Privacy Policy

1. Who We Are

Braindex is developed and published by Braindex (“we,” “us,” or “our”). Braindex is an educational puzzle game for iOS and iPadOS that teaches artificial intelligence concepts through daily interactive challenges.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and protect information when you use the Braindex mobile application (the “App”). By using the App, you agree to the practices described here.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Sign-in path

On first launch Braindex asks you to choose how to sign in. Each path gives us a different set of information:

• Sign in with Apple — Apple gives us a stable user identifier and, if you allow it, an email (which may be a private relay address that forwards to your real email). Sometimes Apple sends your name on the first sign-in. We never see your Apple ID password.
• Sign in with Google — Google gives us your account email, full name, and a stable user identifier. We never see your Google password.
• Sign up with email + password — we store the email you typed and let Firebase Authentication hold your password using its own salted hash. We never see the plaintext password.
• Continue as guest — we generate an anonymous user identifier. No email, no name, no other personal information. You can upgrade to a real account later in Settings; your scores carry over.

2.2 Account profile

Once you have an account (any of the four paths above), we store the following in our database for as long as the account exists:

• Display name — auto-generated on first launch (e.g. “AI Learner #4821”) and editable for signed-in users. Guests can’t change theirs. The display name is the only identifier visible to other players on public leaderboards.
• Username — if you set a custom unique username, we hold a reservation entry that maps the lowercase username key to your user identifier. This prevents two users from claiming the same name.
• Sign-in provider — Apple, Google, email, or anonymous.
• Email — from your sign-in provider, if applicable. Anonymous users have no email on file.
• Account creation timestamp.

2.3 Game data

• Daily score — for each day you play, we store your computed score (0–1000), number of correct answers (0–6), total seconds used, the display name you played under, and a submission timestamp. This is what powers the daily public leaderboard.
• Per-word right/wrong — for each daily session we log which words you got right and which you got wrong. We use this to figure out which AI terms are too easy or too hard so we can tune future puzzles. This data is tied to your user identifier and only readable by us (no other player can see it).
• Current streak — the number of consecutive days you have played. We do sync this to the cloud (along with your display name and last-played date) so it can power a public “top streaks” leaderboard. Freeze Token balances stay on your device.
• Share cards — the result images you can share are generated entirely on your device. We do not see or store the content of anything you share to Messages, WhatsApp, etc.

2.4 Optional profile (signed-in users only)

After signing in with Apple, Google, or email, we ask a short set of optional questions to help us understand who plays Braindex. Every field is skippable; you can also tap “Skip for now” to bypass the entire screen. Guests are not asked any of these.

• Age range — under 13, 13–17, 18–24, 25–34, 35–44, or 45+.
• Student level — primary, secondary, undergraduate, postgraduate, “not a student”, or “other”.
• Gender — female, male, non-binary, or “prefer not to say”.
• Why you joined Braindex — a single multiple-choice answer (love daily games, want to learn AI, both, supporting the developer, or “other” with free text).
• Country — self-reported country (a two-letter ISO code like “IE” or “US”). We use this only to understand which markets our users come from. This is not precise location and is not derived from your IP or GPS — you choose it from a list.

Adults only (18+). The following fields are not shown to users who indicate they are under 18:

• Email address (optional) — pre-filled from your Apple or Google account if we have it; you can edit, clear, or leave blank.
• Phone number (optional) — always optional, left blank by default.
• Interest in free AI Zoom sessions — yes, maybe, or no thanks. We use this only to decide who to invite to upcoming sessions; pick “no thanks” (or leave blank) and we will not contact you.

2.5 Feedback you send us

• Feedback messages — if you tap the chat icon in the app and submit feedback, we store the free-text message you typed (up to 2000 characters), an optional 1–5 star rating, your user identifier, and a submission timestamp. We use this only to fix bugs and prioritise what to build next. We will never publish or sell what you write.

