Privacy Policy [App]

This is a translation for your convenience. The German Datenschutzerklärung is legally binding.

This page explains what happens to your data when you use the A Stranger’s Journey app, and what rights you have. The short answer: your save game stays on your device, and we never get to see it.

At a glance

• You don’t need an account. Your name, your replies and your save game stay on your device.
• The app contains no advertising, no tracking, no analytics tools and no third-party components. It doesn’t pass any data on to third parties.
• The app itself only goes online to reach Apple: to download soundscapes, to handle purchases and, if you’re signed in to Game Center, to report your achievements.
• Purchases run entirely through Apple. We never get to see your payment details.
• The app schedules notifications on your device, without a server. It cannot see your photos.
• We only receive personal data in two cases: when you send us an email and when you take part in the TestFlight beta.

Scope

This policy applies to the A Stranger’s Journey iOS app on iPhone and iPad, including its widgets and Live Activities. Our website is covered by the website’s privacy policy, which also applies when you read this page in a browser.

Controller

The controller responsible for data processing in connection with the app is:

marbleOne
Ricardo Köhne
Pagenstraße 6
49545 Tecklenburg
Germany

Phone: +49 151 287 98554
Email: hello@marble.one

No account, no tracking

The app works without a sign-in and without a server of our own. It contains no advertising, no advertising identifier, no tracking, no analytics tools and no third-party components (SDKs). We don’t pass any data on to third parties through the app, and we don’t sell data.

What stays on your device

The app stores what it needs for your game on your device:

• the name you give in the chat,
• your replies, the chat history and where you are in the story,
• your collection of images and soundscapes, the endings you have reached and your chat background,
• your settings, for example for sound, haptics and the notification sound,
• for the widgets, the stranger’s latest lines and a small copy of your chat background.

This information is not transmitted to us or anyone else. The only exception is your achievements, if you use Game Center (see below). It serves only features you use in the app itself (§ 25 (2) no. 2 TDDDG).

On iPhone Duo, the app also reads the angle of the hinge and, during the night watch, whether the device is charging. This only controls what is displayed and is neither stored nor transmitted.

If you back up your device, for example through iCloud or your computer, your save game may be included. These backups run through your Apple Account or your computer, and we have no access to them.

Notifications, widgets and photos

The app asks for at most two permissions. Both are optional, the game runs without them, and you can withdraw them at any time in the iOS settings.

• Notifications: So you know when the stranger gets back in touch. The app schedules these notifications itself on your device. No server is involved, and we receive no identifier for your device.
• Photos: Only if you want to save an image from the app. The app may then add images to your photo library. This doesn’t let it see your existing photos.

Live Activities and widgets show the remaining waiting time and the stranger’s lines on the Home Screen and the Lock Screen. Their content comes from the app on your device, not from the internet. Anything on the Lock Screen can also be seen by others who have your device in their hands.

Soundscapes

The soundscapes are large video and audio files, so they aren’t part of the app itself. As soon as the stranger sends you one, the app downloads it once from Apple’s servers onto your device. This can also happen while the app is closed. Apple receives the connection data technically needed for this, such as your IP address. We don’t run a server of our own for this and don’t receive this data.

Game Center

The app has achievements, for example for collected pictures and endings reached. They only go to Apple if you’re signed in to Game Center on your device. The game also runs without Game Center, and you can sign out at any time in the iOS settings.

If you’re signed in, the app reports your progress on the achievements to Game Center during calm moments in the chat and when the main menu appears. It doesn’t transmit the name you gave in the chat, your replies or the chat history. On your device, it remembers what it has already reported, together with a Game Center identifier that only applies to this game.

Apple operates Game Center under its own responsibility. It processes, for example, which games you play and when, and your achievements. Others can see your profile, and your progress on achievements only if you choose to share it. You’ll find more in Apple’s information on Game Center.

In-app purchases

If you buy something in the app, it runs entirely through Apple and your Apple Account. Apple handles the payment and is itself responsible for it. We never get to see your payment details or your Apple Account.

The app asks Apple directly whether a purchase exists and remembers the answer on your device. We don’t use a server of our own or a third-party service for this. You can restore permanent purchases through your Apple Account after reinstalling the app.

For our accounting, Apple provides us with aggregated sales figures as well as information on purchase receipts and refunds. The receipts contain no personal data, and we don’t combine them with other data. You can read more in Apple’s notes on the App Store.

