Persian Spy — Privacy Policy

Effective October 19, 2026

This policy explains what information the Persian Spy app for iOS and Android (including Spy, Esm-Famil, Pasur and Hokm) collects, why, and the choices you have. The app is published by Debugsy ("we").

In short

• Offline games on one phone need no personal information.
• Online games use our own game server. You can play as a guest; an account is optional and only needed for friends, chat, public rooms and quick match.
• We do not sell your personal information.
• You can delete your account at any time in the app or at https://esmfamil.debugsy.com/account/delete.

Information we collect

Playing online as a guest:

• A random device ID created by the app (not an advertising ID), your nickname, platform and app version.
• What happens in the rooms you play in: players, scores, results and, in Esm-Famil, the words you answer.
• Your IP address, in server logs and for security and abuse prevention.

If you create an account

• Username, display name, chosen avatar, language and your privacy settings.
• An optional profile photo, if you upload one. We keep only resized copies (512 and 128 pixels) with hidden data such as camera details and location removed; the original file is not stored.
• Your password and recovery code, stored only as one-way hashes (we cannot read them).
• If you sign in with Apple or Google: the account ID and email address that Apple or Google share with us (Apple may give a private relay address).
• Sign-in sessions: device ID, platform, app version, IP address and times.
• Friends, friend requests, blocked players and friend links; your game history with other players, statistics and head-to-head records.
• Online status: friends can see whether you are online or in a room, unless you turn on "Appear offline".
• Push notification token (Firebase Cloud Messaging), if you allow notifications.

Chat, voice and reports

• Chat is only possible between friends. We store messages so they can be delivered and shown on your devices. Offensive words are masked automatically, and messages with links or phone numbers are flagged for review by our moderators.
• Voice chat (only in rooms where it is turned on): your microphone audio is streamed live through our own voice server to the other players in the room. It is not recorded or stored. The app asks for microphone permission only when you turn voice on.
• When you report a player or a message, we store the report and, for chat reports, the last 20 messages of that conversation so a moderator can review it.

Third-party services

• Google AdMob shows ads and may use your advertising ID (on iOS only with your App Tracking Transparency permission), device information, IP address and approximate location.
• Google Firebase: Analytics (app usage), Crashlytics on Android (crash reports) and Cloud Messaging (push notifications).
• Meta (Facebook) SDK for app events and ad measurement.
• Apple App Store / StoreKit and Google Play Billing process purchases. We never see your card details.
• Sign in with Apple and Google Sign-In, if you choose them.
• AI services (OpenAI, Anthropic or Google Gemini) may check whether an Esm-Famil answer word is valid. Only the word, its category and starting letter are sent — never your name or account.
• If you upload a profile photo, it is processed on our server and checked automatically by one of these AI services for inappropriate content before other players can see it. Only the resized photo is sent — never your name or account. Our moderators may also review it.
• Our servers are hosted by Hetzner in Germany.

How we use information

• To run games, accounts, friends, chat, invites and push notifications.
• To keep players safe: filtering, reviewing reports, and banning players who break the rules.
• To improve the Esm-Famil dictionary and fix problems.
• To show ads and handle purchases.

Who can see what

• Players in your room see your nickname or display name, avatar and scores. Your username and profile statistics are visible to players who look you up.
• If you add a profile photo, other players see it wherever your name appears (friends, search, profiles, chat and public rooms).
• Friends see your online status and can invite you or message you, according to your privacy settings.
• Our moderators can read reported conversations and flagged messages.

How long we keep it

• Chat messages: 180 days (reported messages: up to 1 year).
• Sign-in sessions expire after 180 days without use.
• Profile photo: until you remove or change it; the old photo is deleted right away. Rejected photos are deleted immediately.
• When you delete your account, your profile, profile photo, friends, messages, statistics, sessions and push tokens are deleted right away. Your username stays reserved for 90 days and is then removed. Past games remain without your name.
• Guest device records and server logs are kept only as long as needed to run the service and prevent abuse.
• To stop one person from creating many accounts or returning after a ban, we keep a record of each account sign-up (device ID and IP address) for 365 days, also after the account is deleted. The IP address is removed after 30 days.

Your choices and rights

• Play offline or as a guest without an account.
• In Settings → Account: appear offline, choose who can invite or message you, manage blocked players and the "friend came online" notification. You can also turn notifications off in your phone settings.
• Delete your account in the app (Settings → Account → Delete account) or at https://esmfamil.debugsy.com/account/delete.
• For access, correction or deletion of other data (for example guest data), email [email protected].

Children

Persian Spy is not directed to children under 13. Accounts and chat are for people aged 13 or older. If we learn that a child under 13 has created an account, we delete it.

Security

Connections use TLS. Passwords, recovery codes and sign-in tokens are stored only as hashes, Apple tokens are encrypted, and the app keeps your sign-in in the iOS Keychain or Android Keystore. No system is perfectly secure, but we work to protect your information.

Changes and contact

We will update this page when our practices change and show the new date at the top. Questions: [email protected]. Terms of use: https://esmfamil.debugsy.com/terms.