 4), purchases (section 5) and your Play Games profile, achievements and online backup (section 7), please use Google's own privacy controls, since we do not control that data ourselves.
14. Data retention
Local data is kept on your device until you uninstall the app. Crash reports are kept for 90 days on Firebase's side; usage statistics follow Firebase's retention settings; the online backup is kept by Google until you delete it. Question reports are kept only as long as needed to process them and improve the content, unless you ask for earlier deletion.
15. Changes to this policy
We may update this privacy policy. In case of a substantial change, the "last updated" date at the top of this page will be updated. We encourage you to check this page periodically.
16. Contact
For any question about this privacy policy, contact us at mfodevhub@gmail.com