The short version
Local games, tutoring, analysis and practice progress are stored on your device. Online play necessarily sends match data to Google Firebase. Optional usage and crash diagnostics are off by default and require your choice. Buddy Mode camera images and optional microphone audio are processed locally, not uploaded by the app.
Games and learning on your device
Local matches, settings, engine analysis, saved practice positions and progress are kept in the app's local storage. The backgammon engine and tutor explanations run on the device. You can delete a saved match in History, remove saved practice positions, reset practice progress and clear local error reports in Settings → Diagnostics. Your device's own backup settings may also apply to app data.
Deleting local History is not a request to delete online match records; those are separate.
Online and nearby matches
If you choose online play, the app uses Google Firebase anonymous authentication and sends an anonymous player identifier, match settings, moves, events and dice-handshake records so the players can share one match. The anonymous session can be reused between launches. This is separate from the optional diagnostics setting.
Nearby play exchanges match information directly with the other device over your local network. The app may use the camera to scan a nearby game's QR code. Nearby play is not the same as a Firebase online match.
Optional usage and crash diagnostics
Sharing usage and crash diagnostics starts off. If you turn it on in Settings, Google Firebase may receive usage events, app and device information, performance measurements and crash reports to help improve the app. The choice covers Analytics, Performance Monitoring and Crashlytics. You can turn it off again to stop new optional collection; turning it off does not erase information already sent. Local diagnostics and online matches work separately from this choice.
The app does not ask you to enable advertising personalization as part of this choice.
Camera and microphone
The camera can scan a nearby game's QR code or help read a physical board in Buddy Mode. Buddy board images are processed on your device. If you enable the optional microphone, audio is processed briefly in memory as a dice-landing sound hint rather than kept as a recording. The app does not upload Buddy camera images or microphone audio. You may refuse these permissions; local on-screen games do not require them.
Buddy's board reading is still being tested. Dice are entered manually; camera dice recognition is not a supported release feature.
Feedback you choose to send
The in-app feedback action opens a GitHub issue draft for you to review. It includes the app version and platform; a draft started from Diagnostics may include an excerpt of local error details. Nothing is submitted until you submit the issue yourself. Posted issues may be public, so remove personal or sensitive information first. You can instead contact [email protected].
Retention and deletion
Local match and practice records remain on your device until you use the app's deletion controls or remove the app, subject to any device backup. Turning off optional telemetry stops new collection but does not delete reports already received by Google Firebase.
Online records have a separate limitation: the app currently has no user-facing control to delete Firebase match, event or dice-handshake records, and deleting local History does not remove them. A fixed retention period and administrative deletion process for online records have not yet been finalized for public release. We will update this page before public release when those terms are set. For a privacy question or deletion request, email [email protected]; include an anonymous player identifier if you have it, but do not send passwords or tokens.
Contact and changes
For privacy questions, contact [email protected]. For product help, see Backgammon Buddy support. We will post changes to this policy at this URL with a revised date.
Backgammon Buddy is in development. Store release, final online-data retention terms and platform privacy disclosures are still under review; this page describes the implementation inspected on the date above, not a claim that a store release has occurred.