Privacy policy
lawnmower. is a mowing puzzle game for iOS, Android and the web (playlawnmower.com). This policy covers all three. The short version: your progress stays on your device, and there are no ads or tracking. The game sends only two things: an anonymous report when it crashes, and, while online play is on, what online play needs (your best runs, the name you picked, and what you choose to share). You can turn either off.
What stays on your device
Your progress (lawns cleared, coins, mowers, records) and your settings are saved on your device only. They are never uploaded; the exception is online play, below, which sends your best runs. Deleting the app, or clearing this site's data in your browser, erases them. Move progress in Settings turns your progress into a code that you can send or copy yourself; the game never sends it anywhere. The code also carries your online name and its key, so keep it to yourself.
Crash reports
When something goes wrong in the game, it sends a crash report so the bug can be found and fixed. A report contains:
- the error message and where in the game's code it happened
- the game version and platform (web, iOS or Android)
- your device's browser and operating system version (the "user agent")
- the last few things the game did before the error, such as which screen was open
Reports do not contain your name, contact details, IP address, location, advertising ID, save data, or anything else that identifies you, and they are not linked to you or to each other. The game turns off the collection of IP addresses, cookies, headers and web addresses' query strings, and removes them again before a report is sent.
Reports are processed by Sentry (Functional Software, Inc., in the United States), are used only to fix bugs, and are deleted automatically within 90 days.
To turn crash reports off: open Settings in the game and set Crash reports to Off. Nothing is sent after that.
Online play
While online play is on (Settings > Online > Online scores), the game takes part in leaderboards, challenges, community lawns and races with friends. The first time it needs to, the server creates an anonymous player for you: a random ID and a secret key kept on your device. There is no email, password or sign-in.
What is sent:
- the name you picked from the game's word lists (such as "Speedy Squirrel 42");
- your best runs: which lawn or mode, the mower and its upgrades and tools, every steering input with its timing, and the result, so the server can replay the run and check the score is real;
- the game version;
- and what you choose to do online, described below.
Leaderboards. Other players see your name, rank and result. If your run leads a leaderboard (such as today's Daily or a community lawn), other players can race it as a "ghost": your mower's path, replayed. Bonuses for leaderboard places, and the crown for winning the week's featured lawn, are worked out from the same scores.
Challenges. If you send a challenge, anyone with its link sees your name, your time and your run, and the names and times of friends who answered it. Challenges close after 7 days.
Community lawns. If you post a lawn you built, everyone can see and play it, with your name as its maker. Its name comes from the game's word lists. The server counts plays (once per player; earlier versions of the game also counted likes) and keeps reports, which hide a lawn until it is reviewed. You can take your lawn down at any time.
Races with a friend. During a live race, your turns and progress pass through the server to the other player, and your finished run is checked to decide the winner. The race room keeps them only while it is open and deletes them when it closes.
Friends and blocking. If you add friends (by sharing your friend code or opening a friend's link), the server keeps who your friends are, so you can see a leaderboard of just your friends. Either of you can remove the friendship. If you block a player, the server keeps that block so their lawns stay hidden for you on every device; it also removes the friendship. Your friend code is a secret code made for you; anyone you give it to can add you at once. Someone who adds you any other way (after a race, say) sends a friend request instead, which waits for your answer: you can accept it, decline it (they are not told) or block them.
Online status and invites. While you have the game open, your friends can see that you are online, so they can invite you to play; turn this off in Settings, Online. The server notes only when you were last online, and forgets it when you close the game. An invite a friend sends you is kept until you answer it or its room closes (at most 30 minutes). Nothing else is sent: no location, and no list of who is around.
Friend alerts. On iPhone, if you turn on Friend alerts (Settings, Online), the server keeps your phone's push notification token, given by Apple, and uses it only to tell you, through Apple's push service, that a friend invited you, asked to be your friend, or is waiting in your room, and only while the game is closed. The notification carries the friend's game name. The token is deleted when you turn the alerts off, when you delete your online data, or when Apple says it no longer works.
Where it is kept: on Cloudflare's servers (Cloudflare, Inc., in the United States). Only your best run on each leaderboard is kept, for as long as you have a place on it. Your IP address is used only to slow down abuse and is not stored. Nothing is used for advertising or shared with anyone.
To stop: set Online scores to Off (Settings > Online); nothing more is sent. To delete everything the server holds about you (your name, scores, runs, challenges, lawns, friends, blocks and push token): Settings > Online > Delete my online data, or email [email protected].
Buying the full game
The first zone is free; one purchase in the iOS or Android app unlocks the rest. The App Store or Google Play handles the payment under its own privacy policy, and we receive no payment or personal details. The game asks the store only whether this purchase was made (for example when you tap Restore), and remembers the answer on your device. Codes for a free unlock are Apple's own offer codes, redeemed through the App Store in the same way.
The website
playlawnmower.com is hosted by Cloudflare, which handles your IP address to deliver the pages, as every web host does. The site sets no cookies and has no analytics.
What the game does not do
- No sign-in: online play uses an anonymous player the game creates, with no email or password
- No advertising, and no advertising or tracking identifiers
- No analytics or usage tracking
- No chat and no typed text: every name comes from the game's word lists
- No sale or sharing of data with anyone
If ads are ever added, this policy will be updated before that version is released.
Children
The game is suitable for all ages and does not knowingly collect personal information from anyone, including children under 13. Names come only from the game's word lists; there is no chat and no typed text.
Changes and contact
Changes to this policy will be posted on this page with a new effective date. Questions or requests: [email protected].