Privacy Policy

Short version: you can play without giving us anything; an anonymous account is created automatically. Email is only needed for purchases, a phone number only for gold transfers, and analytics can be switched off in Settings. The free mobile and browser versions can show ads, and personalised ads are only shown if you agree. The Steam version shows no ads and sends no analytics.

Who we are

Ship Busters is a naval combat game developed by Invo Tech Inc. and published by Wagyu Games LLC ("we", "us"). It is available on Steam for Windows and macOS, as a browser version at ship-busters.web.app (which needs an access key until launch), and in our apps for iOS and Android. Every version launches on October 29, 2026. This policy explains what data the game handles, why, and what control you have over it. It applies to every version of the game and to this website.

Questions about anything here? Email us at support@ourinvo.com.

What we collect

When you first launch the game, we automatically create an anonymous account for you using Firebase Authentication. No email, no sign-up form. You just play. You can later choose to register with an email and password, which upgrades that same anonymous account in place so your progress carries over.

Here is what our servers store, when we collect it, and why:

Data	When we collect it	Why
Account ID (an opaque, random identifier)	Automatically, on first launch	To tell your save apart from everyone else's. It reveals nothing about you.
Email address and whether it is verified	Only if you register an account (taken from your verified sign-in)	Sign-in, password reset, and account recovery. Required to make purchases, since it is the key to your INVO ID and gold balance.
Phone number (international format)	Only if you add one	Required to send or receive gold transfers. INVO routes transfers by phone number and may text it (for example, transfer notifications or PINs).
Display name	Only if you set one	Shown to other players in Arena duels, in fleets, and on gold transfers.
Platform (web, iOS, Android or Steam) and created / last-seen timestamps	Automatically	Basic account housekeeping and support, and choosing the right payment method for the version you are playing.
Game progress, fleet and inventory, rewards claimed, play-currency balances (silver, energy)	As you play, while signed in	So your game follows your account across devices and rewards can be checked on our servers. Gold balances are held by INVO (see Payments below).
Fleet (guild) details: fleet names, tags and mottos you write, membership, role, applications, donations and upgrades	Only if you found or join a fleet	To run fleets. Fleet names, tags and mottos are visible to other players.
Captain's Charter status: how it was paid for, start, expiry and renewal dates, subscription status and history	Only if you get a Charter	To grant and renew Charter perks.
Card brand, last four digits and expiry month/year	Only if you add a card for a Charter subscription in the browser version	So you can see which card the subscription uses. We never receive or store your full card number (see Payments below).
Steam ID	Only when you make a purchase or subscribe on Steam	So Valve knows which Steam account to ask to approve the charge. Kept with Steam subscription records, along with Steam's order and transaction references.
Rewarded ad records: the ad network's transaction ID, the reward and the ad unit	Only when you choose to watch a rewarded ad in the mobile apps	To confirm the ad was watched before we pay a server-held reward, and to pay it only once.
Transfer approval records: approval codes, status, and a label for the approving device (for example "iPhone")	Only when you approve a transfer from another device (see Payments below)	To complete the approval and to show you which device is asking, so you can refuse one that isn't yours.
Transaction ledgers (every currency grant and spend, purchase, transfer and Charter change, append-only), including transfer details such as the recipient's phone number	As currency moves	Financial integrity and audit, so balances can always be verified and disputes resolved.

Like any online service, our servers also receive your IP address and basic browser or device information when the game connects to them.

We do not sell your data. We only use advertising identifiers for ads in the mobile apps, and only as described in the Ads section.

One more thing worth knowing: your "Captain ID" (the support code shown in Settings and on your profile) is derived from your account ID on the fly. We don't store it; it's just a convenient way to identify your account when you email us.

How we use it

To run the game: saving your progress, syncing it between devices, checking rewards, running fleets, and showing your display name to other players.
To sign you in: Firebase Authentication handles anonymous and email accounts, and sends password-reset and email-verification emails.
To process purchases, subscriptions and transfers: we share what INVO (and, on Steam, Valve) needs to take a payment or move gold (details in the Payments and Steam sections).
To show ads in the free mobile and browser versions, with the consent choices described in the Ads section. There are no ads on Steam.
To improve the game: gameplay analytics, which you can switch off (next section).
To help you: when you contact support, we use your Captain ID to find your account.

We do not sell your data to anyone.

Analytics & your opt-out

In the browser version and the mobile apps we use Google Analytics 4 to understand how the game is played: battles started and finished, rewards earned, screen views, and device frame-rate statistics (so we know where performance is poor). The only identifier we attach to these events is your opaque account ID, never your email, name, or phone number. GA4 also sets its own device identifiers and cookies as part of Google's service.

