ArkPixels legal
Privacy Policy
1. About This Policy
This Privacy Policy explains how ArkPixels processes personal data for its Android app, web account area, and API services. It covers accounts, profiles, private libraries, uploads, subscriptions, Steam and IGDB integrations, Google Drive backup, advertising, analytics, diagnostics, camera and on-device OCR, Android sharing, security, export, suspension, inactivity, and deletion.
2. Data Controller and Contact
The data controller for ArkPixels is Paolo Heesacker, Via Luigi Poletti 14, Olbia, Italy. ArkPixels has not appointed a Data Protection Officer at this time. Privacy questions and data-rights requests should be sent to [email protected]. General support questions should be sent to [email protected].
3. Personal Data We Collect
ArkPixels processes registration and account data such as username, email, password hash, verification, account state, dates, login IP address, and user agent; profile names, avatars, colours, account images, and bio; private library entries, ratings, notes, progress, playtime, platforms, collections, tags, DLC and Steam identifiers; uploads; session, API-token and installation-token metadata; rate-limit, audit, security, legal-acceptance, and account privacy-preference records; and subscription, entitlement, order, currency and renewal metadata received from Google Play. Privacy-preference records contain the current analytics and Diagnostics choices plus a dated Web or Android change history. Steam and IGDB requests may contain Steam identifiers, query terms, locale and request metadata. AdMob may process permitted advertising identifiers, device/app data, consent signals, ad requests, impressions, clicks, frequency, measurement and fraud data. With consent, Firebase Analytics or web analytics may process app-instance or client identifiers, device, session, engagement and coarse-location data. With Diagnostics enabled, Crashlytics may process stack traces, app/device versions, timestamps and diagnostic identifiers. ArkPixels does not intentionally send account IDs, emails, usernames, profile names, game IDs or private-library content as analytics parameters or Crashlytics user IDs or custom keys.
4. Purposes and Legal Bases
For GDPR purposes, ArkPixels relies on performance of the user contract for accounts, profiles, private libraries, synchronization, export, deletion, subscription entitlements and user-requested Drive operations; legal obligations for tax, accounting, consumer, lawful-request and required recordkeeping; documented legitimate interests for proportionate security, fraud and abuse prevention, service logs, rate limits, reliability, support, enforcement and defence of legal claims, after balancing those interests against user rights; and consent for optional analytics, analytics storage, personalized advertising and advertising identifiers where consent is required. Consent can be refused or withdrawn without losing core account functions. Non-personalized ads may rely on a lawful basis available in the relevant location and may still use limited identifiers for security, frequency control and aggregate measurement.
5. Cookies and Local Storage
The web account area uses an essential, host-only session cookie for authentication and security. Browser local storage may remember theme and consent choices. For a signed-in remote account, analytics and Diagnostics choices are also stored by ArkPixels and synchronized between the Web account area and the active Android account; an offline Android change applies locally first and synchronizes later. Analytics cookies or identifiers are created only after analytics consent where required. Android stores sessions, protected API tokens, entitlements, backup settings and privacy choices in app storage; sensitive stored values use Android Keystore-backed encryption where implemented. Firebase Analytics is disabled until explicit consent. Crashlytics is disabled in the manifest and enabled at app start only according to the Diagnostics preference, which is on by default and can be switched off. AdMob requests follow Google UMP choices and any user override requiring only non-personalized ads. Paid plans do not make ad requests.
6. Security, Fraud Prevention, Logging, Analytics, Diagnostics, and Ads
ArkPixels uses password hashing, session validation, token hashing, encrypted local storage, rate limits, audit records, IP controls, upload validation, purchase verification, access controls and backups to secure the service. Logs may contain IP address, user agent, endpoint, time, result and diagnostic code. Optional Firebase Analytics and web analytics are used for aggregate product improvement only after consent. Diagnostics can be disabled; opting out prevents future Crashlytics collection and deletes unsent reports on the device. AdMob may provide banner, native and interstitial ads only to Free users. Google UMP is the source of regulatory advertising choices, which may be revisited through “Manage advertising choices”. A separate “non-personalized ads only” override sends npa=1. Non-personalized ads may still use limited identifiers for fraud prevention, frequency capping and aggregate measurement.
7. Third-Party Processors and Services
Named services include Google Play for purchases and entitlements, Google Drive for user-controlled backup, Google AdMob and UMP for advertising and consent, Firebase Analytics for consented app analytics, Firebase Crashlytics for optional diagnostics, Valve/Steam for Steam libraries and metadata, and Twitch/IGDB for game metadata. Drive uses the hidden appDataFolder scope. The app reads the selected Google account email on the device to show which account is connected; backup data, including the local ArkPixels database and selected local media, travels directly between the Android app and Google and does not pass through ArkPixels servers. Camera images used for scanning and OCR are processed locally unless the user separately chooses to add or share resulting content through Android. ArkPixels also uses providers by category for hosting, databases, email delivery, DNS, TLS, server backup, monitoring and security. Web fonts and Material Symbols are hosted locally by ArkPixels and do not require a font request to Google.
