Privacy Policy
Effective July 15, 2026
Sea Legs is made by Brick River Lab ("we", "us"). This policy explains what information the Sea Legs app handles, why, who processes it, and what you can do about it. The short version: the game needs your location to work, we keep as little as possible, your save is tied to an anonymous player id rather than to you, and we never sell your information. For a plain-language inventory of every piece of data and where it lives, see the Data Policy.
1. No account, no identity
Sea Legs does not ask for your name, email address, phone number, or a password. When you first open the game, it creates an anonymous player id (via Firebase Anonymous Authentication) that links your save to your device. We can't tell who you are from it, and we don't try to. If a future version offers optional account linking ("link an account to never lose your progress"), it will be opt-in and this policy will be updated first.
2. Location — the heart of the game
Walking in the real world is how you sail, so Sea Legs uses your device's location while you play. Here is exactly what happens to it:
- Your real-time position stays on your device. It moves your ship, clears fog, and detects when you reach a port. We do not upload a trail or history of your GPS positions.
- Some location-derived game data is saved to your cloud save, because your world has to survive reinstalls: the coordinates of your home port (set where you first opened the game), the coordinates of islands and ports the game placed near paths you've walked, and the map areas you've revealed from the fog. Together these sketch the neighborhoods where you've played. They are stored under your anonymous player id.
- Aggregate stats such as total distance sailed are saved as numbers, not routes.
- Background sailing is optional and off by default. If you turn it on, the game keeps receiving location with the screen locked so your walk keeps counting; a visible indicator (iOS) or a persistent notification (Android) shows while it's active. Turn it off any time at your Home Port.
3. Your game save
Your save — silver, ships, cargo, crew, bank balances, warehouse stock, the Captain's Log (which ports you visited and when, prices you saw, trades you made), game statistics, app version, and platform — is stored on our servers (Google Firebase) under your anonymous player id so you can pick up where you left off. If you enter a captain name or trading-company name, those are stored too; they can be whatever you like and don't need to be your real name.
4. Crash and diagnostic data
The app uses Firebase Crashlytics to report crashes so we can fix them: stack traces, device model, operating-system version, and app version. Crash reports are not tied to your name (we don't have it).
5. Ads — optional, rewarded only
Sea Legs shows no banner ads and no forced ads. The only advertising in the game is rewarded video you choose to watch (for example, haggling a better price with a merchant). These ads are served by Google AdMob. When the app runs, the Google Mobile Ads SDK may collect device information such as your IP address, device identifiers, and ad-interaction data, as described in Google's privacy policy. On iOS, Apple's App Tracking Transparency rules apply. If ads fail to load, the game simply carries on without them.
6. Service providers
Sea Legs is built on a small set of processors. Each receives only what it needs to do its job:
| Provider | What for | What it receives |
|---|---|---|
| Google Firebase (Auth, Cloud Firestore, Crashlytics) | Anonymous sign-in, cloud saves, crash reports | Everything described in sections 1–4 |
| Google AdMob | Optional rewarded video | Device info, IP, ad-interaction data (see section 5) |
| Stadia Maps | The street-map tiles under the ocean | Your IP address and which map areas the app displays |
| OpenStreetMap Overpass servers | Finding real walkable paths where ports can appear | Queries for map areas near where you play (no player id) |
7. What we don't do
- We do not sell your data, and we don't share it with anyone beyond the processors listed above.
- We do not access your contacts, photos, camera, microphone, or messages.
- We do not use your location for advertising, and we don't build movement profiles.
8. Keeping and deleting your data
- While you play, your save stays on our servers so your world persists.
- Retiring or resetting in the game wipes your world (fog, islands, save) from our servers and starts a fresh one.
- Uninstalling the app stops all collection immediately. The orphaned anonymous save remains on our servers until deleted.
- Full deletion on request: email jeff@brickriverlab.com and we will delete your player data. Because saves are anonymous, it helps to include your captain or company name so we can find the right one.
9. Children
Sea Legs is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has used the game and you'd like their data removed, contact us and we'll delete it.
10. Changes to this policy
If we change what the game collects — for example, adding optional account linking — we'll update this page and the effective date above before the change ships.
11. Contact
Questions, concerns, or deletion requests: jeff@brickriverlab.com.