Closest Kin privacy

Updated on 14 November 2026

Closest Kin is a game for iPhone. It needs no account, has no ads and does no tracking: the game only collects anonymous usage statistics, which you can turn off.

Your progress stays on your phone

Progress, DNA, achievements and settings are saved only on your device and we don't receive them. If you delete the app, they are deleted too.

When you write to us

We only receive data if you use “Get support” or report a problem. In that case the app sends:

• the text you write;
• your email, only if you choose to leave it when asking for support;
• in reports, the type of problem and the animals or group you were looking at;
• app version, system and language.

The same goes for the support form on closestkin.com: we receive the text, the email you give us and the language of the page.

We use them only to reply to you and to fix the game, and we don't sell them or pass them on to anyone. The message is saved on the closestkin.com server and also reaches the game's developer in a notification email. We delete it when it's no longer needed.

Your IP address isn't saved with the message: to limit abuse we keep a non-reversible fingerprint of it for one hour. As with any website, the hosting provider may record visits in its technical logs.

Anonymous usage statistics

To understand how the game is played and to improve it, the app sends anonymous statistics to closestkin.com: for example which screens are opened, how many games are played and with what results, which rounds are hardest, when PLUS is opened or bought (with price and currency), how long a session lasts and any app errors.

Each event carries only the phone's date and time and how many days ago the app was installed. Once a day the app also sends the phone's languages, the language chosen for the app and the game's language, the country set in the phone's settings, the app and system versions, the device type, some game settings (sounds, motion, notifications) and how far the game has progressed (stops, species discovered, PLUS).

There is no identifier: not your name, not your email, no phone or advertising ID, no location. The IP address is not stored: to limit abuse we keep a non-reversible fingerprint of it for one hour. The statistics are not combined with other data, sold or shared with anyone: we only look at them as totals.

You can turn them off at any time in the app's Settings («Anonymous usage statistics»): from then on nothing is sent. Single-day data is deleted after a little over a year; only daily totals remain.

Challenges and sharing

A challenge link contains the rounds and your score, not your name. The card is created on your phone and you send it yourself, with the app you choose: nothing reaches us.

Notifications

Reminders and gift alerts are scheduled on your phone, without going through a server. You can turn them off in the app's settings or your phone's.

Purchases

Purchases are handled by Apple: we don't receive your payment details.

These pages

The game's pages on closestkin.com don't use cookies. They anonymously count how often they are opened, how often the App Store button is tapped and how many trial rounds are played, with page, language, date and time and no identifiers.

Your rights

Data controller: Davide Troise. We process messages because you sent them to us and to fix the game; the anonymous statistics for our interest in improving it, and you can object by turning them off in the app's Settings.

You can ask to see, correct or delete your messages by writing to info@closestkin.com, and you can contact the data protection authority in your country.