Privacy Policy
MercWork ("we," "us," or "our") is an independent studio. We publish several applications, currently including Sketchbound, Qubiq, Lu d'Amor, and TrialHound, together with this website (each an "App," and together with the website, the "Services"). This Privacy Policy covers all of them.
Our apps are quite different from one another, so not every practice described below applies to every app. Where a practice only applies to certain apps, we say so. If anything here is unclear, email privacy@mercwork.com and we'll answer in plain language.
How our apps differ
Some of our apps run entirely on your device and never send your data to us (for example, Sketchbound). Others require an account and store the content you create on a hosted backend so it can sync across your devices and, in some cases, be shared with people you invite (for example, Lu d'Amor and TrialHound). Some include in-app purchases and/or advertising (for example, Qubiq). The sections below describe every category of information any of our apps may handle. Check your specific app, and its App Store privacy details, to see which apply to you.
1. Information We Collect
1.1 Account information
For apps that offer accounts, we collect what you provide to create and use one, typically your email address and a display name or profile you set up. Where an app supports Sign in with Apple, you may choose to hide your email address; Apple then gives us a private relay address instead of your real one. Apps that run entirely on your device do not have accounts and collect none of this.
1.2 Content you create
In apps that store content, we hold the information you enter or generate, for example profiles, entries, results, saved activity, or messages. Some apps let you invite another person and share content with them; anything you share is visible to the people you share it with.
1.3 Information you send us
If you contact us by email, we receive whatever you choose to send, typically your name, email address, and the message body. We use that information solely to respond to your inquiry.
1.4 In-app purchases (StoreKit)
In apps that offer purchases (such as virtual currency, cosmetic items, or subscriptions), Apple processes the transaction and gives us a signed transaction record so we can deliver what you bought. We do not receive your name, billing address, or payment method; Apple's data practices apply to the payment itself.
1.5 Advertising
Apps that show advertisements (currently Qubiq) serve them through Google AdMob. AdMob may collect your device advertising identifier, IP address, coarse location, device information, and interactions with ads. If you grant App Tracking Transparency permission, AdMob may use this data to serve personalized ads; if you decline or have not granted permission, AdMob serves non-personalized ads only. See Google's Privacy Policy and AdMob's data practices for details.
1.6 Apple Game Center
In apps that use Game Center, signing in provides a pseudonymous Game Center identifier used to record leaderboard scores and achievement progress. Game Center is operated by Apple and governed by Apple's Privacy Policy.
1.7 Local multiplayer
Some apps offer on-device local multiplayer that connects nearby devices directly, over your local network or Bluetooth, using Apple's MultipeerConnectivity. In that mode, game data passes directly between the players' devices. It does not travel through our servers, and we do not collect it.
1.8 Information processed on your device
Our apps read basic device characteristics (such as iOS version, device model, and screen size) to run and render correctly. For apps that work entirely on your device, this information stays on the device and is not transmitted to us.
1.9 Website
This website is a static site. We do not set advertising or analytics cookies. Our hosting provider may process standard web-server request data (IP address, user agent, timestamp) for security and abuse-prevention purposes.
2. How We Use Information
- To provide, operate, and secure the Services you request.
- To create and maintain your account and sync your content, in apps that have accounts.
- To deliver in-app purchases you have made.
- To show relevant (or, where you have not consented, non-personalized) advertisements, in apps that include ads.
- To record leaderboards and achievements through Game Center, if you choose to sign in.
- To respond to your support requests.
- To comply with legal obligations and enforce our Terms of Service.
We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use the content you create in account-based apps to serve advertising.
3. Third-Party Services
Depending on the app, the Services integrate the third parties below. Each has its own privacy policy governing information it receives:
- Apple (App Store, Sign in with Apple, Game Center, StoreKit).
- Supabase (hosted database and authentication for account-based apps).
- Google (AdMob advertising, in apps that show ads).
4. Children's Privacy
Our apps are designed for a general adult audience. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 (or the equivalent minimum age in your jurisdiction). If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, contact privacy@mercwork.com and we will take appropriate steps to delete it. In apps that show ads, when iOS indicates a device is registered to a child account, we request non-personalized advertising regardless of App Tracking Transparency status.
5. Your Choices and Rights
- Delete your account. In apps that have accounts, you can delete your account and its associated content from within the app's settings, or by emailing privacy@mercwork.com. We delete account data within 30 days, except limited records we must keep to comply with law.
- Delete local data. Deleting an app from your device removes the progress and preferences stored locally on that device.
- App Tracking Transparency. You can allow or deny tracking for advertising at any time in iOS Settings, Privacy & Security, Tracking.
- Game Center. You can sign out of Game Center at any time in iOS Settings, which stops future leaderboard or achievement submissions.
Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights, for example the right to access, correct, delete, or port personal information we hold about you (GDPR, UK GDPR), or the right to opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information (CCPA/CPRA). To exercise these rights, contact privacy@mercwork.com. We will respond within the timeframe required by applicable law.
6. Data Retention
We keep account information and content for as long as your account is active, and delete it within 30 days of an account deletion request (subject to legal record-keeping). We retain email correspondence only as long as necessary to address your inquiry and for reasonable record-keeping. Data processed by Apple, Supabase, and Google is retained according to those providers' policies.
7. Security
We take reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect the information we process. No system is perfectly secure, however, and we cannot guarantee the absolute security of information transmitted over the internet.
8. International Transfers
The Services rely on third parties (Apple, Supabase, Google) that operate globally. Information processed through those services may be transferred to and stored in countries outside your own. Those providers implement their own safeguards for international transfers.
9. Changes to This Policy
We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the "Effective" date above. Material changes will be highlighted in the relevant app or on this website before they take effect.
10. Contact
Questions, requests, or complaints about this policy?
MercWork
Email: privacy@mercwork.com