Privacy Policy

The short version

Clock Out is a single-player game. There are no accounts, no logins and no servers of ours. Your save file lives on your device and nowhere else.

The one thing that does collect data is the advertising in the app, which is provided by Google AdMob. This policy explains what that means and how to turn the personalised part of it off.

1. What we collect ourselves

Nothing.

We do not operate a server. We cannot see your progress, your device, your location or your email address. We have no database with your name in it, because we have no database.

Your game data, meaning paperclips, Supply Closet upgrades, unlocked employees, lifetime statistics, and your sound and haptics settings, is written to a file in the app’s own private storage on your device. It is not uploaded anywhere and it is not backed up by us. If iCloud Backup is switched on for your device, Apple may include it in your own device backup, which is governed by Apple’s privacy policy, not this one.

Deleting the app deletes all of it, permanently. There is no copy for us to delete on request, because there was never a copy.

Clock Out contains no analytics SDK of ours. We have not added any crash reporter, attribution kit or product-analytics tool.

2. What our advertising partner collects

Clock Out is free and is paid for by advertising, provided by Google AdMob. When ads load, the Google Mobile Ads SDK inside the app may collect and process:

• Device identifiers. Your device’s advertising identifier (IDFA) if you allow tracking, and a vendor identifier (IDFV) that is specific to this app.
• Ad interaction data. Which ads were shown to you, whether you watched or closed them, and whether you tapped.
• General device and app information. Device model, operating system version, language, and approximate location derived from your IP address (country or region level, not a precise position).
• Diagnostic data. Crashes and performance information from the ad SDK.

This information goes to Google, not to us. We only ever see aggregate, anonymous revenue reports: how many ads were shown and what they earned. We cannot identify you from them.

The data types on our App Store privacy label

Everything in the label is collected by the ad SDK, not by the game. None of it is linked to your identity, because the app has no accounts and no server.

• Device ID (IDFA and IDFV): third-party advertising. Used for tracking.
• Advertising Data (impressions and taps): third-party advertising. Used for tracking.
• Crash Data: app functionality. Not used for tracking.
• Performance Data: app functionality. Not used for tracking.

Google’s own policies

Google’s handling of this data is covered by:

• Google Privacy Policy
• How Google uses data from apps that use its services
• AdMob advertising partners and ad technology providers, the list of companies Google may share advertising data with

The ads in Clock Out

• Banner. A small strip at the bottom of the Main Menu and the Supply Closet only.
• Interstitial. A full-screen ad that occasionally appears when you leave the Results screen. Never during a run.
• Rewarded video. Always optional, always your choice, and always gives you something: a revive after burnout, double paperclips, an extra reroll, or a daily care package. Skipping them costs you nothing but the reward.

3. App Tracking Transparency, and how to say no

The first time you finish a run, iOS may show you Apple’s App Tracking Transparency prompt asking whether Clock Out may track you across other companies’ apps and websites.

• If you allow it: the advertising identifier is used to show you more relevant ads.
• If you decline: the identifier is not available, and you get non-personalised ads instead. The game is exactly the same. Nothing is locked, slowed, or made harder. We do not ask again.

You can change your mind at any time in Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking, either for Clock Out specifically or for every app at once.

If you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or Switzerland, you will also see a separate consent form provided by Google before any ads load, where you can choose what the advertising partners may do. That choice is stored on your device.

Residents of US states with privacy laws (California and others) are shown an equivalent notice with an opt-out of the sale or sharing of personal information for targeted advertising.

Manage ad consent

You can reopen that consent form whenever you like. In the game, go to Settings → Manage ad consent and the same Google form appears, with your previous answers in it. The row is only shown where a form is required, so if your region does not need one you will not see it.

4. Game Center

If you are signed in to Game Center, the app submits two scores after each run, how long you survived and how many enemies you defeated, to the “Longest Workday” and “Most Kills” leaderboards.

Those leaderboards are operated by Apple. Your Game Center nickname is visible to other players on them. We never see your Apple Account or your real name.

Game Center is entirely optional. If you are signed out, the app quietly skips it and everything else works normally. You can manage or disable it in Settings → Game Center.

5. Purchases

Clock Out offers one in-app purchase, Remove Ads, which removes the banner and the interstitial ads permanently. Rewarded videos stay available, because they are bonuses you choose to watch.

Purchases are handled entirely by Apple through the App Store. We never see your payment details, card number or billing address. We only receive confirmation from Apple’s StoreKit that the purchase succeeded, which is stored on your device so the app knows to hide the ads. “Restore Purchases” in Settings asks Apple for that confirmation again on a new device.

6. What we never do

We do not:

• Ask you to create an account or give us an email address
• Collect your name, address, phone number or precise location
• Read your contacts, photos, microphone, camera or health data
• Sell your personal information
• Send you push notifications or marketing email
• Use analytics SDKs beyond what the ad SDK requires

7. Children

Clock Out is rated 9+ (12+ in some regions because it contains advertising). It is not directed at children under 13, it is not in the App Store’s Kids Category, and it does not knowingly collect personal information from children.

If you believe a child has provided personal information through this app, contact us at sam.pulman2@gmail.com and we will help you deal with it. In practice there is nothing for us to delete, because the app sends us nothing, but Google can act on requests about advertising data.

Parents can switch ads off entirely by buying Remove Ads, and can disable tracking for the app in Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking.

8. Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, delete or export the personal information a company holds about you, and to object to certain processing.

Because we hold nothing, those requests are best directed at the companies that do:

• Advertising data. Use the consent controls described in section 3, or contact Google using the links there.
• Data stored on your device. Delete the app. That removes your save file and every setting with it.
• Game Center scores. Manage them through Apple in Settings → Game Center.

If you have a question about any of this, or you want to complain about how the app handles your data, write to sam.pulman2@gmail.com and we will reply.

9. Data retention and security

Your save file is kept on your device for as long as the app is installed and is protected by iOS’s own app sandboxing and file protection. We retain nothing on our side. Google’s retention periods for advertising data are described in its own privacy policy.

10. Changes to this policy

If the app changes in a way that affects your privacy, such as a new SDK, an analytics tool or a backend, this policy will be updated and the effective date at the top will change. The current version always lives at https://app.sampulman.dev/clock-out/privacy. Significant changes will also be mentioned in the app’s release notes.

11. Governing law

This policy is governed by the laws of the United Kingdom, without regard to conflict of law provisions.

12. Contact

Questions, corrections or complaints:

Sam Pulman
sam.pulman2@gmail.com