Last updated 28 October 2026.
Joyhall is a collection of party games made by Mobin Jahantark ("we"). This policy explains what information the app and its game server handle, why, and the choices you have.
The short version
- You can play with bots and on the same device without a player ID: the app only sends us how many games were played, with nothing that identifies you.
- When you play Online, use a friends' room or sign in, our server keeps a random player ID, the display name and avatar you chose, your Online results, and answers the word games didn't accept.
- If you report or block another player, our server keeps the report or block. Only our team reads reports, and the player you report is never told who reported them.
- We don't ask for your real name, email, phone number, contacts or location.
- No ads, no tracking, no selling of data, no third-party analytics.
- Tips and packs are optional, paid through Apple, and recorded with RevenueCat, our purchase service.
- Lists of words you make are kept on our server so you can play them with friends; players who see one can report it.
Information that stays on your device
These are stored only on your iPhone or iPad:
- your match history and statistics shown in Profile,
- your Word Pair achievements (sent to Game Center only if you are signed in to Game Center),
- your settings (music, sound effects, haptics),
- your blocks of players met on the same Wi-Fi who have never used our server (see "Blocks"),
- the word lists the games use.
Information our server receives
Our server is only contacted when you play Online, open or join a friends' room, sign in with Apple, report or block a player, or after a game (see "Games played" and "Answers the games didn't accept").
Player ID. The first time you use one of these features, the server gives your device a random player ID and a secret token, stored in your device's Keychain. They identify your device's player to the server; they contain nothing about you.
Display name and avatar. The name and avatar you pick in the app. Other players see them in matches and rooms. The app also saves them on the server, so that signing in on another device brings them along and so that we can act on names that break the rules. The app and the server check names against lists of offensive words in each of the app's languages, and a name on those lists can't be used.
Online results. For each Online match: the game, the language, when it ended, the players' display names, and each player's rank, score and a few game totals (such as cards collected, number of accepted answers, or team). We keep each match for a year; after that only your player's totals stay (see "Games played").
Games played. We count how many games are played, of each game and way to play. Online games are counted from their results. After games with friends, with bots and in Pass & Play, the app sends how many it finished since it last sent them, per game, way to play and language, and how many you won. If your device has a player ID, they're added to your player's totals, which our team sees with your player in our admin app. Otherwise they're sent without any identifier and only added to the totals for everyone. Games you played before this was added are sent once, the same way.
Answers the games didn't accept. In Word Pair and Esm Famil, when an answer you type isn't on the word list, the app sends it to us after the game, with the game, language, topic or category and letter. We review these to add missing words to the lists. Each answer is linked to your player ID only so that it counts once per player.
Friends' rooms. When you play with friends through a room code, the server passes the game's messages between the devices. These messages are encrypted between the devices; the server doesn't read them and doesn't keep them. We do keep a record of the room: its code, game and language, the host's display name and avatar, which players joined and when, and how long it lasted. After a year, only its game, language, number of players and times stay.
Game suggestions. If you suggest a game in Profile, we receive the game's name, what you wrote about it and the app's language, linked to your player ID. Only the Joyhall team reads them, to choose new games.
Reports. If you report a player from a game, we receive the reason you picked (offensive name, cheating, harassment or hate, or something else), what you wrote, if anything (up to 300 characters), the game, whether you met Online or nearby, and the name they had as you saw it, linked to your player ID and theirs. Only the Joyhall team sees reports, in our admin app, with your player ID and display name. The player you reported is never told who reported them. You can send up to ten reports a day.
Blocks. When you block a player who has a player ID, we keep their player ID, the name and avatar they had when you blocked them and when you did, linked to your player ID. The server uses this to keep the two of you apart: you're never matched Online, and neither of you can join a friends' room the other hosts. A player you met on the same Wi-Fi who has never used our server has no player ID: they're blocked only on your device, by their device's ID, nothing is sent to us, and they can't be reported. If your device has no player ID yet, reporting or blocking a player gives it one.
Notifications. If notifications are on, your device gives the app a notification address (a token from Apple), which we keep with your player ID, the device type and the app's language. We use it only to send the notifications described in the app: replies to you (a game you suggested is planned, a word you typed was added, your display name was removed) and occasional announcements. Apple delivers them. You can turn notifications off in Profile → Settings or in your device's Settings; turning them off in the app, signing out or deleting your data removes the token from our server. Your game suggestions' status (sent or planned) is also shown in Profile.
Activity. When your player was created and when it last used the server.
Device details. Once your device has a player ID, the app tells our server what kind of device it runs on: the model (such as iPhone 16), the system and app versions, the app's language and whether notifications are on. This helps us answer support questions and know which versions are in use. It doesn't include anything that identifies your device, and it's deleted when you sign out or delete your data.
