Privacy Policy

Pathwords is a word puzzle for iPhone and iPad. The short version: we do not collect any personal data. There are no accounts, no advertising and no tracking. The app sends us anonymous usage stats shortly after you finish a puzzle, and you can turn this off. This page explains the few places where data does move, all of them handled by Apple except the usage stats below.

The app

Your progress

Which puzzles you have solved, how long they took, your streak, pencil marks and settings are stored on your device. If you are signed in to iCloud, a small record of each solved puzzle (the date you solved it and your fastest time) is also kept in your own iCloud storage, so your progress follows you to your other devices and survives a reinstall. That copy is held by Apple under your Apple Account and Apple’s Privacy Policy; we cannot see it. Turn off iCloud for Pathwords in Settings to keep everything on the device, and delete the app to remove it.

Usage stats

The app sends us an anonymous report shortly after you finish a puzzle, while it’s open, so we can see how the puzzles are doing and know when to write more. A report can include:

• puzzles you first solved since the last report, and how long each took
• puzzles you started but haven’t finished
• how far through each collection you are
• whether you’ve bought the extra puzzles
• your hint setting
• the app version
• your App Store country
• the date, and whether this is the first report your device has sent that day

A report never includes your device or advertising identifier, your name, your Apple Account, your precise location, or anything that links one day’s report to the next — each one is sent with a fresh random id and nothing ties it back to you or to your other reports. We do not record the IP address a report arrives from; our hosting provider’s standard server logs (see “This website” below) still apply the same as for any other request to pathwords.co.uk. We keep reports for 13 months, after which only daily totals remain. We publish the totals at pathwords.co.uk/stats.

Turn this off any time in Settings › Share anonymous usage stats. Turning it off also deletes anything on your device waiting to be sent.

Purchases

Unlocking extra puzzles is an in-app purchase made through the App Store. Apple handles the payment; we never receive your name, payment details or Apple Account. The app only asks the App Store whether the unlock has been bought on your account.

Ratings and reviews

The app may occasionally show Apple’s standard prompt to rate it. Any rating you give goes to the App Store.

Sharing

When you choose to share a puzzle or your result, the app hands a link and a spoiler-free picture of your grid to the iOS share sheet. It goes only where you send it. The link identifies the puzzle, not you.

Crash reports

If you have chosen to share analytics with app developers in your device’s settings, Apple may pass us anonymous crash and performance reports. They do not identify you, and you can turn this off at any time in Settings › Privacy & Security › Analytics & Improvements.

This website

This site sets no cookies and runs no analytics. The free puzzle on the home page runs entirely in your browser and saves nothing. The stats page shows the play totals built from the app’s anonymous usage reports above; loading it sets no cookies and runs no analytics either. As with any website, our hosting provider records standard server logs (such as IP address, browser type and the page requested) to keep the site running and secure. The site’s font is served by Google Fonts, so your browser also contacts Google when a page loads; see Google’s Privacy Policy.

Children

Pathwords is suitable for all ages. Because it collects no personal data, it collects none from children either.

Changes

If this policy changes, the new version will be posted on this page with a new date at the top.

Contact

Questions about privacy? Email info@pathwords.co.uk.

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