Penalty Area

Privacy Policy

Last updated: 12 October 2026

Penalty Area is provided by Eray Dinç (Eray Dinç Studio). This policy explains the information we use, the services that process it, and your choices. Optional gameplay analytics described below is available only in versions that offer the “Help improve the game” setting. Earlier versions do not send these analytics.

Information stored on your device

Your chosen nickname, country selection, local progress, preferences, and purchase state are stored on your device. Your chosen nickname is never submitted to Game Center or shown on the public leaderboard. In versions that offer “Sync progress with iCloud,” a private progress backup can also be stored in your own iCloud account as described below. Other online data is limited to scores you submit to online services and gameplay events you choose to share through optional analytics.

Private iCloud progress backup

In versions with this setting, iCloud progress sync is enabled by default when iCloud is available. It backs up your chosen nickname and country, cumulative career counters and shot-map totals, personal bests, and tutorial progress using Apple CloudKit’s private database and encrypted record fields. The backup is not public, is separate from the leaderboard, and is not sent to Supabase analytics. It contains aggregate progress, not a log of individual shots. Installation-specific random counter codes help merge progress from your devices without counting the same saved progress twice.

Restoring requires the same iCloud account and a connection. Sync is best effort: progress that has not reached iCloud may be lost when you delete the app. This feature cannot recover data already erased before a backup existed. Independent progress on your devices is combined; tutorial completion and personal bests use the furthest progress and highest record. Switching iCloud accounts uses separate progress caches rather than uploading the previous account’s backup to the new account.

Turn off “Sync progress with iCloud” in Settings → Data & Privacy to stop syncing on that device; turning it off alone does not remove the existing backup. “Delete iCloud backup” requires a connection and removes the saved progress by replacing it with an empty deletion marker. Local progress stays on your devices. The marker prevents previously synced devices from silently uploading the deleted backup again as they reconnect; sync on those devices pauses until you deliberately enable it again. Enabling sync again can back up the progress still kept locally. This is separate from deleting analytics or shared leaderboard data and does not delete Apple Game Center records or purchases. Apple manages service backups under its own policies.

Purchase access and free-run allowances are not included in this backup. Apple StoreKit verifies full-game purchases separately. The opening free-run allowance and renewal timer remain device-local, with a limited Keychain record to discourage reinstall resets; they do not combine across your iPhone and iPad.

Game Center

If you sign in to Apple Game Center, Penalty Area can submit leaderboard scores and achievement progress to your Game Center account. Apple handles that account and its data under Apple’s own terms and privacy policy.

Penalty Area leaderboard

If you use the in-game leaderboard, Penalty Area stores your Game Center display name, country code, best score, and elapsed time in Apple-hosted iCloud CloudKit. A salted, non-reversible player key is used for ranking; your raw Game Center player ID is not shown in the public leaderboard.

In versions that display career levels in the rankings, your career level is also stored with your leaderboard entry and visible to other players. It does not affect your rank.

Leaderboard entries are visible to other players. Your locally chosen Penalty Area nickname is not included. You can change your country from your player profile card and manage your public display name through Game Center.

Optional gameplay analytics

Analytics is off by default. If you enable “Help improve the game” in the player settings, Eray Dinç Studio uses Supabase to receive and store a limited set of events. This helps us understand shot balance, goalkeeper saves, how features are used, where sessions stop, and the purchase flow. Choosing not to share does not reduce your access to the game or change the price.

Events can include a random installation account and session/run codes; event times; game mode; shot result, type, power, curve and target coordinates on the goal; round totals and duration; app screens, launches and backgrounding; purchase/restore steps and results; device family (iPhone, iPhone Duo or iPad), display mode, game language, build number, and test or production environment. We do not send your local nickname, flag, Game Center identity, email, raw finger paths, photos, microphone recordings, advertising identifier, or receipt through this analytics stream. Shot coordinates describe the virtual goal, not your physical location.

The random installation account lets us relate events from the same installation. This is pseudonymous data, not a promise of complete anonymity. It is not linked by us to your Game Center account or Apple purchase transaction identifiers. Supabase and network infrastructure also process technical connection information, such as IP addresses, for authentication, security, rate limiting and service operation. We do not use IP addresses to build player profiles or determine location.

Our Supabase project is hosted in Frankfurt, Germany. Supabase acts as a service provider; its infrastructure and subprocessors may process operational information in other countries. Information about its safeguards and subprocessors is available in Supabase’s privacy information. Access to the Studio dashboard is restricted to approved administrators using two-step verification.

