Privacy policy

Updated 22 October 2026. Applies to Android version 1.0.1 and later.

Thatch Games develops Harvest Hero, a game for children and adults. This policy explains what information stays on your device, what our service providers process, and how you or your parent or guardian can contact us.

Information kept on your device

Harvest Hero stores progress, scores, in-game currency, unlocks, settings and purchase entitlement on your device. Player-created plots, any names you give them, and their music analysis are also stored locally. The game does not upload these files to a Thatch Games server or publish them to other players.

If you choose to import music or cover art, the game reads the selected files and may copy them into its private storage to create playable levels. It does not record your microphone or upload your imported songs or images. Only import files you have permission to use.

Age information and children

Before starting the advertising service, the game offers an age question. You can select “Prefer not to say”. The entered number is used on the device to select an ad-treatment group, then discarded. Only the group is saved: under 16, 16 or older, or unknown. We do not send the entered age or a date of birth to Google or Thatch Games.

Players under 16 and players of unknown age are treated as children for ad requests. The game sets Google's child-directed and under-age-of-consent flags, requests general-audience content, disables ad personalisation and publisher first-party identifiers, and does not request consent to personalised advertising from these players. Google's supported Mobile Ads SDK suppresses the advertising ID for child-tagged requests.

In this version, these players receive banner ads only. Rewarded and interstitial ads are disabled for them. The game has no public chat, public profiles, online leaderboards or public sharing of imported music. We do not ask children for a name, email address, telephone number or precise location in the game. Children should ask a parent or guardian before making a purchase or contacting support.

Child-directed advertising can still involve technical data, such as an IP address and ad-delivery information, needed to deliver contextual ads and protect against fraud. Non-personalised does not mean that no information is processed.

Advertising and privacy choices

Harvest Hero uses Google AdMob and Google's User Messaging Platform (UMP). We request non-personalised ads with a general-audience content rating and disable publisher first-party identifiers. Older players may see banners, interstitials at level breaks and optional rewarded ads. Premium removes in-game ads.

Google's advertising services may process IP addresses, approximate location inferred from IP, device and app information, ad interactions, diagnostic information and identifiers permitted by the user's age treatment and privacy choices. These are used to deliver and measure ads, operate the service and detect fraud. We do not use a separate analytics service or send gameplay events to our own server.

For players aged 16 or older, UMP checks whether a privacy message is required in their region. Where available, Settings → Ad privacy choices opens Google's privacy options so you can review or change your choices. If the required privacy check fails, the game continues without ads for that session until a successful check. Opening privacy options keeps the rest of the session ad-free; ad settings are checked again on your next launch. Refusing or withdrawing consent does not stop you playing.

See Google's Privacy Policy and how Google uses information from apps that use its services. The internal beta uses Google's official test ad units; they are not revenue-generating ads.

Purchases

Optional Premium purchases and restoration on Android use Google Play Billing. Google handles your payment and Google account information. The game receives purchase status and purchase identifiers or tokens needed to unlock or restore Premium. Thatch Games does not receive your full payment-card details or run its own purchase-validation server.

Optional Google Play Games rankings

For players aged 16 or older, the game tries to connect to their existing Google Play Games profile automatically when it opens, unless score sharing has been disconnected. If automatic connection is unavailable, players can choose Connect in the rankings screen or continue offline. The game submits eligible scores to Google and displays players’ gamer names, ranks and scores. Your Play Games profile settings determine public visibility. The game keeps a Play Games player identifier and competitive records on your device to separate accounts and retry score submissions when connected. It does not request your friends list, email address, Google Drive access or cloud saves for this feature.

Online rankings are disabled for children and players whose age group is unknown. Connecting is optional; you can play offline. Use the rankings browse screen to disconnect score sharing, and Google Play Games settings to manage your profile and stored game data. Disconnecting stops new sharing and does not erase previously submitted scores.

Contacting us and visiting this website

If you email support, we receive your email address and the information you choose to send. We use it to respond to your request and investigate issues. Please do not send passwords, payment-card details or unnecessary information about a child.

This website is hosted by Netlify. Loading a page sends ordinary web-request information, including your IP address and browser request details, to the host to deliver and secure the site. This page has no advertising or analytics scripts. See Netlify's privacy policy.

Sharing, security and retention

We do not sell your local game progress or imported music. Google processes information through advertising, consent, billing and optional Play Games services as described above; Netlify processes website requests. These providers may process data outside your country under their own policies. Information may also be disclosed when legally required or necessary to respond to a security issue.

Local game files remain until you delete them or clear the app's storage. Removing an imported plot may remove its associated imported files; clearing all app storage removes the game's local data and saved ad-treatment group. Google Play purchase records are separate and may allow Premium to be restored. Support correspondence is retained only as needed to handle the request, resolve disputes or meet legal obligations. Google and Netlify apply their own retention policies; we do not control their independent records.

We limit the information the game sends and use the providers' supported SDKs and secure connections. No storage or transmission method can guarantee absolute security.

Your choices and parents' requests

• You can play without importing music, making a purchase or volunteering an age.
• You can clear local game data in Android's app settings. Resetting progress inside the game does not reset the saved ad-treatment group.
• Eligible players can review ad choices in the game as described above. You can also manage Google account and device privacy settings separately.
• A parent or guardian can contact us to ask about their child's information, request access or deletion of information we hold, or object to further collection. We may need to verify the request. We cannot remotely access a child's local save or imported files; we can help you remove them on the device and direct requests concerning provider records to the relevant provider.

Depending on your location, you may have rights to access, correct, delete or restrict information, object to processing, withdraw consent and complain to a privacy regulator, including South Africa's Information Regulator. Contact us to exercise rights relating to information held by Thatch Games. We do not condition a child's participation on providing information beyond what is reasonably necessary for the activity.

Contact and changes

We will update this page when our practices change and identify the updated date. Material changes affecting children's information will be handled with any additional notice or consent required before they take effect.