2.6 Daily reminder (local only)

• Reminder time — if you turn on daily reminders in Settings and pick a time, that time is stored only on your device. The notification is scheduled by your phone’s operating system; nothing about your reminder is sent to our servers.

2.7 Newsletter signups (website only)

• Email address — if you enter your email into the “Subscribe to the newsletter” form on braindexapp.com (or the equivalent form on the post-play results screen at /play), we store the email you typed, a submission timestamp, the first 200 characters of your browser’s user-agent string, and the source (“landing” or “play-result”). The form is served by a small Vercel function that writes the record into our Firebase database. This data is used to send you product updates and (where relevant) to arrange Android beta access; you can ask us to delete it any time by emailing david@movietoons.co.

2.8 Technical information

• App version — the only piece of device metadata we store, and only when you submit feedback through the in-app form (it’s attached so we know which build a report came from).
• Daily submission timestamp — the moment you submit your daily run, recorded with your score so we can sort the leaderboard and reset puzzles at midnight UTC.

We do not store your device model, iOS version, IP address, advertising identifier (IDFA), or any other device fingerprint in our database.

2.9 Information we do not collect

• We do not collect your real name (you choose a display name) or physical address.
• We do not collect your precise location.
• We do not access your contacts, camera, microphone, or photos.
• We do not use third-party advertising SDKs or tracking pixels.
• We do not use analytics SDKs that track you across apps or websites.
• We do not run automatic crash reporting / Crashlytics in the current release. If we add it later, this policy will be updated and the App Store privacy label will reflect it.
• We do not collect payment information. Any in-app purchases would be processed entirely by Apple or Google through the App Store / Play Store.
• We do not request a phone number from anyone under 18, and we do not request an email address through the optional profile screen from anyone under 18.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect solely to:

• Operate the game — save your progress, maintain your streak, deliver the correct daily puzzle, and display your scores.
• Power the public leaderboards — daily score leaderboard and top-streaks leaderboard, both showing only your display name and the relevant number.
• Tune future puzzles — per-word right/wrong logs let us spot AI terms that are too easy or too hard. This data is never published.
• Read your feedback — messages you submit in the in-app feedback form help us fix bugs and prioritise what to build next.
• Invite you to free AI Zoom sessions — only if you opted in on the profile screen (adults 18+ only) and only if we have an email or phone number you provided.
• Send newsletter updates — only if you entered your email into the “Subscribe to the newsletter” form on braindexapp.com (or the equivalent on /play). Used for product updates and Android beta access requests.
• Send your daily reminder — only with your permission, and only as a local notification scheduled by your own phone. We never push notifications from our servers.

We do not use your data for advertising, profiling, or sale to third parties.

4. How We Share Information

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We share data only in the following limited circumstances:

4.1 Service Providers

We use the following third-party services to operate Braindex. Each is bound by its own privacy policy and is only permitted to process your data on our behalf for the purposes described.

• Google Firebase (Authentication and Cloud Firestore) — this is our entire backend. It holds your account record, your daily scores, your streak, your per-word right/wrong logs, your optional profile answers, your feedback, and the website newsletter signups. Hosted on Google Cloud. Firebase privacy.
• Apple — distributes the App through the App Store and provides Sign in with Apple. Apple may collect aggregate App Store analytics. We never see your Apple ID password.
• Google — provides Sign in with Google. When you sign in this way, Google returns your account email, full name, and a stable user identifier. We never see your Google password. Google privacy.
• Vercel — hosts braindexapp.com and the small serverless function that handles the newsletter signup form. Vercel processes the form submission and forwards it into our Firebase database; it does not retain a separate copy. Vercel privacy.

We do not share data with advertising networks, data brokers, or third-party analytics platforms. We do not use Firebase Analytics, Firebase Crashlytics, or any other crash- or behaviour-tracking SDK in the current release.

4.2 Leaderboards

If you participate in leaderboards, your display name and scores are visible to other players. See Section 5 for details.

4.3 Legal Requirements

We may disclose information if required by law, court order, or to protect the rights and safety of Braindex, our users, or the public.

