Privacy Policy

1. Who is responsible

The controller responsible for processing personal data in connection with the Worldwide Golf app and this website is:

NTD Consulting and Ventures OÜ
Ahtri tn 12
15551 Tallinn, Estonia
Registry code 16908457
Email: support@worldwidegolf.app

We are not required to appoint a data protection officer. Please send any privacy question to the address above.

2. The Worldwide Golf app

2.1 What is stored, and where

Worldwide Golf works without an account and without an internet connection. To make the game work, the app saves the following on your iPhone, inside the app's private storage area (the "app container": Application Support, Caches and the system's settings store, UserDefaults):

Data	Purpose
Display name and country flag you choose (no real name required)	Shown in the game, on scorecards and leaderboards on your device, and to other players in a nearby match
Golfer appearance and a rendered portrait image	Shows your golfer
Rounds, scorecards, shot replays, personal records, daily-challenge results, tournament and World Tour progress, career stats and achievements	Lets you resume play, view your history and replay shots
Pass & play match: player names you type and their scores	Lets you continue a shared match between turns
Settings (difficulty, units, sound, music, haptics, shot preview, course detail, left-handed controls and similar), and whether you completed the guided first hole	Remembers your preferences

This data does not leave your device (except as described in section 3 for nearby matches). We, the developer, have no access to it. The app contains no analytics or crash-reporting code. The only third-party code is Google's advertising software, used in the free version as described in section 2.5; it does not have access to this game data.

2.2 Permissions

The only permission the app may ask for is Local Network, and only when you open a nearby match. The app does not request your location, camera, microphone, photos, contacts, health data or notifications. If you decline Local Network access, you can still play everything except nearby matches. You can change this later in iOS Settings › Privacy & Security › Local Network.

2.3 Device backups and new iPhones

Like most apps, data saved by Worldwide Golf may be included in your iPhone's backups (iCloud Backup or a backup on your computer) and may move to a new iPhone when you transfer your data. Whether this happens is controlled by your iPhone and Apple account settings, and Apple's privacy policy applies to it. We have no access to these backups.

2.4 Purchases

The game is free to download, with an optional one-time purchase that unlocks the full game. Apple sells and bills it through the App Store under Apple's terms and privacy policy. We receive no payment details and no personal data about you from the purchase. The app checks with Apple's StoreKit on your iPhone whether the unlock was bought, so that it can restore it on your other devices; this check stays between your iPhone and Apple.

2.5 Ads in the free version

The free version shows a full-screen ad before each hole and before the daily challenge. There are no ads in the guided first hole, between friends' turns in a match, or anywhere in the full game. The ads come from Google AdMob, provided by Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland.

To deliver and measure ads and to prevent fraud, Google's software in the app processes your IP address (and the approximate location derived from it), information about your device and the app, Apple's identifier for advertisers (IDFA) only if you allow tracking, and information about the ads you see and tap. Google processes this data as an independent controller under Google's privacy policy; Google explains how it uses data from partner apps at policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites. We do not receive this data about you; we only see aggregated ad statistics in our AdMob account.

Your choices. In the EEA, the UK and Switzerland, Google's consent form asks you before any ad is requested whether information may be stored on and read from your device and whether ads may be personalised. iOS then asks whether the app may track you (App Tracking Transparency). If you decline, you may see limited or non-personalised ads. You can change your choices at any time in the app under Settings › Full game › Privacy choices for ads, and in iOS Settings › Privacy & Security › Tracking. Unlocking the full game removes the ads entirely; the app then requests none.

Google may process data in the USA. Google LLC is certified under the EU–U.S. Data Privacy Framework.

3. Nearby multiplayer (beta)

If you choose Nearby match, your iPhone connects directly to other iPhones running Worldwide Golf on the same Wi-Fi network, or close by using Apple's peer-to-peer Wi-Fi. There is no server in between, and no data is sent to us or to the internet.

• When you host a match, your iPhone announces the match on the local network using Bonjour. The announcement includes your display name (up to 16 characters) and the chosen hole. Other devices on the same network that look for Worldwide Golf matches can see it while the lobby is open.
• During a match the phones in the match exchange: your display name and colour, random match and player IDs that are created for that match only, the hole, tee and weather, live progress (strokes, lie, distance to the pin), and your finished score with the shot replay that the host uses to check the result.
• The match exists only while the phones are connected. It is not stored on our side, because there is no "our side". Other players' devices show your name and score during the match. What they do with their own screens, such as taking a screenshot, is outside our control.
• Nearby-match traffic stays in your local network, but the app sends it without extra encryption. Please play on networks you trust, such as your home Wi-Fi. Don't put personal information, like your full name, in your display name.

Pass & play uses no network at all. Everything stays on the one iPhone.

4. Deleting your data

• In the app: Settings › Clear local data deletes your display name and flag, golfer appearance and portrait, rounds, replays, records, course history, tournaments, the saved round and pass & play match, and tutorial progress from the device. Preferences such as units, sound or difficulty are kept, because they are not about you, and you can change them at any time.
• Delete the app: iOS then removes the whole app container with all its data, including preferences.

Because we never receive your game data, we cannot view, export or delete it for you. You are in full control on your device.

