Group Games: Privacy Policy

Information we collect

We collect no personal data through the app. Group Games has no user accounts, no sign-in, and no server operated by us. Player names and avatars, game history, statistics, tournaments, and question packs all live on the device that hosts your games and are never sent to PDS Technology Ltd.

The app never fetches anything from the internet. Everything it needs, including the full rules for every game, ships inside the app and works offline.

Phones joining a game (local network)

For games with secret hands, other players join from their own phone’s web browser. To make this work, the app runs a small web server on the host device itself, and player phones connect directly to it over your own Wi-Fi network or Personal Hotspot. This traffic stays between the devices in the room:

• Nothing is installed on the joining phones, and nothing from them is sent anywhere except to the host device.
• The connection does not pass through the internet or any server of ours, and PDS Technology Ltd cannot see it.
• What a player’s phone displays (their hand, their choices) exists only for the duration of the game session.

iOS may ask the host device for the Local Network permission to allow this. It is used solely so player phones can reach the host.

On-device Apple Intelligence

On devices that support Apple Intelligence, the app can answer plain-English questions about a game’s rules using Apple’s on-device Foundation Models. This processing happens locally on your device, works with no internet connection, and no question or answer is ever sent to PDS Technology Ltd.

Device permissions

Group Games may ask for the following, each used only for the action you request:

• Local Network: so player phones can join games hosted on your device, as described above.
• Photo Library: only if you choose one of your own photos for the Jigsaw game. The photo stays on your devices.
• Face ID or device passcode: to protect the grown-ups controls. Authentication is handled by iOS on the device; we receive nothing from it.
• Files: only if you import your own question packs. Imported packs are stored on your device.

Sharing features (such as sending a tournament summary PDF by AirDrop, Messages or print) use Apple’s standard share sheet: you choose where things go, and nothing passes through us.

Analytics and tracking

Group Games contains no analytics, no advertising, and no third-party tracking. We do not use cookies or any tracking technologies, and we do not build any profile of you, your family, or how you play.

Contacting support

If you email us for support at support@pds-technology.ltd, we will receive your email address and whatever you include in your message, and we use that solely to respond to you. We do not use it for marketing or share it with third parties.

Legal basis and your rights

Because the app does not collect personal data, there is normally no personal data for us to hold. Where we do process limited information, for example support correspondence you send us, we do so on the basis of our legitimate interest in responding to your enquiry, in line with UK data protection law.

Under UK data protection law you have rights over any personal data we hold about you, including the right to access, correct, or erase it. To exercise these rights, or if you have any concerns, contact us at support@pds-technology.ltd or by writing to PDS Technology Ltd, 71–75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9JQ. If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with a revised “Last updated” date.