You can turn all of this off. In the game, open Settings → "Disable anonymous telemetry". This stops all analytics immediately, including Google's automatic collection. You can opt back in the same way, any time. This setting covers analytics only; ad choices are separate (see Ads).

The Steam version does not include Google Analytics and sends no analytics events.

This website. shipbusters.net also uses Google Analytics 4 to count page views and see how visitors find and use the site. Google sets its own cookies for this. We do not attach any account ID or personal details to website visits. You can block it with your browser's privacy settings or Google's Analytics opt-out add-on.

The free mobile and browser versions of Ship Busters can show ads. The Steam version has no ads and contains no ad code.

What you'll see: optional rewarded ads you choose to watch (for example to refill energy, retry a lost battle, or double a reward), and an occasional full-screen ad after a battle result. Ads are never shown during a battle, in the tutorial, or in Arena duels. Captain's Charter holders don't get the after-battle ads.
Mobile apps (iOS and Android): ads are served by Google AdMob. Google may use your device's advertising identifier and other device information to serve and measure ads.
Browser version: ads may be served by Google AdSense and Google Ad Manager, which may use cookies or similar technologies.

Your consent choices. Before the first ad is requested, the mobile apps ask for your consent using Google's consent form where it is required (for example in the European Economic Area and the UK), and on iOS they then show Apple's App Tracking Transparency prompt. Personalised ads are requested only if you agree (and, on iOS, allow tracking). If you decline, or consent can't be collected, ads are requested as non-personalised. In the browser version, ads are requested as non-personalised unless a valid consent signal says otherwise. You can change tracking permission for the app at any time in your iPhone or iPad's Settings, and you can reset or delete your advertising ID in your Android device's settings.

When you watch a rewarded ad in the mobile apps, Google sends our server a signed confirmation so we can pay the reward. That confirmation carries a one-time ticket we created, not your email or name.

Google's use of data for ads is described in How Google uses information from sites or apps that use its services.

Cookies and local storage

The game itself sets no cookies. It uses your browser's (or the app's) local storage for:

your save file (key shipbusters.save.v1): progress is saved locally and mirrored to our servers when you're signed in, so the game works offline once loaded;
a local telemetry buffer (capped at 500 events, and not written at all once you disable telemetry);
a marker of which account last played on this device;
a per-account flag noting that a passkey is enrolled on this device;
cached copies of your achievements and voyage reward progress, ad frequency counters, and small "don't show this again" flags;
in the browser version before launch, a flag noting that an access key was accepted.

Third-party services set their own storage or cookies: Firebase Authentication (to keep you signed in), Google Analytics 4 (unless you've disabled telemetry, as above), Google's ad services (where ads are shown), and, when you add a card for a Charter subscription in the browser, INVO's payment processor's secure card field.

Payments and the INVO network

Gold, the game's premium currency, is provided by the INVO network. In the browser version and the mobile apps, gold is purchased with real money through INVO's hosted checkout, which appears framed inside the game and supports cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay. On Steam, purchases go through Steam (see below). We never see or store your full card number. Payment details go directly to INVO and its payment processors.

In the browser version you can also subscribe to the Captain's Charter with a card. The card is entered in a secure field provided by INVO's payment processor, which loads from the processor's own servers; the card number never reaches our servers. We keep only the card brand, the last four digits and the expiry date, so you can see which card is on file. The Charter can also be bought once with gold, or subscribed to on Steam.

What we share with INVO:

your email address, which is the key to your INVO ID and gold balance, and your display name for purchases and subscriptions;
for gold transfers: the sender's display name, email, and phone number, and the recipient's phone number (and email, if you enter one). Transfers can also go to players in other supported INVO games;
for Steam purchases and subscriptions: the details listed in the Steam section below.

Gold balances and the money ledger are held by INVO; we keep a cached copy for display in the game. Gold transfers between players are approved with a passkey (WebAuthn), meaning a biometric or device credential, or with a PIN INVO texts you. The passkey stays on your device and its public key is held by INVO. INVO may send SMS messages (such as transfer notifications or PINs) to the phone number on file, and a transfer by a minor may be sent to a guardian for approval.

Approving from another device. Gold purchases and transfers work in the Steam version too, but the Steam desktop app can't hold a passkey, so to approve a transfer it shows a short code and a QR code instead. You scan or enter it on your phone or in a web browser where you can use your INVO passkey, and approve there; our server checks with INVO until the approval arrives. If that phone isn't set up with INVO yet, the game asks you to confirm on screen, showing the name of the device that scanned (for example "iPhone") and a matching code, before the phone is set up. Each approval covers one transaction only.

