CrosswordsPrivacy Policy
Last updated October 1, 2026
Crosswords is made by Stand Alone, Inc. It contains no advertising or tracking SDKs. The app sends account, puzzle and diagnostic information to our server to provide its features and support. We also use aggregate account, device, library-sync and solve statistics to understand service use and calibrate puzzle difficulty. Our hosting and storage providers process information for us; we do not use third-party advertising or audience-tracking analytics.
What the app sends, and why
| Information | Why |
|---|---|
| A random device credential and the type of device | To create the account that stores your library, without asking you to sign up. |
| Email address, password and name or nickname (if you add a sign-in method or profile name) | To let you sign in on another device and to show your name on leaderboards. Passwords are stored hashed. |
| App Store transaction history, including restores and revocations; Apple, Game Center or legacy account identifiers if you connect those accounts | To recognise your purchases and your account on a reinstall or a new device. |
| Your synced puzzle library, saved answers and progress, solve times and use of hints | To sync your progress between devices, show leaderboards, and calculate aggregate puzzle-difficulty statistics. Progress on local-only imported puzzles stays on your device. |
| Which puzzle sources you follow | To deliver the same sources on every device. |
| Install identifier, device model, OS and app version/build, screen size, language, region, time zone and notification token | To deliver puzzle and support-reply notifications and diagnose problems. |
| Crash reports, hang and performance diagnostics, and app/device information | To investigate crashes and improve reliability. |
| Support messages, images you choose to attach, message-read status, and app version/build/OS information | To respond to your request and keep the support conversation available in the app. |
| Puzzle content you submit, review comments and ratings, if you use creation or review features | To store, publish and review that content. |
Public catalog downloads do not require an account. Downloads of your owned puzzles and library synchronization use your account.
Service providers and public features
Railway provides server and database hosting, and Cloudflare provides network and private object-storage services. Sentry receives scrubbed server-error diagnostics; the server removes request, user, extra and breadcrumb fields before sending those events. Apple processes purchases, sign-in and notifications through its services. These providers process information to operate those services, not to target advertising for us.
Leaderboard names and times are visible to other readers of the leaderboard. Published puzzles and review content are visible to their intended readers or reviewers. Support conversations and attached images are accessed through account-authorized or staff-authorized routes.
What we don't do
- We don't sell your information. Service providers process data to operate hosting, storage and diagnostics.
- We don't use it for advertising or track you across other apps or websites.
- We don't request your contacts or location. Support uploads only images you choose to attach; it does not upload your photo library.
Feedback
Settings → Feedback opens a support conversation. Each message is sent when you tap Send. You can choose images to attach; check their contents before sending them. Messages and attachments are associated with your Crosswords account. The app includes its version, build and OS version with each message. Staff replies appear in the app, with reply notifications if you allow them. Closing a conversation preserves its history; it does not delete the messages.
Diagnostics
The app sends crash and hang reports with app/device details and an install identifier to help us diagnose failures. When investigating a problem, staff can temporarily enable account-specific request logging. Those logs are bounded and redact credentials; they may still contain request or response content. This is separate from support-message history.
Deleting your account
Settings → Account → Delete Account removes the account, its sign-in credentials, account-owned cloud library, and current in-app support conversation, including its message and attachment records. External support images are queued for automatic deletion once no remaining account or stored content references them. Storage failures are retried, so physical removal can take longer than account deletion. An identical image still needed by another account or retained content is kept. Puzzles already on your device stay there. Deleting your account does not cancel Apple purchases or subscriptions. Contact us about a deletion request or data that may remain.
Retention
Closing a support conversation preserves its history; it does not delete it. We do not currently apply a fixed automatic expiry to support history. Account deletion removes the current conversation as described above. Diagnostic and device records, older feedback, published content, and App Store transaction records can remain after account deletion; some retained diagnostic or transaction payloads can still contain identifiers. The automatic cleanup does not scan or purge historical unreferenced objects or any provider backups and operational records. We do not promise immediate erasure of every copy or a fixed retention period for these remaining records. Contact us with retention or deletion questions.
Contact
Questions about privacy: [email protected].