ThumbBout privacy

What we collect

Nothing. ThumbBout has no accounts, no sign-in, no analytics, no advertising, no crash reporter and no third-party SDKs. We do not run a backend for the games, so we never receive your messages, your names, your drawings or your scores.

Where your games live

A ThumbBout game is stored inside the iMessage bubble itself. When you take a turn, the new position travels in the message to the other people in the chat, over iMessage, exactly like any other message. That means Apple's Messages service carries it and Apple's privacy policy covers that part. We never see it.

The bubble's link points at thumbbout.com so the message makes sense on a device without the app. The page it opens is static. It does not read, log or store the game data in the link.

What stays on your phone

• Your display name, chosen mascot, trophies, records and settings, so the app can remember you.
• Which seat you took in each game, and the games in flight in a chat, so a bubble opens where you left off.

This is kept in the app's own storage on your device (and in an App Group shared between the Messages extension and the ThumbBout app). It is never uploaded by us. Deleting the app deletes it.

Names, drawings and words in games

What you type or draw in a game (a caption, a ranking, a sketch) goes into the bubble and is visible to the other people in that chat, the way any message is. Only put into a game what you would say to that group.

Photos, videos and stickers

Games such as Truth or Dare and Daily Quest can ask for a photo or a short video as proof. Taking one is always optional, and so is attaching one. You can take it with the camera or pick one with the system photo picker. The picker runs outside ThumbBout, so the app never gets access to your photo library, only to the single picture or clip you choose.

The picture or clip is attached to your turn and sent through Messages to the people in that chat. We never receive it. While it waits to be sent, a temporary copy sits in the Messages extension’s private temporary folder on your phone; unsent copies are discarded after a short time and always within a day.

Taunt stickers are small animations drawn on your phone from the mascots that ship inside the app, then sent as a Messages attachment. They are not uploaded anywhere else.

Permissions

• Camera and microphone: asked for only when you choose to film or photograph a dare or a quest. The microphone records sound for a video clip you send; nothing is recorded in the background. If you say no, you can pick a photo from the photo picker or play on without one.
• ThumbBout does not ask for your contacts, location, photo library, tracking permission or notifications.

Art, words and money

The mascots and game art in the app were generated ahead of time, before release, and ship inside the app. The app does not send anything to an image service while you use it. Word lists and question decks also ship inside the app, so everything works offline.

The poker games keep a tally of chips for the people at the table. ThumbBout never handles, holds or moves money and does not connect to any payment service. Any real-world arrangement between friends is theirs alone.

Children

We collect no personal information from anyone, including children. ThumbBout is a games app for friends and is not directed at children under 13. A few optional decks and switches are marked 18+ (After Dark in Low Blows, Spicy starters in Coupled Up). They are off unless the people setting up the game switch them on.

Deleting your data

There is no account to delete. Removing the app removes everything it stored on your phone. Game bubbles, photos and stickers you already sent live in your Messages conversation; delete them there the way you would delete any message.

Changes and contact

If this ever changes, this page changes first and the date above moves. Questions: noahjameshall@gmail.com.