Sharing and links

From the app you can share postcards with the stranger’s images and the link to our website. The button opens your device’s share sheet. We don’t learn what you share or with whom. If iOS shows a preview of our website, your device opens it to do so; the website’s privacy policy then applies.

The links to our website, to Instagram and to marble.one open outside the app. The privacy policies of those sites apply there. Our Instagram profile is described in the website’s privacy policy.

Feedback by email

When you tap the feedback button in the app, your mail app opens with our address support@astrangersjourney.app and a pre-filled subject. The app attaches nothing, neither your save game nor details about your device. We only receive what you send yourself: your email address, your name if it appears in the sender field, and your message. We use this only to reply to you and to fix errors.

The mailbox is hosted by Mittwald CM Service GmbH & Co. KG, Königsberger Straße 4-6, 32339 Espelkamp, Germany (Mittwald). We have concluded a data processing agreement with Mittwald, which ensures that Mittwald processes this data only on our instructions and in compliance with the GDPR.

The legal basis is Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR. We have a legitimate interest in answering your message. We delete it as soon as your request has been dealt with, unless statutory retention periods prevent this.

App Store and TestFlight

You get the app through the App Store or, during the beta, through TestFlight. Both are run by Apple, in the European Economic Area by Apple Distribution International Limited in Ireland. Apple processes data under its own responsibility, for example about your Apple Account, your downloads and your purchases. For details see Apple’s privacy policy.

We receive aggregated statistics from Apple, for example about downloads, which don’t reveal individual people. If you have turned on “Share With App Developers” in the iOS settings under “Privacy & Security” and “Analytics & Improvements”, Apple also provides us with crash data and statistics about how the app is used, either aggregated or in a form that doesn’t identify you personally (details from Apple). You can turn this off there at any time. We use this information to find errors and improve the app. The legal basis is Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR: we have a legitimate interest in a stable app.

If you take part in the TestFlight beta, Apple shares more with us:

• your name and email address, unless you joined through a public link,
• invitation type, status and installs,
• app version, device, operating system and language,
• the number of sessions and crashes, as well as crash logs,
• if you report feedback or a crash through TestFlight: your comments and screenshots, as well as technical details such as carrier, time zone, connection type, free disk space, battery level and screen resolution.

We use this only to run the beta and fix errors. The legal basis is Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR: we have a legitimate interest in testing the app before its release. Apple keeps feedback for one year, and crash and usage data until the errors are resolved. You can leave the beta at any time in the TestFlight app. You can read more in Apple’s notes on TestFlight. How signing up for the beta on our website works is explained in the website’s privacy policy.

Storage period and deletion

What is on your device stays there until you delete it:

• “Spielstand zurücksetzen” (reset save game) in “Optionen” deletes your journey with your name and replies, your collection and your endings. Your settings are kept.
• If you delete the app, everything is gone, including your settings and the downloaded soundscapes. You manage older backups of your device yourself.

Your purchases and your Game Center achievements are not affected by this; they are kept with your Apple Account.

Because we don’t have your game data, we can neither view it nor delete or restore it for you.

Data we actually hold about you, such as your emails to us, we delete on request. Write to hello@marble.one. We will deal with it within one month at the latest, unless statutory retention periods prevent this.

Your rights

These rights concern the data we actually hold about you, mainly your emails to us and your details from the beta. You have the right at any time to

• free information about your stored data, its origin, recipients and the purpose of processing (Art. 15 GDPR),
• rectification of incorrect data (Art. 16 GDPR),
• erasure of your data (Art. 17 GDPR),
• restriction of processing (Art. 18 GDPR),
• data portability (Art. 20 GDPR),
• withdraw consent you have given, with effect for the future (Art. 7 (3) GDPR). This does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out until then.

For this and any questions about data protection, contact us at hello@marble.one.

Right to object (Art. 21 GDPR): Where we process data on the basis of Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR, you can object at any time on grounds relating to your particular situation. We will then no longer process the data concerned, unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds that override your interests, rights and freedoms, or the processing serves to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority, in particular in the member state of your habitual residence, place of work or the place of the alleged infringement.

Changes

If the app changes in a way that affects other data, or if the legal situation changes, we will update this policy.

Last updated: November 2026