Privacy Policy

This policy explains what information the iPhone app “Shimeji” (the “app”) uses, why, and the choices you have. It applies only to the iPhone app.

1. Who we are
2. Data that stays on your iPhone
3. Importing and exporting files
4. Character downloads
5. Usage statistics and crash reports
6. Your choice
7. Legal bases
8. How long data is kept
9. Who receives data
10. International transfers
11. Your rights
12. Children
13. Security
14. Changes to this policy
15. Contact

1. Who we are

The app is developed and published by Arnold Gabriel Balasescu, trading as Digital Cosmos (“we”, “us”). We are the controller of the personal data described in this policy. For anything about privacy or data protection, write to [email protected]. For help with the app, see Support or write to [email protected].

2. Data that stays on your iPhone

The app saves the following only in its own storage on your iPhone. We never receive it and cannot see it:

• the characters you create, copy, import or download, with their pictures and animations;
• your drawings, and the pictures you choose for a character or a playground background;
• your 3D pets, their names, outfits and paint;
• levels, experience points and other progress;
• your settings, including your answer to the privacy question below.

When you choose a picture, the app uses the system photo picker: it receives only the pictures you pick and has no access to the rest of your photo library. The app does not ask for access to your camera, microphone, contacts or location.

If you use iCloud Backup or back up your iPhone to a computer, this data is part of that backup, which Apple handles under your Apple Account. Deleting the app deletes this data from your iPhone.

3. Importing and exporting files

You can import character files with the system file picker, with Open With in the Files app, or by sharing a file to the app. You can export a character as a .zip file through the system share sheet. The app reads only the files you choose. Where an exported file goes (Files, AirDrop, Messages, another app) is your choice, and we do not receive it.

4. Character downloads

The Discover screen shows original characters made by us. To show and download them, the app requests the list of characters, their preview pictures and the character files from our server, shimeji.app, over an encrypted (HTTPS) connection. These requests contain no account, no identifier and no cookies. Like any internet request, they reveal your IP address, the time, the file requested and a technical description of the app and iOS version (the “user agent”). Our server may record requests for the character list in a technical log, which we use only to run and protect the service and which is deleted after at most 14 days.

5. Usage statistics and crash reports

The app uses the following Google Firebase services. Google provides them to us as a data processor: Google processes this data on our behalf and under our instructions.

Google Analytics for Firebase (usage statistics)

• App instance ID: a random identifier created when the app is installed. It is not your name, your Apple Account or an advertising identifier, and it changes if you delete and reinstall the app.
• Usage events and screens: for example, which screens you open, when you add a character or a 3D pet to the playground, download, import, export or create a character, use the drawing editor or care for a pet, and level-ups; also app opens, session length, the app version, how many times the app has been opened and how many characters are on the playground.
• Device and app information: iPhone model, iOS version, language and region settings, and app version.
• Coarse location: the country, region and city that Google derives from your IP address. Google Analytics does not store the IP address itself, and the app never asks for your precise location.

Firebase Crashlytics (crash reports)

If the app crashes or runs into an error, Crashlytics sends a report with technical details: where in the app’s code it happened, the iPhone model, iOS version, app version, the state of the device at that moment (such as free memory and disk space and the screen orientation), a random Crashlytics installation identifier and, for errors that did not crash the app, an error code. Reports never contain your characters, drawings, pictures or files.

Firebase Remote Config and Firebase Installations

The app downloads a small set of settings from Firebase Remote Config, so we can adjust features and messages without an app update. To do this, Firebase Installations creates a random installation identifier for the app, and the request carries that identifier and technical information such as the app version, iOS version and language. Remote Config is not used for usage statistics, advertising or tracking, and it works whatever you choose for usage statistics.

What we do not do

• No account and no sign-in: we never send your name, email address or anything you create to these services, and we do not set a user ID.
• No advertising identifier (IDFA), no ads, and no tracking: we do not link app data with data from other companies’ apps or websites, and we do not share it with data brokers. The app therefore never shows Apple’s tracking prompt.
• Google signals and ads personalization are turned off for the app’s analytics.

