Privacy Policy — Balbu

Effective Date: June 1, 2026

Last Updated: June 2, 2026

Balbu ("the App", "we", "our", or "us") is a free educational and entertainment application available on Android and iOS. This Privacy Policy explains what information is collected, how it is used, and your rights regarding that information.

By using Balbu, you agree to the practices described in this policy.

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Information We Do NOT Collect

Balbu does not collect, store, or transmit any personally identifiable information (PII) such as:

Name, email address, or phone number
Account credentials (no login or registration required)
Location data (GPS or IP-based)
Photos, contacts, or files from your device
Voice or audio recordings
Biometric data

1.2 Information Collected Automatically by Third-Party Services

While Balbu itself does not collect personal data, the third-party services integrated into the App may collect certain non-personal, device-level information automatically. These services include:

Google AdMob (Advertising)

What it collects: Device advertising identifier (GAID on Android, IDFA on iOS), IP address, device model, OS version, app usage data, and general location derived from IP address.
Purpose: To serve advertisements within the App.
Configuration: Balbu has configured AdMob to operate in child-directed mode with non-personalized ads only. This means:
- No behavioral or interest-based targeting is applied.
- COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act) compliance flag is enabled.
- GDPR under-age-of-consent flag is enabled.
- Ad content is restricted to the most conservative rating (G-rated, family-safe).
AdMob Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy
Opt-out (Android): Settings → Google → Ads → Delete advertising ID
Opt-out (iOS): Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking → disable for Balbu

Google Firebase / Firestore (Ad Configuration)

What it collects: Basic connection metadata (IP address, timestamps) when fetching ad configuration data.
Purpose: To remotely manage which ads are shown and to toggle ad features without requiring an app update.
No user data is stored in Firebase. Only internal app configuration is read from Firestore.
Firebase Privacy Policy: https://firebase.google.com/support/privacy

Third-Party Public APIs

The App uses the following public APIs to fetch content. These are read-only requests — no user data is sent:

API	Purpose	Data Sent
`uselessfacts.jsph.pl`	Fetch random fun facts	None — anonymous GET request
`icanhazdadjoke.com`	Fetch random jokes	None — anonymous GET request
`api.agify.io`	Guess age from a name (user-typed)	Only the name text the user types

Agify.io note: When you use the "Guess My Age" feature, the name you type is sent to the Agify.io API to retrieve an estimated age. No other information is attached to this request. Agify does not store personal profiles. Their privacy policy is available at https://agify.io/privacy-policy.

2. How Information Is Used

The limited information collected by third-party services is used solely for:

Serving advertisements — AdMob uses device-level identifiers to display ads within the App.
Ad configuration — Firebase Firestore is used to fetch ad settings (enabled/disabled, ad unit IDs). No user data is involved.
App content features — Public API calls (jokes, facts, age guessing) are used purely to display content within the App. No responses are stored or linked to any user.

We do not:

Sell any data to third parties
Use data for marketing or profiling purposes
Share data with any party other than the service providers listed above

3. Children's Privacy

Balbu is designed to be safe for users of all ages, including children. We take the following steps to protect children's privacy:

No account creation or login is required to use any feature of the App.
No personal information is solicited from users at any point.
Google AdMob is configured with COPPA compliance flags, which restricts the type of ads served and disables personalized advertising.
The "Guess My Age" feature only uses the name text the user voluntarily types — it is not linked to any profile and is not retained after the result is shown.

If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided personal information through the App, please contact us at the email address in Section 7 and we will take immediate action.

4. Data Retention

Balbu stores the following data locally on your device only using AsyncStorage (device storage):

Data	Purpose	Where stored
Sound on/off preference	Remember your sound setting	Your device only
Language preference (English/Urdu)	Remember your language setting	Your device only
Game scores and earned points	Track progress across sessions	Your device only
Game high scores	Display personal best scores	Your device only
Ad display count (daily)	Limit how many times app-open ads show per day	Your device only

None of this data is transmitted to any server or shared with any third party. It remains entirely on your device and is deleted when you uninstall the App.

5. Permissions

Balbu may request the following device permissions:

Permission	Platform	Reason
`INTERNET`	Android & iOS	Required to fetch jokes, facts, age guesses, ad config, and display ads
`READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE` / `WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE`	Android (older versions)	Required to save drawings to the device gallery
`READ_MEDIA_IMAGES`	Android 13+	Required to save drawings to the device gallery
`NSUserTrackingUsageDescription`	iOS 14+	Required by Apple to request App Tracking Transparency permission before AdMob loads

No permission is used beyond its stated purpose.

6. Security

We take reasonable steps to protect the information processed by the App:

All network requests use HTTPS (TLS encryption) — no plain HTTP connections.
No sensitive user data is transmitted or stored.
All locally stored preferences and scores are stored in standard device storage (AsyncStorage), protected by your device's own security model.
Release builds have code obfuscation (ProGuard) enabled on Android to protect app internals.

7. Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding data collected by third-party services:

Access: Request information about what data has been collected about your device.
Deletion: Request deletion of your advertising ID or opt out of personalized ads.
Opt-out of ad tracking:
- Android: Settings → Google → Ads → Delete advertising ID
- iOS: Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking → toggle off for Balbu

For data collected by AdMob or Firebase, please refer directly to Google's privacy controls: https://myaccount.google.com/data-and-privacy

For locally stored app data (scores, preferences), simply uninstalling the App removes all of it.

8. Third-Party Links

The App does not contain links to external websites or social media platforms. All content (jokes, facts) is fetched from APIs and displayed within the App only.

9. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the App or applicable laws. When we do:

The "Last Updated" date at the top of this page will be revised.
If the changes are significant, we will update the version notes in the App Store listing.

We encourage you to review this policy periodically. Continued use of the App after any update constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

10. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or the App's data practices, please contact us:

Email: shahzad.jamil@gmail.com
App: Balbu
Developer: VirtueNetz