Privacy Policy
Last updated:
Poolive (“the app”, “we”, “us”) is an online 8-ball pool game published by PIXHELM LTD (“Pixhelm”), a company registered in England and Wales, the data controller for the purposes of this policy.
This page explains what personal data the app and poolive.com collect, why, who it goes to, how long we keep it, and what you can ask us to do about it. We collect as little as we can to run the game.
It is written to meet the requirements of the Apple App Store, Google Play, Huawei AppGallery, the EU/UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Turkish Personal Data Protection Law No. 6698 (KVKK), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA) and other applicable data-protection law. If you do not agree with it, please do not use the app.
1. What we collect, and why
| Data | When and why | Legal basis (GDPR) |
|---|---|---|
| Account identifiers (internal user id, the id issued by Apple or Google when you sign in with them) | To create and run your account and keep you signed in | Performance of a contract |
| Email address | When you sign in with email (we send a one-time sign-in code) or when Apple/Google share it with us at sign-in | Performance of a contract |
| Nickname, avatar (a preset or an image you upload), profile settings | To show your profile to other players, on leaderboards and in clubs | Performance of a contract |
| Gameplay data (shots, match results, statistics, level, league, achievements) | To run server-settled matches, matchmaking, rankings and match history | Performance of a contract; legitimate interests (fair play) |
| Virtual coin and item balances, transaction ledger | To hold your in-game balance, charge entry fees and pay out prizes | Performance of a contract |
| Purchase records (store transaction id, product, time) | To verify an in-app purchase with Apple, Google or Huawei and credit it exactly once | Performance of a contract; legal obligation (accounting) |
| Friend messages, preset reactions, reports and blocks | To deliver messages between accepted friends and to keep players safe | Performance of a contract; legitimate interests (safety) |
| Device and push tokens (Apple Push Notification service, Firebase Cloud Messaging), device model, OS and app version, language | To send notifications you allowed and to keep the app compatible with your device | Consent (notifications); legitimate interests |
| Advertising identifier (IDFA/GAID) and ad interactions | To show ads and credit rewarded ads (see section 4) | Consent where required by law |
| Security and anti-fraud signals (hashed IP address, session data, risk flags) | To protect accounts, prevent cheating, multi-accounting and payment fraud | Legitimate interests |
| Diagnostics and product analytics (crash and error reports, in-app events such as screens opened and matches played) | To find and fix bugs and understand which features are used | Legitimate interests; consent where required |
We do not collect your contacts, precise location, photo library (other than a single avatar image you choose to upload), microphone or camera data, health data, or payment card details. Payments are handled by the app store; we never see your card.
2. Signing in
You can sign in with Apple, Google or your email address (we email you a one-time code). When you use Apple or Google, they confirm your identity to us and share a stable account identifier and, depending on your choices, your email address. With “Hide My Email”, Apple gives us a relay address instead of your real one.
3. Virtual coins and purchases
Poolive uses virtual coins and other in-game items. Matches may have an entry fee in virtual coins and award a prize in virtual coins. Coins and items have no real-money value, cannot be exchanged for cash or anything of monetary value, cannot be transferred or sold to other players, and cannot be cashed out. Poolive is not gambling and offers no real-money prizes.
Coin packs and other in-app products are processed by the App Store, Google Play or Huawei AppGallery under their own terms. We receive the transaction identifier and the product bought, never your payment details.
4. Advertising
Poolive shows ads, including optional rewarded ads you choose to watch in exchange for in-game rewards. Ads are served through Appodeal, which mediates a number of advertising networks.
Depending on your region and choices, those networks may use your device’s advertising identifier and similar data to select, cap and measure ads.
- iOS: we ask for permission through Apple’s App Tracking Transparency prompt before the advertising identifier is used for tracking. You can change this in Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking.
- EEA, UK and similar regions: you are asked for consent through a consent form before personalised advertising, and can change your choice at any time in the app (Settings → Ad privacy options).
- Android: you can reset or delete your advertising ID in your device settings.
If you decline, you may still see ads, but they will not be personalised. Rewarded ad credits are confirmed to us by the ad network’s servers. The advertising networks act as independent controllers for the advertising data they receive; their privacy policies apply. The current list of networks is available from Appodeal’s privacy policy or on request from us.
5. Opponents, chat and player safety
Poolive matches you with other players online. When no human opponent is available within a reasonable time, you may be matched with a computer-controlled (bot) opponent. Bot matches follow the same rules, entry fees and prizes as other matches. We do this so you are not left waiting; no personal data of yours is shared with a bot.
Written messages exist only between accepted friends; at the table, players use preset reactions. Messages pass through an automatic filter. You can block any player and report behaviour; we may review reported content and mute or remove accounts.
6. What other players can see
Your nickname, avatar, level, league, club and match results are visible to other players, for example to your opponent and on leaderboards. Do not put personal information in your nickname or messages.
7. Who we share data with
We do not sell your personal data, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioural advertising except as described in section 4. We use service providers, strictly to run the game:
- Apple and Google — sign-in, push notifications, purchase verification.
- Huawei — purchase verification and sign-in on AppGallery builds.
- Appodeal and the networks it mediates — ads (section 4).
- Hosting and infrastructure providers — servers in the EU that run matches and store data; Cloudflare as CDN and security layer for poolive.com.
- Email delivery provider — to send sign-in codes and replies to support requests.
These providers act on our instructions as processors, except the advertising networks and app stores, which act as independent controllers. We may disclose data where the law requires it, or to protect the safety of players and the service.
8. International transfers and security
Our servers are located in the European Union. Some providers operate internationally, so your data may be processed outside your country; where required we rely on appropriate safeguards such as standard contractual clauses. Data is encrypted in transit (TLS), access is restricted, and sensitive values are hashed or encrypted at rest where practical.
9. How long we keep it
We keep account data while your account exists. When you delete your account, your personal data is deleted or anonymised after a 14-day grace period (see Delete your account). Anonymised coin ledgers and match results, and purchase records required by tax or accounting law, are kept for as long as the law requires. Security logs are kept for a limited period, normally no longer than 12 months.
10. Your rights
Depending on where you live, you have the right to access, correct, export (portability), restrict or object to processing of your personal data, to withdraw consent at any time, and to have your data deleted.
- EU/UK (GDPR): you can also lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority.
- Türkiye (KVKK): you have the rights listed in Article 11 of Law No. 6698, including to learn whether your data is processed, request correction or deletion, and object to results of exclusively automated analysis; you may apply to the Personal Data Protection Authority (KVKK).
- California (CCPA/CPRA): you have the right to know, delete and correct personal information, and to opt out of “sale” or “sharing”. We do not sell personal information. You can limit ad personalisation as described in section 4. We will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights.
To exercise any right, email support@pixhelm.com from the address linked to your account or include your nickname. We may need to verify your identity and will respond within the period required by law (normally one month).
11. Children
Poolive is not directed at children under 13, or under the minimum age of digital consent where you live, whichever is higher. We do not knowingly collect personal data from such children. If you believe a child has given us data, contact us and we will delete it.
12. Website
When you visit poolive.com, our hosting and security providers process standard request data (IP address, browser type, requested URL, time) to deliver the site and prevent abuse. The site uses no advertising or analytics cookies.
13. Changes
We may update this policy. Material changes are reflected in the “last updated” date and, where it matters, notified in the app.
14. Contact
Data controller: PIXHELM LTD, a company registered in England and Wales (company number 17389527). Privacy and data requests: support@pixhelm.com.