Merge Drop: Critter Jar - Privacy Policy
Last updated: 29 September 2026
Merge Drop: Critter Jar (shown on your home screen as "Merge Drop") is a physics merge game for iPhone and iPad, published by LetsGetStashd™ Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales (company no. 17304979), registered office 66 Paul Street, London, EC2A 4NA, United Kingdom. LetsGetStashd™ Ltd is the data controller for the information described here.
The short version: you do not need an account. The game uses a random, anonymous ID so leaderboards work, collects crash reports so we can fix bugs, and shows ads from Google AdMob after you have had the chance to give or refuse consent. You can optionally sign in with Apple to keep your progress if you change phone. The game does not access your location, contacts, photos, microphone or camera, and we do not sell your data.
What the game collects, and why
An anonymous ID - no account needed
Every install signs in anonymously with Firebase Authentication (a Google service), which creates a random user ID. That ID is not linked to your name, email address, Apple Account or any other part of your identity - it exists so your leaderboard entries can be told apart from everyone else's.
Optional: Sign in with Apple, to save your progress
If you choose to, you can use Sign in with Apple to save your progress to the cloud, so it survives a new or reset phone. This is optional and the game works fully without it. The game does not ask Apple for your name or email address. When you sign in, the following is saved to Firebase Firestore (a Google database):
- your game progress - scores, coins, your critter collection, your settings and your power-ups;
- your generated leaderboard name (see below).
Leaderboards
When you post a score, Firebase Firestore stores a leaderboard entry. The entry holds:
- a randomly generated display name, such as "Bouncy Panda 42" - you cannot type your own, so no one can put personal information into it;
- your score;
- a two-letter country code taken from your device's region setting - the game does not ask for, or use, your location;
- the critter set you played.
Leaderboard entries are visible to other players - that is what a leaderboard is for. Nothing else about you is shown.
Crash reports
Firebase Crashlytics collects crash reports and diagnostics - things like your device model, operating system version and the technical stack trace of what went wrong - so we can find and fix bugs.
Advertising
Merge Drop: Critter Jar is free to download and shows ads served by Google AdMob.
Consent comes first. If you are in the UK, the European Economic Area or Switzerland, you will see Google's consent message the first time you open the game, before any ad is requested. You can change your choice at any time in Settings > Privacy choices.
Personalised ads are your choice. The game shows Apple's own “Allow tracking?” question (App Tracking Transparency). If you allow it, Google may use your device's advertising identifier to show ads that are more relevant to you. If you don't allow it, or haven't been asked, ads are non-personalised. You can change your answer at any time in your iPhone's Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking. The advertising identifier is used by Google for ads only after consent.
AdMob may still collect device identifiers and usage data to serve and measure ads and to prevent fraud, as described in How Google uses information from sites or apps that use its services. We do not receive or store that data ourselves. Ads are limited to PG-rated content.
Purchases
In-app purchases are processed entirely by Apple. We never see your payment details - the app only learns whether a purchase exists.
What the game does not do
- No access to your location, contacts, photos, microphone or camera.
- No selling of your data, to anyone.
- No requirement to create an account.
Who processes the data
The game's backend runs on Google Firebase, and its ads come from Google AdMob. Google processes the data described above on our behalf under its own data processing terms, and may process it outside the UK; where that happens it is covered by Google's standard contractual clauses and the UK International Data Transfer Addendum. Sign in with Apple is provided by Apple, and purchases are handled by Apple, under Apple's own privacy policy.
Children
Merge Drop: Critter Jar is rated for all ages but is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect information from them. Ads are limited to PG-rated content.
Your rights and deleting your data
To delete your account in the game: go to Settings > Delete my account. This deletes your cloud save and your account, and revokes Sign in with Apple if you used it. The game on your phone keeps working, just without a backup.
Under UK GDPR you also have the right to access, correct, delete, restrict or object to the processing of your personal data, and to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk). To ask for anything about your data, including deletion, email developer@letsgetstashd.com. Because there is no required account, telling us the display name shown on your leaderboard entry helps us find it.
Changes
If a future version collects anything beyond what is described here, this page and the App Store privacy label will both say so before that version ships.