Privacy Policy

1. Overview

Zenerly ("ChefGalaxy," "we," "us," or "our") develops the ChefGalaxy mobile game and the chefgalaxy.app website (together, the "Service"). ChefGalaxy is a culinary learning game played by kids, teens, adults and families. Because our audience includes children, this Policy is written to comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), the Google Play Families Policy, Apple's App Store Review Guidelines for kids and mixed-audience apps, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA).

2. Information We Collect

Information you choose to provide

• In-app player profile: a nickname/display name and an age band (e.g. "5–8," "9–12," "13–17," "Adult") you select during onboarding. We do not ask for a full birthdate, real name, address, phone number or photo.
• Contact form submissions: name, email address and message, only if you email us or use the contact form on this website.
• App Store / Google Play review contact: handled entirely by Apple/Google, not by us.

Information collected automatically

• Device & diagnostic information: device model, OS version and crash/performance logs, used only to keep the game stable.
• Gameplay analytics: aggregated, minimum-necessary event data such as level_up, recipe_completed or session_started — never tied to precise location or contact details. Analytics are configured for a child-appropriate audience and do not build cross-app advertising profiles for identified children.
• Advertising identifiers: collected only from adult/general-audience sessions that have opted in where required (App Tracking Transparency on iOS), and never used for personalized/behavioral ad targeting in sessions identified as children's, per Section 5.

We do not collect precise location, contacts, photos/camera roll, or microphone data at any point in the MVP.

3. How We Use Information

• Operate the core game loop (galaxy, kitchen, recipes, mini-games, XP, achievements).
• Save your local progress and let you continue where you left off.
• Diagnose crashes and improve performance and game balance.
• Respond to support and contact requests.
• Serve advertising and process purchases, as described in Sections 5–6, where you have not disabled them.
• Comply with legal obligations and enforce our Terms of Service.

4. Local-First Design & What Never Leaves Your Device

ChefGalaxy's MVP has no user account system and no game server. Your player profile, XP, levels, coins, skills, recipe progress, achievements, streaks, inventory and settings are stored locally on your device (e.g. via iOS FileManager/UserDefaults or Android DataStore) and are never uploaded to us. Uninstalling the app or clearing app data deletes this information. A future cloud-save feature, if introduced, would be opt-in and covered by an updated version of this Policy before launch.

5. Advertising & Google AdMob

The mobile app may show ads served by Google AdMob, primarily rewarded video ads a player chooses to watch for a bonus (e.g. bonus coins, an extra attempt), plus limited interstitials shown only at natural breaks — never during active cooking or gameplay.

• Child-directed ad settings: for sessions in the 5–8 and 9–12 age bands, we configure AdMob to request ads under Google's Tag for Users under the Age of Consent (TFUA) / child-directed treatment — no behavioral targeting, no remarketing, no personalized ads.
• Adult/teen sessions: where legally permitted and consented to, standard AdMob personalization may apply; you can request non-personalized ads at any time in Settings.
• iOS App Tracking Transparency: where relevant, we request permission before accessing the IDFA for advertising purposes.
• Frequency capping: interstitials are capped and never interrupt an in-progress recipe or mini-game.

Learn more at policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites and manage ad settings at adssettings.google.com.

6. In-App Purchases

Optional purchases (e.g. Remove Ads, cosmetic packs, a premium world) are processed entirely by Apple StoreKit or Google Play Billing. We never see or store your payment card details. We do not sell gameplay advantages ("pay-to-win") and do not use manipulative purchase flows aimed at children — see our Terms of Service for the full monetization policy.

7. Third-Party Services

• Advertising: Google AdMob and its ad network partners (Section 5).
• Billing: Apple StoreKit / Google Play Billing (Section 6).
• Platform services: Apple Game Center / Google Play Games Services, only for optional leaderboards/achievements sync you can decline.
• Crash & analytics tooling: configured for minimum-necessary, non-identifying event data.
• Email delivery: Google Workspace / Gmail, to send replies to contact-form and support messages.

8. Cookies & Tracking Technologies (Website)

chefgalaxy.app uses essential cookies to operate correctly. If Google AdSense is enabled on this website, it may use cookies to serve and measure ads to visitors, consistent with Google's advertising policies. The website does not target ads at pages primarily visited by children and follows Google's child-directed treatment requirements where applicable. You can control cookies through your browser settings.

9. Data Retention & Deletion

Local game data stays on your device until you reset progress in Settings or uninstall the app. Contact-form messages are retained only as long as needed to respond and are periodically purged. To request deletion of any data we hold about you (e.g. a past support email), visit our Data Deletion page or email us — see Section 15.

10. Data Security

We use encryption in transit (TLS) for any network requests, minimize what we collect in the first place, and rely on Apple/Google platform security for on-device storage. No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

11. Your Rights (GDPR / CCPA)

If you are located in the EEA, UK or California, you have the right to:

• Access, correct or delete personal information we hold about you.
• Object to or restrict certain processing, including for advertising.
• Request a portable copy of your data.
• Withdraw consent at any time, where processing is based on consent.
• (California) Know what categories of personal information are collected and opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. ChefGalaxy does not sell personal information.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details in Section 15.

12. Children's Privacy (COPPA & Play Families Policy)

ChefGalaxy is designed as a mixed-audience app that is safe by default for players under 13, in line with COPPA and the Google Play Families Policy:

• No account creation, no real name, birthdate, email, phone number, precise location or photo is requested from any player to play the game.
• No public profile, no chat, no user-generated content sharing, and no unrestricted messaging for any player.
• Ads and analytics default to the child-directed, non-personalized configuration described in Section 5 unless a session is affirmatively identified as an adult/teen session.
• We do not knowingly collect more personal information from a child than described in this Policy. If a parent or guardian believes their child has provided us with personal information beyond what's described here, contact us at the email in Section 15 and we will investigate and delete it promptly.
• Parents/guardians can reset or fully delete all local game data at any time from the in-app Settings menu, without needing to contact us.

See our dedicated Children's Privacy Notice for a plain-language summary aimed at parents.

13. International Data Transfers

Any information we do process (such as a contact-form email) may be transferred to and processed in the United States. Where required, we rely on appropriate safeguards such as Standard Contractual Clauses.

14. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We'll post the updated version on this page and update the "Last updated" date above. Material changes affecting children's data will be reviewed against COPPA and Play Families Policy requirements before release.

15. Contact Us

Questions about this Privacy Policy can be sent to contact@chefgalaxy.app or via our Contact page.
Zenerly · chefgalaxy.app