Retention and deletion

Detailed gameplay events and inactive installation records are scheduled for deletion after 90 days. Inactive automatic analytics accounts are also cleaned up. Pending events on your device are limited to 500 records and seven days. Delivery is best effort: events can be lost if the device is offline, you withdraw consent, or the queue expires. Totals and heatmap counts that contain no installation or player code may be kept longer to compare the game over time.

Turn off “Help improve the game” to stop future automatic analytics collection and clear pending local events. Turning it off alone does not erase previously received data. Use “Delete my analytics data” under Settings → Data & Privacy in versions that offer this section to turn sharing off, clear pending events, and request deletion of this installation’s detailed analytics and automatic analytics account. Earlier versions with analytics controls place this option alongside the sharing setting. This requires an internet connection; the app confirms success or asks you to retry. Totals that are no longer associated with an installation code are not included in this deletion. Deleting analytics does not delete your local progress, purchase entitlement, Game Center account or public leaderboard entry.

Delete shared leaderboard data

In versions that offer Settings → Data & Privacy, “Delete shared leaderboard data” is a separate action for Penalty Area’s own iCloud leaderboard. Sign in to the Game Center account whose entries you want to remove, then confirm the request. The game requests deletion of that player’s two leaderboard records, for The Run and Fifty, including the stored display name, country, score, elapsed time, career level (where present), and ranking key. It does not delete your Apple Account or records held separately by Apple Game Center.

New leaderboard uploads for that player from this device are paused before deletion starts. Deletion requires an internet connection and access to iCloud. If it fails or only some records are removed, the game asks you to retry and keeps uploads paused; it does not report the request as complete. After successful deletion, uploads remain off until you explicitly choose and confirm “Allow new leaderboard entries.” This permits future completed runs to be submitted; it does not restore the deleted records.

The upload pause is stored on this device, not as an account-wide block. Other devices can still submit scores, and reinstalling the game or clearing its device settings can remove the pause. If you use more than one device, manage leaderboard sharing on each device. You can contact support about an entry you can no longer access. Earlier versions without the in-game leaderboard deletion option can also contact support about their entries.

Neither deletion option resets your local profile or career statistics, returns you to onboarding, removes your full-game purchase entitlement, grants a new opening allowance or resets your free-run renewal timer. Your free-run balance continues under the normal game rules. Game Center scores and achievements remain separate, and deleting shared leaderboard data does not delete your optional analytics account. Analytics deletion and leaderboard deletion must be requested separately.

Service security logs and backups follow the providers’ retention and recovery schedules; deletion from the active analytics database does not necessarily remove every backup copy immediately. We do not use backup copies to restore erased analytics for ordinary use. You can contact us about access, correction, erasure, or an analytics installation you can no longer access.

Purchases

Apple processes payments. We do not receive your payment card details. Purchase and restore steps can be included in optional analytics as described above. Apple sales reports, and verified server transaction notifications when configured, may separately provide transaction/product identifiers, purchase or refund times, price and currency, ownership type, and test or production status. These records support purchase administration, sales totals, refunds and accounting. They are not joined to the gameplay installation code. Necessary transaction records may be retained for legal, accounting and fraud-prevention purposes and are not erased by the gameplay analytics button.

Reminders, advertising and tracking

Reminders are optional local notifications scheduled on your device with your permission. We do not send notification tokens or reminder contents to Supabase. You can turn reminders off in Settings. Penalty Area does not show third-party advertisements, sell personal information, share data with data brokers, or combine your gameplay data with activity from other companies’ apps or websites for targeted advertising.

Your choices and rights

• You can play without signing in to Game Center.
• You can change your local nickname and country at any time.
• Versions with private iCloud progress sync let you turn it off or separately delete the iCloud backup while keeping local progress.
• Optional analytics starts only after you enable it. You can withdraw that consent and delete this installation’s analytics account and detailed records in the game settings.
• Versions with Settings → Data & Privacy let you separately delete your shared Penalty Area leaderboard records and pause new uploads from that device.
• You can manage Game Center through your Apple Account. Our in-game deletion options do not delete Apple-held Game Center scores or achievements.
• You can ask for access to, correction of, or deletion of information we hold about you, and exercise other rights available under applicable law. We may need enough information to locate your records and verify the request.

Where applicable data-protection law requires a legal basis, we rely on consent for optional gameplay analytics; providing the requested service for online game and purchase features; and legitimate interests in security, support and service administration, subject to your rights. We retain records where a legal obligation requires it. Depending on your country, you may also have rights to restrict or object to processing, request portability, or complain to your local data-protection authority.

Contact

Contact Eray Dinç / Eray Dinç Studio at support@penaltyarea.net for privacy questions or requests. If you email support, we use the information you choose to send to handle your request and retain correspondence as needed for support and applicable legal obligations. Please do not send passwords, payment card details or unnecessary sensitive information.