8. International Transfers
ArkPixels is operated from Italy, but providers such as Google/Firebase/AdMob/Drive/Play, Valve/Steam, Twitch/IGDB and operational infrastructure providers may process data in other countries. Where GDPR transfer restrictions apply, ArkPixels relies on an applicable adequacy decision, Standard Contractual Clauses, provider data-processing terms, supplementary measures, or another lawful transfer mechanism.
9. Retention
Active account, profile, upload and private-library data is kept while needed to provide the service. Server request logs are kept for 90 days, security and administrative audit records for 180 days, and ArkPixels server backups for no more than 60 days, unless a specific legal hold or security incident requires limited longer retention. Firebase Analytics and any enabled web analytics event-level retention are configured for 2 months; Crashlytics crash data is retained by Firebase for 90 days. Password-reset tokens expire after about 1 hour, email-verification tokens after about 24 hours, Android local API tokens after about 6 hours, account API tokens after about 30 days, and suspension remedy tokens after 30 minutes. Subscription, tax, refund and legal-acceptance evidence may be kept for the applicable legal or claims period. An active account inactive for 48 months may be pseudonymized after notice, except while it has an active subscription or Family benefit.
10. Account Export and Deletion
Users can request a JSON export and delete their account through supported controls. A suspended user receives a 30-minute, narrowly scoped remedy token that permits only export or deletion, not access to libraries, profiles, Steam, IGDB or other functions. Deletion removes or pseudonymizes active account details and deletes profiles, libraries, uploads, sessions and tokens while retaining only limited legal, billing, security and acceptance evidence for the periods described here. Deletion does not cancel Google Play subscriptions. Account deletion and Google Drive backup deletion are separate: Android offers an optional, not preselected Drive-deletion choice, and a Drive error does not prevent deletion of the ArkPixels account. A residual Drive backup remains under the user’s Google account until separately deleted.
11. Legal Acceptance Records
When you register or reaccept updated documents, ArkPixels records that you accepted the Terms and declared that you read this Privacy Policy. Evidence includes user ID, both versions and content hashes, UTC date, source such as Android, web or API, app version where supplied, locale, IP address and user agent. It is used for contract, compliance and security evidence, not for advertising profiling.
12. Your Rights
Subject to applicable law, you may request access, correction, deletion, portability, restriction, or objection, and withdraw consent at any time. You may manage synchronized analytics and Diagnostics choices in the Web account area or app; advertising choices remain device-specific in the app. Withdrawal affects future processing and does not invalidate earlier lawful processing. You may complain to the Italian Garante per la protezione dei dati personali or another competent supervisory authority. Contact [email protected]; ArkPixels may proportionately verify identity. ArkPixels voluntarily offers the same practical access, correction, export, deletion and privacy-choice controls to users in the United States even where a particular state law does not require them.
13. Minors and Date of Birth
ArkPixels is reserved for adults aged 18 or over. It does not request date of birth or use a separate age checkbox. If ArkPixels learns that an ineligible minor has provided personal data, it will take reasonable steps to delete or minimize that data unless retention is legally required.
14. Security
ArkPixels uses technical and organizational measures including password and token hashing, session validation, rate limiting, role checks, audit trails, upload validation, encrypted local storage and no-store headers. Drive backup version 2 is encrypted on the device using AES-256-GCM and a key derived with PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256, 600,000 iterations, a random 16-byte salt and 12-byte nonce. The passphrase has at least 12 characters, is protected on that device with Android Keystore for automatic backup, is never logged, cannot be recovered by ArkPixels, and is required again on a new device. No system is completely secure.
15. USA and California Notices
ArkPixels does not sell personal data for money. Personalized advertising disclosures to AdMob may be treated as targeted advertising, sale, or sharing under some United States laws; users can refuse, revoke, or require non-personalized ads through the app and applicable device controls. ArkPixels voluntarily honours these controls for United States users. ArkPixels currently expects to remain below the California Consumer Privacy Act business thresholds and reviews revenue, California-user volume and advertising data use at least annually. If that status or any relevant practice changes, ArkPixels will update this Policy and required notices and controls before relying on the change.
16. Changes to This Policy
ArkPixels may update this Privacy Policy when features, providers, retention or law changes. The version and effective date will be published. Material changes receive reasonable notice, and existing users may be required to acknowledge the updated Policy together with acceptance of updated Terms before continuing to use account features.
17. Contact
Privacy questions and data-rights requests should be sent to [email protected]. General support questions should be sent to [email protected]. Postal notices may be sent to Paolo Heesacker, Via Luigi Poletti 14, Olbia, Italy.