More about how Google handles this data: Privacy and Security in Firebase, Google Privacy Policy, How Google uses information from apps that use its services, Firebase Data Processing and Security Terms and Google Ads Data Processing Terms (which cover Google Analytics).

6. Your choice

• EU, EEA, UK and Switzerland: if the region of your iPhone (Settings > General > Language & Region) is in one of these places, the app asks “Help us improve Shimeji?” after the welcome screen. Usage statistics and crash reports are collected only if you tap Allow. Until you answer, nothing is collected.
• Everywhere else: usage statistics and crash reports are on by default, and the app does not ask.
• Everyone: you can change your choice at any time in the app: open the Settings tab and tap Privacy (the Privacy Policy row opens this page), then choose Allow or Don’t allow.

When you choose Don’t allow, usage statistics and crash reports stop at once, and crash reports still waiting on your iPhone are deleted without being sent. Data already sent is deleted at the end of the retention period below.

7. Legal bases

Where the EU or UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) applies, we rely on:

• Consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR) for usage statistics and crash reports when the app asks for it, that is, in the EU, the EEA, the UK and Switzerland. Crash reports follow the same choice as usage statistics.
• Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR) for usage statistics and crash reports where the app does not ask (our interest: understanding which features are used and fixing bugs, with data that is not linked to you, and you can switch it off at any time); and for Remote Config, Firebase Installations and character downloads (our interest: delivering the app’s features and the characters you ask for, and keeping the service secure).

8. How long data is kept

• Usage statistics: event-level data is deleted automatically after 2 months (the Google Analytics retention setting we use). Aggregated reports, which contain no identifiers, can be kept longer.
• Crash reports: kept by Crashlytics for 90 days, then deleted automatically.
• Firebase Installations identifier: kept while the app is installed and in use; Google deletes it after the app stops using it, according to Google’s Firebase retention terms.
• Server logs for character downloads: at most 14 days.
• Data on your iPhone: until you delete it or the app.

9. Who receives data

We do not sell or rent personal information, and we do not share it for advertising. Data is received only by our service providers, acting on our behalf: Google (Firebase, as described above) and DigitalOcean, which hosts our server. We may also disclose information if the law requires it.

10. International transfers

Google and DigitalOcean may process data in the United States and other countries outside your own. Where data leaves the EU, the EEA, the UK or Switzerland, these transfers rely on the EU-US Data Privacy Framework (and its UK and Swiss extensions) or on the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses.

11. Your rights

EU, EEA, UK and Switzerland: you have the right to access your personal data, to have it corrected or erased, to restrict or object to its processing (including processing based on legitimate interests), to data portability, and to withdraw your consent at any time in Settings > Privacy (this does not affect processing before the withdrawal). You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.

California and other US states: you have the right to know what personal information is collected, to request its deletion or correction, and to opt out of its sale or sharing. We do not sell or share personal information as these laws define it. We will not treat you differently for using these rights.

To use any of these rights, write to [email protected]. We reply within one month. Because we have no accounts and the data is not linked to your identity, we may not be able to find the data that belongs to you; in that case we will tell you, and switching off usage statistics and crash reports in the app, or deleting the app, stops any further collection.

12. Children

The app is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. The app has no account, chat or sharing with other users. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has given us personal information, write to [email protected] and we will delete it. You can also switch off usage statistics and crash reports in Settings > Privacy.

13. Security

All connections the app makes use encryption (HTTPS). Data on your iPhone is protected by the app sandbox and data protection of iOS. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but we take reasonable measures to protect the data we handle.

14. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy, for example when the app changes. We will post the new version on this page with a new effective date, and point out significant changes in the app or on this page.

Effective 29 October 2026.

15. Contact

Privacy and data protection: [email protected]
App support: [email protected]