4.4 Business Transfers

If Braindex is acquired or merges with another company, user data may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you before your data becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

5. Leaderboards & Social Features

Braindex has two public leaderboards and a share feature:

• Daily leaderboard — when you submit a daily run, your display name, score, and total seconds used are visible to every other player viewing that day’s board.
• Top streaks leaderboard — once you have an active streak, your display name and streak count are visible to other players on the streaks board.
• Share cards — result images are generated entirely on your device. We do not see or store the content of what you share, and once shared, the image is governed by the destination platform’s own privacy policies (e.g. iMessage, WhatsApp, X, LinkedIn).

Guests appear on the leaderboards too. Every player — signed-in or guest — is assigned an auto-generated display name on first launch (e.g. “AI Learner #4821”). Guests cannot change theirs; signed-in users can edit theirs in Settings. The display name is the only thing other players can see. To play without ever appearing on a leaderboard, do not submit a daily run.

6. Children’s Privacy (COPPA)

Braindex can be played fully without creating an account or providing any personal information. All core gameplay, daily challenges, and streaks work entirely on-device using locally stored data.

For children under 13:

• We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 without verifiable parental consent.
• If a child under 13 creates an account or joins leaderboards, we require parental consent in accordance with COPPA.
• We do not use behavioral advertising or share children’s data with third parties for commercial purposes.
• Parents or guardians may request deletion of their child’s account data at any time by contacting us at david@movietoons.co.

If you believe we have inadvertently collected personal information from a child under 13 without appropriate consent, please contact us immediately and we will delete it promptly.

7. Data Retention

We retain your data for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, the cloud copies are removed (see Section 8 for the exact behaviour around historical leaderboard entries).

• Account record (display name, sign-in provider, account email if any, creation date) — held until you delete your account.
• Optional profile answers (age range, student level, gender, why-Braindex, and, for adults, optional email / phone / Zoom-session interest) — held until you delete your account.
• Daily scores and streaks — held indefinitely so the leaderboards stay intact. Tied to the display name you played under, not your private identity.
• Per-word right/wrong logs — held indefinitely; used only by us to tune future puzzles.
• Feedback submissions — held until we’ve acted on them, then archived.
• Newsletter email addresses (website only) — held until you ask us to delete them.
• Reminder time — lives only on your device. Uninstalling the App removes it. We never see it.

We do not retain crash or diagnostic logs because we do not collect them in the current release.

8. Your Rights & Choices

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Access — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Correction — edit your display name any time in Settings, or ask us to correct other inaccurate data.
• Deletion — tap Settings → Delete account inside the App. This permanently removes your account profile, your optional profile answers, and (if you signed in with Apple) revokes the Apple authentication token automatically. Past leaderboard entries remain under the display name you played them with so the historical leaderboard stays intact — email david@movietoons.co to request anonymisation or removal of specific entries. Full details are on our Delete your account page.
• Opt out of notifications — disable in iOS Settings → Notifications → Braindex at any time.
• Continue as guest — play without an Apple or Google account. We still create an anonymous user identifier so we can save your scores to the cloud, but no personal information (name, email) is collected.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at david@movietoons.co. We will respond within 30 days.

California Residents (CCPA): You have the right to know what personal information we collect, to request deletion, and to opt out of any sale. We do not sell personal information.

EEA/UK Residents (GDPR): Our legal basis for processing your data is legitimate interest in operating the game you downloaded. You may withdraw consent at any time by deleting your account.

9. Security

We take reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These include encrypted data transmission (TLS), access controls on our backend systems, and regular security reviews.

No method of internet transmission is 100% secure. If you become aware of any security concern, please contact us immediately at david@movietoons.co.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the effective date at the top of this page. For material changes, we will provide an in-app notification.

Continued use of the App after a policy update constitutes your acceptance of the revised terms.

11. Contact Us

Questions, data rights requests, or children’s privacy concerns:

We aim to respond to all privacy-related inquiries within 30 days.