SHADOW TALES / PRIVACY
App privacy policy
Shadow Tales is still in development and is not currently available to users. This page describes privacy practices of the current Android build. If you have a development or authorized review build, this policy explains how it handles data.
01 / OFFLINE CONTENT
Shadow Tales is an offline reading app. Its stories and artwork are bundled with the app; it does not need a content backend to display them. The app does not sell personal information and has no general user accounts, login, user profiles, comments, social feeds, advertising identifiers, advertising SDKs, analytics tracking or SDKs, or account-based tracking.
02 / DATA STORED ON DEVICE
The app stores reading positions, completed-story status, favorites, onboarding and preview-hint status, accessibility preferences, weekly Featured selections, notification preference, and the last verified Premium product, access label, and verification time locally. This information is not connected to an account or uploaded by Shadow Tales.
Android backup and device transfer are disabled for these local app preferences and reading data.
03 / LOCAL CRASH DIAGNOSTICS
Only uncaught exceptions that reach the app’s default exception handler may create a report in app-private storage excluded from backups and device transfer. Reports contain the time, app version, Android API, main/background thread classification, exception classes, and app code locations. They do not record exception messages, thread names, reading content, favorites, purchase details, or tokens.
Up to 10 reports are kept for 30 days; expired reports are removed the next time diagnostics are accessed. You can inspect, share through another app, or clear reports in Settings → Crash diagnostics. Sharing is optional, and the receiving app handles the report under its own policy. Caught exceptions, freezes, and native crashes are not covered.
04 / APP REVIEW ACCESS
App Review Access is an optional authorization flow for Google Play reviewers, not a general user account. Submitting the dialog sends the entered username and password over HTTPS to the configured review authorization service. The app does not keep a local copy of these credentials or include them in app logs.
Successful authorization stores an encrypted temporary grant with its original expiration and device boot metadata in app-private storage excluded from backup and device transfer. Reopening or resuming the app validates the grant locally without contacting the service or extending access. Expired, invalid, or unreadable grants do not unlock content; a device reboot requires reauthorization. The grant is removed when invalidated, app storage is cleared, or the app is uninstalled.
05 / GOOGLE PLAY PURCHASES
Premium subscriptions and lifetime purchases are processed by Google Play. Shadow Tales receives product identifiers, purchase status, and a purchase token to complete, acknowledge, and restore Premium access.
The app does not receive or store payment-card numbers, billing addresses, or other payment credentials. It does not persist purchase tokens, order IDs, or complete purchase records. It stores the last verified Premium product, access label, and verification time locally so purchased access can continue briefly if Google Play is unavailable. Subscription verification expires after seven days without successful verification; lifetime access remains locally entitled until Google Play reports that the purchase is absent.
Purchase information is not sent to a developer-operated backend. Google handles purchase, account, device, payment, and fraud-prevention information under its own privacy policy.
06 / SECURITY
Local reading data and preferences use Android app-private storage. Android cloud backup and device transfer are disabled for this data. Shadow Tales does not transmit local reading data to a developer-operated service. Purchase communications are handled by Google Play. Reviewer authorization uses HTTPS with system TLS verification; cleartext traffic is disabled.
07 / NOTIFICATIONS
If you enable weekly reminders, Shadow Tales stores whether reminders are enabled and schedules an inexact local notification. Android may request notification permission on Android 13 and later; notification controls vary by Android version. No device token or personal data is sent to a server for reminders.
08 / SUPPORT AND SHARING
Contact and Report Issue open a pre-filled email composer; Shadow Tales does not send the message automatically. If you choose to send it, your email provider transmits the information you include to the selected support address.
Share sends the selected story title and summary to Android’s share sheet only after you choose to share. Rate App, Manage in Google Play, and other external actions may open Google Play, the share sheet, an email app, or another app. Those apps handle information under their own policies.
09 / GENERATED FICTION
Stories and artwork may be AI-generated and are bundled with the app. Shadow Tales does not generate new stories, images, or user profiles on your device.
10 / RETENTION AND DELETION
Reset Reading Progress removes completed-story status and saved reading positions only. Other local settings remain until you change them, clear Shadow Tales storage through Android settings, or uninstall the app. Clearing app storage or uninstalling removes locally saved app data. Google Play purchase records and subscriptions are managed through Google Play.
Crash reports are limited to 10 and retained for up to 30 days; expired reports are removed when diagnostics are next accessed. Reviewer grants are temporary and removed when invalidated, app storage is cleared, or the app is uninstalled. Submitted reviewer credentials are not saved by the app.
11 / CHILDREN
Shadow Tales is not designed to collect information from children and does not knowingly collect personal information from anyone.
12 / CHANGES
Material changes to this policy will be reflected here along with an updated effective date.
13 / CONTACT
Shadow Tales is developed by Hector Cruz at H/Studio. For privacy questions, email [email protected].