Hopstead Privacy Policy · Iterative Key LLC

This Privacy Policy explains how Iterative Key LLC (“we,” “us,” or “our”) handles information in Hopstead (the “game”) on every platform where it is offered, including Google Play and the App Store. It applies to the game only. Our website is covered by the separate website privacy policy.

Hopstead is designed to work entirely on your device. It does not require an account, does not connect to any server operated by us, and does not use your data for advertising or profiling. Signing in to Game Center on iPhone and iPad, to keep your achievements and back your marshes up, is optional.

Information stored on your device

To work, the game stores the following on your device:

Your marshes: everything in your worlds, including buildings, plants, wildlife, inventory, and the names you carve on signposts.
Your creations: your frog’s look, the melodies you compose, and marshes you import from share codes.
Progress: your journal, marsh rank, and the achievements you have unlocked.
Settings: language, volumes, controls, display, and accessibility preferences.

This information is kept in the game’s private storage, which other apps cannot read. It is never sent to us, and we have no way to see it.

Postcards

When you take a picture in photo mode, the game saves it as an image file. On Android it goes to the Download/Hopstead folder on your device, where your gallery and file apps can see it. On a computer it goes to a Hopstead folder in your Pictures folder. On iPhone and iPad it stays in the game’s private storage. Pictures are never sent to us, and what you do with them afterwards is up to you.

You can turn a marsh, your frog, or a melody into a share code, which you can copy to your clipboard or save as a file. A code contains the contents of what you share, such as your marsh’s layout and the names on its signposts. The game never sends a code anywhere. It leaves your device only if you paste or send it somewhere yourself, and anyone you give it to can read what it contains.

To import a code, you paste it from your clipboard or open a file you choose. When you open the frog code screen, the game also checks your clipboard for a frog code so it can fill it in for you. The clipboard is read on your device only, and nothing from it is stored or sent anywhere unless it is a code you choose to import. A marsh you visit from a code opens as a read-only copy and cannot change your own saves.

Backup and moving to a new device

On Android, if you have turned on backup for your Google account, Android includes the game’s progress and settings in your device backup and restores them when you reinstall the game or set up a new device. This backup is managed by Google under your account and Google’s privacy policy. We cannot access it. You can turn backup off in your device’s settings.

On other platforms, your device’s own backup (for example, iCloud backup or a backup of your computer) may include the game’s saves, under that provider’s terms. We cannot access these backups either.

On iPhone and iPad, the game can also back your marshes up with Game Center, as described below.

Permissions the game uses

On Android, the game asks for no permissions that need your approval. It uses vibration for haptic feedback, and it does not request internet access at all. The game does not access your location, contacts, camera, microphone, or accounts.

On iPhone and iPad, the game asks for no permissions. It uses the internet only for Game Center, as described below.

While Melody Pond is open, the game asks your device to lower the volume of music playing in other apps. It does not learn what that music is.

Game Center

On iPhone and iPad, the game uses Game Center for achievements and to back your marshes up with Game Center saved games. When you open the game, Game Center may sign you in on its own, or show its own sign-in screen. You do not have to sign in to play; if you close that screen, you can sign in later in your device’s Settings app.

While you are signed in, the game saves a copy of your marshes in your iCloud account: everything in each marsh, as described above, and the list of marshes you deleted, along with the achievements you have unlocked. It does not include your settings, your saved frogs, or your melodies. Game Center keeps saved games in your iCloud account, so iCloud Drive needs to be on. The copy is used only to restore your marshes and to keep them the same on your devices. It is stored by Apple, under your control; it is not sent to us, and we cannot access it.

Signing in shares your Game Center profile (your nickname and player identifiers) with the game, which does not store or use them. Game Center records which achievements you have unlocked, and may show them to other players as your Game Center settings allow. Apple handles Game Center data as described in the Apple Privacy Policy.

You can delete the saved copy in your iCloud storage settings (in your device’s Settings, under your name, then iCloud).

Store and platform services

On a computer, the game may connect to Steam, if you got it there, to record your achievements. Steam receives which achievements you have unlocked and handles them under Valve’s own privacy policy. On iPhone and iPad, the game uses Game Center, as described above. A future version may also use Google Play Games. When you use these services, the platform handles your data under its own privacy policy, and we receive only what the service shows publicly, such as which achievements a player has. If the game starts to use a new service, we will update this policy first.

We do not collect personal information through the game, so there is nothing for us to use, sell, rent, trade, or share.

Your choices and rights

You can delete your marshes in the game at any time.
You can delete everything the game has stored by clearing its storage in your device’s settings or by uninstalling it. Postcards saved to your Download or Pictures folder stay there until you delete them. A copy of your progress may remain in your device backup until you delete it or it is replaced, and in your Game Center saved games until you delete them, as described above.
Because we do not hold personal information about you, there is normally nothing for us to access, correct, or delete. If you have a question, please contact us.

Children’s privacy

The game is suitable for all ages. It has no chat and no way to contact other players, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone, including children under 13.

Changes to this policy

If the game starts to collect anything new, we will update this policy on this page before that version is released and change the effective date above. If the changes are significant, we will also let you know in the game or in its store listing.

Contact

Questions about this policy? Email us at [email protected].