Tips and packs. Every game is free. If you leave a tip or buy a pack of words, Apple handles the payment; we never see your payment details. Our purchase service, RevenueCat, receives the purchase (which tip or pack, when, the price and the store's transaction details) linked to your player ID, so your Supporter badge and packs follow you to your other devices. When you download a pack, our server asks RevenueCat whether your player ID owns it. Restore Purchases asks Apple for what you bought with your Apple Account. If you play as a guest and then sign in to an account you already had, the app moves your guest's purchases to that account.
Your own lists. If you make a list of words in Profile, our server keeps its name, language and words, linked to your player ID, and checks them against our list of words that aren't allowed. Your list plays on the phones of the friends in rooms you host. A player in such a room can report it: we receive the reason they picked (offensive, hateful, someone's personal information, or something else), linked to their player ID and your list. Only the Joyhall team sees reported lists, with your player ID and display name, and may remove a list; the app then tells you it was removed. You are never told who reported it. Don't put anyone's personal information in a list.
Sign in with Apple. If you sign in with Apple, we receive only the anonymous identifier Apple gives our app, and a token we keep only to end the sign-in if you delete your account. We don't request your name or email. Signing in lets your Online history and name follow you to your other devices.
Moderation. If a player breaks the rules, we may reset their display name or block them from Online play, and we keep a record of these actions. When we review a player's reports, we mark them with what we did (no action, name reset or blocked from Online play), when, and which team member did it.
Nearby play
Nearby games connect devices directly over your local network. Your display name and avatar are shared with the players you play with, and so is your player ID if your device has one, so that they can report or block you. Nothing is sent to our server, unless the game runs through a friends' room as described above.
Game Center
If you are signed in to Game Center, achievements are reported to Apple's Game Center. Game Center is operated by Apple under Apple's privacy policy; we don't receive your Game Center information.
How we use information
Only to run the games: matchmaking and Online matches, friends' rooms, keeping your history and name across your devices, improving the word lists, and keeping play fair and friendly (reviewing reports and keeping blocked players apart). We don't use it for advertising, we don't track you across other apps or websites, and we don't sell or share it.
Service providers
Our server runs with Render and our database with Neon, who process the information above on our behalf. RevenueCat records purchases for us (see "Tips and packs"). Apple delivers notifications to your device (and Google, on Android). Like most hosting services, they may keep standard request logs, which include IP addresses, for a limited time. We don't use IP addresses to identify you.
How long we keep information
We keep your player's information while you use it. If your player isn't signed in with Apple and doesn't use our server for a year, we remove everything that identifies it: its sign-ins and device details, notification addresses, friends, blocks, lists, display name and avatar, the names in its matches, rooms and reports, and its purchase records at RevenueCat (what you bought with your Apple Account comes back with Restore Purchases). What stays under the random player ID identifies nobody: when it was created and last used, how many games it played and won, whether it was blocked from Online play, and, as when a player is deleted, the answers, game suggestions and reports it sent. If the app comes back after that, it starts as a new player. A player signed in with Apple stays until you delete it.
If you delete your account or your Online data, your player, its sign-ins on all devices, its Apple link, its Online results and its display name are deleted, and if you signed in with Apple, we ask Apple to end Sign in with Apple for our app, as if you'd stopped using it in your Apple Account settings. We also ask RevenueCat to delete its record of your purchases; what you bought with your Apple Account comes back with Restore Purchases. Answers the games didn't accept, games you suggested and the totals of games played by everyone stay without any link to you, and records of friends' rooms you hosted keep the name you used in them until they are a year old.
Your lists stay until you delete them, or until we remove one after a report; they're deleted with your player. Reports of a list are deleted with the list.
Reports stay after we review them, as a record of what was reported and what we did, for as long as the reported player exists. A year after we review a report, what was written, the names and the link to who sent it are removed; the reason and what we did stay. Our record of the actions our team took keeps no names once a player is deleted or anonymised. Reports you sent stay without any link to you when your player is deleted; reports about you are deleted with your player. Blocks are deleted when you unblock, or when either player is deleted. Signing out, or deleting your account or your Online data, also removes the blocks kept on your device, including players blocked only there. If you sign in with Apple on a device where you played as a guest, that guest's reports and blocks move to your account, and blocks kept only on the device stay.
Your choices
- Sign out (Profile → Settings, when signed in with Apple) signs this device out; your next Online game starts as a new player.
- Delete Account (Profile → Settings, when signed in with Apple) permanently deletes your player as described above. If you play Online without signing in, Delete My Online Data in Profile → Settings does the same for your device's player.
- You can change your display name and avatar at any time in Profile.
- Notifications can be turned off in Profile → Settings or in your device's Settings.
- Blocked Players (Profile → Settings) lists the players you blocked. Unblock removes a block from your device and, if it's there, from our server.
Children
Joyhall is not directed at children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect information from them. If you believe a child has used Online play, contact us and we will delete their player.
Changes
We will update this page if what we collect changes, and change the date at the top.
Contact
Mobin Jahantark: [email protected]