Privacy Policy
Last updated:
This is an English translation of the Japanese privacy policy. If there is any difference between the two, the Japanese version prevails.
Grow a Little Star (“the App”) respects the privacy of its users and handles information about them appropriately.
1. Information We Use
To provide the App, analyze how it is used, improve its quality, and provide certain features, the App may use the following information.
In-app data
The App stores information such as the following on your device:
- Information about the star you are growing
- The star’s name
- The number of days you have been growing it
- Your journal with the star
- The jars and night skies you have unlocked
- App settings
- Other information saved as you use the App
As a rule, this information is stored on your device.
The star’s name, the contents of your journal, and any text you enter are never sent for the Distant Stars statistics described below.
Distant Stars
The App offers a feature called Distant Stars, which gathers and displays the combined records of stars being grown somewhere in the world.
For this feature, the App sends and stores the following information together with an anonymous identifier:
- The number of stars you have met
- The number of days you have spent with your stars
- The number of times you have given light
- An anonymous identifier generated by the App to prevent double counting
The anonymous identifier is not linked to your name, email address, Apple ID, or any other information that directly identifies you.
This information is used to combine the records of all users and display the totals in the App and on the official website.
The star’s name, the contents of your journal, and any text you enter are not sent.
iCloud backup
So that your time with your star can be restored after changing devices or reinstalling the App, the App offers a backup feature that uses iCloud, provided by Apple Inc.
The backup may include the state of the star you are growing, the records of stars that have departed, and other information needed to restore the App’s state.
This information is stored through your own iCloud account.
The developer does not obtain your Apple ID, iCloud account information, or passwords.
The backup is not designed to let the developer view individual users’ backup data stored in iCloud.
Information handled by iCloud is subject to the privacy policy and related terms set by Apple Inc.
Information about how the App is used
To understand how the App is used and to improve it, the App uses Google Analytics for Firebase, provided by Google LLC.
Google Analytics for Firebase may automatically collect information such as the following:
- App launches and usage
- Number of sessions and time spent in the App
- Features used and actions taken
- App version
- Device information, such as the operating system and device type
- An identifier for the app instance
- Approximate region
- Event information related to in-app purchases
This information is used to analyze usage, improve features, and improve the quality of the service.
The App does not use Google Analytics for Firebase to deliver advertising or to track users across other companies’ apps or websites.
2. Information We Do Not Collect
The developer does not directly collect any of the following information:
- Name
- Email address
- Phone number
- Precise location
- Contacts
- Photos or videos
- Microphone input
- Camera images
- Advertising identifier (IDFA)
- Apple ID or iCloud sign-in information
However, Google Analytics for Firebase may collect the app instance identifier, device information, approximate region, and similar information to the extent necessary for usage analysis.
In addition, when the App communicates with its API, technical information such as IP addresses and the date and time of requests may be processed on Cloudflare’s systems in order to provide the service and keep it secure.
The developer does not use this information to identify individual users.
3. In-App Purchases
The App may offer the ability to purchase additional content.
Purchases are managed and payments are processed through the payment system provided by Apple Inc.
The developer does not obtain payment information such as credit card numbers.
Google Analytics for Firebase may collect event information indicating that an in-app purchase was made, for the purpose of usage analysis.
4. External Services
The App uses the following external services.
Apple iCloud
- Provider
- Apple Inc.
- Purpose
- Backing up your records with your star
- Restoring them after changing devices or reinstalling the App
- Storing data so you can continue using the App’s state
Information stored in iCloud is managed through your iCloud account.
Google Analytics for Firebase
- Provider
- Google LLC
- Purpose
- Analyzing how the App is used
- Improving features and the user experience
- Improving the quality of the App
Information handled by Google Analytics for Firebase is managed in accordance with Google’s privacy policy and related terms.
The App does not use Google Analytics for Firebase for advertising-related tracking.
Cloudflare
- Provider
- Cloudflare, Inc.
- Purpose
- Providing the API used by the App
- Storing and aggregating the anonymous statistics used for Distant Stars
- Keeping the API running reliably and preventing abuse
- Providing the aggregated results to the official website
The Distant Stars information sent by the App is processed and stored using services provided by Cloudflare, such as Cloudflare Workers and Cloudflare D1.
Information handled by Cloudflare is managed in accordance with Cloudflare’s privacy policy and related terms.
5. Sending Data to Third Parties
For usage analysis, the usage data described in this policy may be sent to Google LLC through Google Analytics for Firebase.
To provide and aggregate the Distant Stars feature, the anonymous statistics described in this policy are processed and stored through services provided by Cloudflare, Inc.
If you use iCloud backup, the App’s backup information is stored through iCloud, provided by Apple Inc.
This information is used within the scope of the purposes described in this policy.
Except as required by law, we do not provide information about users of the App to third parties for any purpose other than those described in this policy.
6. Storing and Deleting Data
App data stored on your device can be removed from the device by, for example, deleting the App.
Backup data stored in iCloud is stored and managed in accordance with the iCloud service provided by Apple Inc. and your iCloud settings.
Data collected through Google Analytics for Firebase is stored and deleted in accordance with the Google Analytics data retention settings and Google’s policies.
The anonymous statistics sent for Distant Stars are kept on the server in order to display running totals, such as the number of stars grown and the time spent with them.
This information does not include names, email addresses, Apple IDs, or similar data, and it is not stored in a form that lets the developer directly identify individual users.
7. Network Communication
The App connects to the internet to provide some of its features.
The main communications include:
- Sending and retrieving Distant Stars statistics
- Sending usage information through Google Analytics for Firebase
- Backing up to and restoring from iCloud
- Communicating with Apple’s services for in-app purchases
The App is designed so that its basic features remain available as far as possible even when no connection is available.
8. Changes to This Policy
This policy may be changed when the App’s features change, when the external services it uses change, or as otherwise necessary.
Changes take effect when they are posted on this website, in the App, or on the App’s distribution page.
9. Contact
For questions about this policy, please contact us below.
- Developer
- Akio Nishikawa
- App
- Grow a Little Star
- Contact
- Contact form (opens in a new tab)