Privacy Policy

Effective July 22, 2026

Shardlings is provided by Inova Platforms, Inc. (“Inova,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). This policy explains the information used to operate the Shardlings iOS app and the choices available to you.

Data we collect

Depending on the features you choose to use, we process:

Account data: Firebase user ID, sign-in provider, and email address when you choose email or a provider shares it.
Email lifecycle data: the email address associated with your Firebase account, account or capture time, scheduled and sent message status, delivery failures, complaints, unsubscribe status, and interactions with Shardlings paywall-recovery links.
Collection and gameplay data: owned companions, duplicates, hatch records, weekly claim status, Plus reward status, squads, battle replays and results, map stars, mastery, XP, level, and evolution progress.
Conversation data: messages you send, generated replies, companion identity, and timestamps when chat history is saved.
Custom-creation data: a photo you deliberately capture or select, a written description, selected realm, generated companion outline and portrait, source and generated image storage paths, and generation metadata. Shardlings accesses the camera or photo library only when you choose those controls and does not scan your library.
Purchase data: App Store product and verified transaction identifiers, selected exact-companion identifiers, Shard, Bond Spark, Training Spark, and Creation Spark balances, permanent cosmetic and All Shardlings Forever entitlements, and idempotent fulfillment actions needed to provide and secure purchases.
External merchandise data: if you follow the external merchandise link and use the Shardlings web store, Shopify and our fulfillment providers process the storefront, cookie or device, cart, contact, shipping, order, and payment-related information described in the store’s separate privacy policy. The iOS app opens a plain public store URL and does not append a Shardlings account, gameplay, or App Store transaction identifier to that link.
Product and paywall analytics: interactions such as onboarding completion, collection visits, Shop views, paywall views, purchase starts/completions, hatch completion, subscription-screen activity, and reliability events. Optional Firebase and Meta analytics events are collected only while analytics is enabled; Superwall processes the limited paywall, subscription-status, product, device, and technical data needed to display, operate, and improve the subscription experience.
Advertising measurement: Meta app events and device or technical signals used to attribute installs, measure campaign results, and optimize Shardlings advertising, including first launch, onboarding completion, subscription-screen views, and verified App Store purchase or subscription outcomes when analytics is enabled. Shardlings uses Apple's privacy-preserving SKAdNetwork measurement regardless of App Tracking Transparency status. Shardlings accesses the Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA) only when you explicitly grant permission through Apple's App Tracking Transparency prompt.
Technical service data: device, operating-system, app-version, network, IP-address, authentication, and function-invocation metadata processed by service providers to operate and secure the app.
Local preferences: onboarding state, notification preference, AI-consent state, progression, chat allowance, pending-delivery ledger, and analytics preference stored on your device.

We do not request contacts, precise location, microphone, health data, or payment-card numbers. Camera and photo-library access are requested only if you choose to provide a custom-creation photo. Apple processes App Store payment details.

How we use data

Authenticate accounts and preserve collections.
Deliver purchases, subscriptions, weekly shards, and rewards.
Generate and save AI companion conversations after consent.
Transform a submitted photo or description into an original custom companion, lore outline, portrait, and battle kit after explicit consent.
Prevent abuse, enforce limits, and protect reliability.
Measure product use and improve onboarding, engagement, conversion, and stability.
Send onboarding tips and Shardlings membership offers after you choose to save your starter or create an account following a dismissed paywall. We stop marketing messages when you subscribe, unsubscribe, or the address cannot be delivered.
Operate the external merchandise storefront and fulfill, support, and secure physical-product orders when you choose to use that separate store.
Provide support, comply with law, and enforce our Terms.

AI and service providers

We use:

Apple for Sign in with Apple and App Store purchases.
Google Firebase for authentication, database storage, callable functions, hosting infrastructure, and optional product analytics.
Meta for app-install attribution, aggregated advertising measurement, and optimization of Shardlings install campaigns while analytics is enabled.
Superwall for remote paywall presentation, product configuration, subscription-status synchronization, and paywall conversion measurement.
Resend for sending account-onboarding and Shardlings membership emails and processing delivery, bounce, complaint, and unsubscribe events.
OpenAI for safety moderation, AI companion replies, custom-companion outlines, and custom-companion image generation.
Shopify for the separately opened Shardlings merchandise storefront and checkout.
Printful and other disclosed fulfillment providers for manufacturing, shipping, and tracking physical merchandise orders.

Conversation text, recent context, and companion information are sent to our AI provider only after you grant the in-app AI-processing consent. A custom-creation photo, description, selected realm, and generation instructions are sent only after you separately confirm permission and AI processing on the creator screen. We do not use a submitted photo to identify a person. Do not submit sensitive content.

We require service providers that process Shardlings user data for us to provide the same or equal protection described by this policy and required by applicable law. Providers also publish their own privacy commitments. The external merchandise store has a separate store privacy policy.

We do not sell personal information. Shardlings requests App Tracking Transparency permission only after onboarding. If you decline, Shardlings does not access IDFA and continues to work normally; Meta measurement uses non-IDFA signals and Apple's privacy-preserving attribution. If you grant permission, Meta may receive IDFA together with limited app-event and device or technical signals under its own terms to attribute Shardlings ads, measure campaign performance, and optimize delivery. Our Apple privacy label identifies Device ID, Product Interaction, and Purchase History as data used for tracking.

Your choices

Withdraw AI-processing consent in Profile.
Disable product analytics in Profile. This stops future Firebase Analytics and Meta app-event collection from that installation and resets its local Firebase analytics identifier.
Disable notifications in Profile or iOS Settings.
Unsubscribe from Shardlings membership marketing using the link in every such email. Unsubscribing does not delete your account or prevent essential account or service messages.
Delete your account and associated cloud data in Profile → Account → Delete account and data.
Email innovaplatformsinc@gmail.com with a privacy question.

Deleting the app removes local data from that device. Deleting the app alone does not delete a cloud account. Account deletion does not automatically cancel an App Store subscription, which must be managed separately through Apple. Account deletion permanently removes unused account-bound Shards, Bond Sparks, Training Sparks, Creation Sparks, custom-companion records, source photos, and generated portraits; the Keeper Chest’s permanent Aura remains eligible for Restore Purchases with the same Apple ID.

Deleting a Shardlings app account does not automatically delete a separately placed merchandise order or records the law requires us or our commerce providers to keep. Merchandise privacy requests can be made through the contact method in the Shardlings web store privacy policy.

Retention and security

Cloud collection, chat, custom-companion records, source photos, and generated portraits are retained while the account exists so the app can provide its features. Marketing lifecycle records are retained while needed to deliver the sequence, prevent duplicate sends, honor an unsubscribe, and meet legal obligations. External merchandise order and fulfillment records are retained separately for order support, returns, fraud prevention, accounting, tax, and other legal obligations. Operational logs and processor records may be retained for limited periods needed for security, reliability, legal compliance, and provider obligations.

We use authenticated access controls, encrypted network transport, server-side secrets, StoreKit transaction verification, per-user database rules, and least-privilege backend access. No system can guarantee absolute security.

Children

Shardlings is intended for users age 13 and older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. Contact us if you believe a child under 13 submitted personal data.

International processing

Service providers may process data in the United States and other countries. Where required, they use lawful transfer mechanisms.

Changes and contact

We may update this policy as the app changes. The effective date above identifies the latest version. Material changes will be communicated as required by law.

Inova Platforms, Inc.
innovaplatformsinc@gmail.com