Steam and the desktop app

The Steam version is a desktop app for Windows and macOS. It uses the same account, cloud save and servers as the other versions, with these differences:

No ads and no analytics. The Steam build contains no ad code and does not include Google Analytics.
Steam features. The app uses Valve's Steamworks to unlock Steam achievements and update Steam stats (such as how many ships you own). Those are stored by Steam on your Steam account.
Purchases go through Steam. When you buy gold or subscribe to the Captain's Charter on Steam, the order is raised through INVO and approved and paid in Steam. To do that, we send INVO your Steam ID, email address and display name, and INVO passes what Valve needs to Valve. For purchases approved in Valve's checkout page (currently on macOS), and for Charter subscriptions, we also send your IP address, because Valve requires or uses it (for example to work out your country). For subscriptions we also send a record of your consent: the time, your IP address, your app's user agent (the string that identifies the app and system), the terms version, and the price and billing interval shown to you.
Steam checkout window. On some systems, Valve's checkout page opens in a window inside the game. It is Valve's own page; the game does not read what you type into it. Your Steam sign-in on that page is remembered on your computer so you aren't asked every time.
Links to outside pages open in your normal web browser.

The free demo. The Ship Busters Demo (on Steam, and in the browser while it runs there) has no shop, no purchases, no gold transfers, no ads and no account registration: you play on an anonymous account. The Steam demo sends no analytics; the browser demo uses Google Analytics as described above, with the same opt-out.

Valve's handling of your Steam account and purchases is covered by the Steam Privacy Policy.

Arena duels and fleets

Arena duels are relayed through our own servers. While you are in an Arena room, your opponent's game receives your display name, your account ID, and your ship, crew and ship stats for that duel. Duels grant no rewards and are not saved.

If you found or join a fleet, other players can see the fleet's name, tag and motto, and fleet members can see your display name, role and contributions. If you apply to a fleet, that fleet can see your display name and when you applied.

These are the third parties that handle your data:

Service	What it does	What it handles
Google Firebase	Authentication, hosting, analytics	Account credentials and sign-in state; sends password-reset and verification emails; gameplay events (unless you opt out; never on Steam).
Google Cloud (USA)	Our servers and database (us-east4)	All the account and gameplay data listed above, and Arena duel traffic.
Google AdMob, AdSense and Ad Manager	Ads in the mobile apps and browser version	Advertising identifiers, device and network information, and your consent choices, as described in the Ads section. Rewarded ad confirmations sent to our server.
INVO Network (Invo Tech Inc.)	Payments, gold balances, Charter subscriptions, transfers, passkeys, device approval, SMS	Email (INVO ID key), display name, transfer details including phone numbers, passkey public keys, device approval requests, and payment details you enter in its checkout. On Steam, also your Steam ID, IP address and subscription consent record.
INVO's payment processors	Card payments	Card and payment details you enter in INVO's checkout or card field.
Valve (Steam)	Steam version: achievements, stats, purchases	Achievement and stat progress; purchase and subscription details passed on by INVO.
Other players	Arena duels, fleets, transfers	Your display name and the other details described in the Arena and Payments sections.

We never sell your data. There are no data brokers. Apart from the services above, we don't share your data with anyone.

Where data lives

Our servers and database run on Google Cloud in the United States (us-east4 region). Your data may be processed in the United States, whose privacy laws may differ from those of your home country. INVO, Google, and Valve may process data in other locations under their own policies.

How long we keep it

We keep your gameplay data for as long as your account is active. If you ask us to delete your account, we delete it, with one honest exception: the financial transaction records are retained as required for audit and legal compliance, even after a deletion request. They record currency movements, purchases and transfers, not your gameplay.

Your rights & deletion

You can ask us to access, correct, delete, or export your data, or to object to how we process it (the rights described in laws like the GDPR and CCPA). We honor these requests for everyone, wherever you live.

To make any request, including account deletion, email support@ourinvo.com and include your Captain ID (found in the game's Settings) so we can find your account. There is no in-app delete button today; deletion is by request, and we'll confirm when it's done.

You can also, at any time: switch off analytics in Settings, change ad tracking permission in your device settings, and sign out of your account in Settings.

Note: "Reset all progress" in Settings clears the save on that device only. It does not delete your account or the data on our servers. Email us for that.

Children

Ship Busters features real-money purchases, player-to-player gold transfers and ads, and it is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 13; if you believe a child has provided us data, contact support@ourinvo.com and we will remove it.

Players under 18 need a parent or guardian's permission to make purchases or send transfers. INVO supports guardian approval on transfers.

Changes to this policy

If we change this policy, we'll update the effective date at the top and, for meaningful changes, tell you in the game. We won't quietly expand what we collect.

Contact

Wagyu Games LLC · support@ourinvo.com

See also our Terms of Use and Support page.