This policy explains what information Appness LLC ("Appness," "we," "us," or "our") collects through our mobile apps, how we use it, and the choices you have. It covers LFG Sports and our team baseball apps (such as NY Baseball, Chicago Baseball and Boston Baseball) on iPhone and Android, including their home-screen widgets and watch apps. Our website is covered by our separate Website Privacy Policy.
The Short Version
- The apps are free, and you can read news, scores, schedules and standings without an account.
- If you create an account, we store your name, email, profile details, the teams you follow, and the comments you post.
- The apps show ads from Google AdMob. Depending on your device settings and where you live, those ads may be personalized. You can turn that off at any time; see Advertising.
- We use Google Firebase to run the apps, measure how they're used, and fix crashes.
- We don't sell your personal information for money, and we never ask for your precise location.
- You can delete your account and its data at any time from the app.
Information We Collect
Information you give us (optional account)
Reading the apps doesn't require an account. If you sign in with Apple, Google, or an email address and password, we collect:
- Account details: your name, email address, display name, and how you signed in. If you use Sign in with Apple and choose to hide your email, we receive Apple's private relay address instead.
- Profile photo, if you add one. The app asks for access to your camera or photo library only when you choose to add a photo, and uploads only the photo you pick.
- Your preferences: the teams and leagues you follow, your notification settings, bookmarked stories, language, and theme.
- Comments you post on stories. Comments are public: other users see them with your display name and profile photo. If you report a comment, we receive the report and the reason you chose.
Information collected automatically
- App usage: the screens you view and features you use (such as opening a story, following a team, sharing a story, or opening a game), app opens, session length, and app version.
- Device information: device model, operating system and version, language, and approximate region (country or region, derived from your IP address).
- Crash reports and diagnostics when the app has a problem, including the device state at the time of the crash.
- Push notification token, so we can send the notifications you turn on.
- Advertising identifier (Apple's IDFA or Google's Advertising ID), only where your device settings allow it. See Advertising.
- Install referral (Android only): when you install from Google Play, the app reads which link or campaign led to the install, such as a story someone shared with you.
Information we don't collect
We don't collect your precise location, contacts, messages, or payment information. Weather shown for a game is for the stadium, not your location. The apps don't sell anything, so there are no in-app purchases.
How We Use Information
- To provide the apps: show news, scores, schedules and standings for the teams you follow, keep your account and preferences in sync, and send the notifications you've turned on.
- To run comments, including moderating comments and handling reports.
- To understand how the apps are used and improve them, and to find and fix crashes and bugs.
- To show ads, which keep the apps free (see below).
- To keep the apps and their users safe, prevent abuse, and meet legal obligations.
Advertising
The apps show ads served by Google AdMob. Ads are limited to content rated for teens and up. To choose and measure ads, AdMob may use your device's advertising identifier, device information, approximate location, and how you interact with ads.
- iPhone: ads are personalized only if you tap "Allow" when the app asks to track your activity. If you choose "Ask App Not to Track," the app can't access your advertising identifier, and ads aren't personalized based on your activity in other companies' apps and websites.
- Android: ads may be personalized using your Google Advertising ID unless you opt out in your device settings.
- European Economic Area, United Kingdom and Switzerland: before any ads load, the app asks for your consent using Google's consent form. You can change your choice at any time from Profile → Privacy options, which appears in the app only in these regions.
Some privacy laws treat personalized advertising as "targeted advertising," or as "selling" or "sharing" personal information. You can opt out at any time as described in Your Choices. Ads you still see after opting out won't be based on your activity in other companies' apps and websites.
Service Providers
We use these companies to run the apps. They process information on our behalf, or as described in their own privacy policies:
When you open a story, it may load from the news source that published it. That website's own privacy policy applies to what it collects.
How Information Is Shared
We share information only:
- with the service providers listed above, to run the apps and show ads;
- publicly, for comments you choose to post, with your display name and profile photo;
- when required by law, or to protect the rights, safety and security of our users, Appness, or others; and
- as part of a merger, acquisition, or sale of our business, in which case this policy would continue to apply to your information.
We don't sell your personal information for money.
Your Choices
- Personalized ads on iPhone: go to Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking and turn off tracking for the app, or for all apps.
- Personalized ads on Android: go to Settings → Google → All services → Ads and choose Delete advertising ID. The exact menu names vary by device.
- Ad consent in the EEA, UK and Switzerland: Profile → Privacy options in the app. This item only appears for users in these regions.
- Notifications: turn notifications on or off for each team in the app, or for the whole app in your device settings.
- Your account: edit your profile in the app, or delete your account and its data from the app. You can also follow the steps on our Delete My Data page.
- Access, correction and other requests: contact us and we'll respond.
Your Privacy Rights
Depending on where you live, privacy laws (such as the GDPR in Europe and the UK, and state laws in California, Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Texas, Oregon and elsewhere in the United States) may give you the right to:
- know what personal information we have about you and get a copy of it;
- correct information that is wrong;
- delete your information;
- opt out of targeted advertising, and of any "sale" or "sharing" of personal information as those laws define it;
- withdraw consent you've given, and object to or restrict certain uses of your information; and
- appeal our decision if we deny your request, and complain to your local data protection authority.
To make a request, contact us. We may need to verify your identity before we act on it. We won't treat you differently for using these rights.
If you're in the European Economic Area, the UK or Switzerland, we rely on these legal bases: performing our agreement with you (to provide the apps and your account), your consent (for personalized ads, which you can withdraw at any time), and our legitimate interests in running, securing and improving the apps (for usage measurement and crash reports).
Data Retention
We keep your account information, preferences and comments until you delete your account or ask us to delete them. Deleted data is removed from our systems, and from backups within a reasonable period. Usage measurement data and crash reports are kept for limited periods set in our Firebase settings, after which they are deleted automatically.
Security
We use industry-standard safeguards, including encrypted connections and access controls, to protect your information. No method of storing or sending information is completely secure, so we can't guarantee absolute security.
Where Information Is Processed
Appness is based in the United States, and our service providers process information in the United States and other countries. If you use the apps from outside the U.S., your information will be transferred to and processed in the U.S. and those countries.
Children
The apps aren't directed to children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child under 13 has given us personal information, contact us and we'll delete it.
Changes to This Policy
We'll update this policy when our apps or practices change, and change the "Last updated" date at the top. If a change is significant, we'll also let you know in the apps.
Contact Us
Appness LLC
3023 N Clark St, Suite 856
Chicago, IL 60657
Email: hello@appness.org
Or use our contact form.