5. Information from Apple

You download Worldwide Golf from Apple's App Store. Apple processes your purchase and download data as an independent controller, under Apple's privacy policy. If you have agreed in iOS to "Share With App Developers", Apple may give us aggregated App Store statistics and anonymised crash reports. These do not identify you to us. We use them only to fix bugs and improve the game. You can turn this off at any time in iOS Settings › Privacy & Security › Analytics & Improvements.

6. When you contact us

If you email us, we process your email address, your message and anything you choose to include, such as your iPhone model, iOS version or screenshots. We use it only to answer you. We keep this correspondence for as long as we need it to handle your request, and we delete it no later than 12 months after the matter is closed, unless the law requires us to keep it longer. Emails to our worldwidegolf.app addresses are forwarded by Cloudflare, Inc. to our mailbox at Microsoft 365 (Microsoft Ireland Operations Limited), which processes them on our behalf.

7. This website

This website sets no cookies and uses no analytics, tracking pixels, social media plug-ins, external fonts or other third-party content.

When you visit, our hosting provider, Cloudflare, Inc. (USA), automatically processes the technical data your browser sends, so that the pages can be delivered and protected against misuse. This data is your IP address, the date and time, the page requested, the referring page, and your browser and operating system. We keep no server log files of our own. Cloudflare keeps this data only as long as it needs it to deliver the pages and protect them, as described in its own privacy policy. Cloudflare acts as our processor under its Data Processing Addendum (Art. 28 GDPR), and transfers to the USA rely on the EU–U.S. Data Privacy Framework and standard contractual clauses.

8. Legal bases (GDPR)

• Storing game data on your device is necessary to provide the game you asked for (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR). Storing information on your device and reading it back is strictly necessary for this service (Art. 5(3) ePrivacy Directive, as implemented in Estonia and the other EU member states).
• Nearby matches: you start them yourself, so exchanging your name and match data with the other players is necessary to provide the feature (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR).
• Support emails: answering you (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR where it concerns the app, and otherwise our legitimate interest in answering enquiries, Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).
• Website server logs: our legitimate interest in delivering a secure and stable website (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).
• Ads in the free version: your consent for storing and reading information on your device and for personalised ads (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR, Art. 5(3) ePrivacy Directive), given in Google's consent form and the iOS tracking prompt. Showing ads at all is how the free version is funded (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR); you can avoid them with the one-time unlock.
• Apple's aggregated statistics: our legitimate interest in fixing bugs and improving the game (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). Apple obtains your consent for this in iOS.

We do not use your data for automated decision-making or profiling. We do not sell or rent personal data. We do not transfer personal data to countries outside the EU/EEA, except where Google (section 2.5) or our hosting or email provider does so on the basis of an adequacy decision (such as the EU–U.S. Data Privacy Framework) or standard contractual clauses.

9. Your rights

Under the GDPR, you have the right to access your data (Art. 15), to have it corrected (Art. 16) or erased (Art. 17), to restrict its processing (Art. 18), to data portability (Art. 20), and to object to processing based on legitimate interests (Art. 21). If you have given consent, you can withdraw it at any time with effect for the future (Art. 7(3)). Most game data never reaches us, so you can exercise these rights directly in the app (see section 4). For anything else, write to us.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority (Art. 77 GDPR), in particular in the EU member state where you live or work. The authority responsible for us is the Estonian Data Protection Inspectorate (Andmekaitse Inspektsioon), Tatari 39, 10134 Tallinn, Estonia, www.aki.ee.

10. California and other U.S. states

We do not sell personal information. In the free version, if you allow tracking, Google may use device identifiers and ad interactions for personalised advertising, which some U.S. state laws treat as "sharing" or targeted advertising. You can opt out at any time by turning off tracking (iOS Settings › Privacy & Security › Tracking), in Settings › Full game › Privacy choices for ads, or by unlocking the full game, which has no ads. We do not process sensitive personal information. Your game data itself stays on your device. The only personal information we may receive is what you send us by email (identifiers such as your email address, and the content of your message), plus the website server data described in section 7. We use it only for the purposes described above and keep it for the periods stated. California residents and residents of other states with similar laws (for example Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, Texas and Oregon) have the right to know, access, correct and delete their personal information, to opt out of sale, sharing or targeted advertising, and not to be discriminated against for exercising these rights. To make a request, email us. We will verify the request using the email address you contacted us from.

11. Children

Worldwide Golf is suitable for all ages (App Store rating 4+). We collect no personal information from anyone, including children under 13 (COPPA) or under 16 (GDPR). There are no accounts, chat or user-generated content sharing. The free version shows ads from Google (section 2.5); the full game has none. The only free-text input is the display name. We recommend that children use a nickname rather than their real name, especially in nearby matches. Parents who believe their child has sent us personal information by email can contact us, and we will delete it.

12. Security

Game data is stored in the app's private container and protected by iOS (sandboxing and data protection). The data on your device is only as safe as your device: we recommend that you use a passcode. Nearby-match data is sent within your local network without additional encryption (see section 3). This website is served over HTTPS only.

13. Changes to this policy

If a future version of Worldwide Golf adds features that process data differently, such as online rankings, we will update this policy and the App Store privacy label before that version is released, and change the effective date at the top. Where the law requires it, we will ask for your consent.

Contact

Questions about privacy: support@worldwidegolf.app