In this post
A game's description is marketing copy. The store listing is a formal declaration, made by the developer under platform rules.
Anyone who wants to decide well reads the second one.
This guide walks through the four fields that answer almost everything, in the order worth checking. It comes from the inside: we fill these forms in for our own apps and know what each field means — including what can be omitted without lying.
1. Data safety: collected ≠ shared
The most important field and the least read.
On Google Play it appears as "Data safety"; on the App Store, as "App Privacy". Both list data categories in two different columns, and the difference between them is the whole question:
| Label | Means |
|---|---|
| Collected | stays with the app developer |
| Shared | leaves for another company — usually an ad network |
A game that collects a device identifier to save progress is one thing. One that shares a device identifier and usage data with third parties is another: that identifier becomes an advertising profile, and the profile outlives the game's uninstall.
"No data shared with third parties" is the most valuable line on the entire listing. It is rare in a free game, for a simple reason: if the game does not charge and does not share, someone is paying the bill.
2. In-app purchases: look at the range, not the existence
Almost every game has purchases. What informs you is the price range, which the store publishes.
- Narrow and cheap: cosmetics and ad removal.
- Wide with a high ceiling: almost always virtual currency in packs.
The second deserves attention when the player is a child, because virtual currency breaks the sense of price. An item costing "1,200 gems" is not an item costing real money in the mind of the person playing — it is a number in a game.
And there is a direct practical consequence: most billing surprises come from there, not from one-off purchases.
3. Age rating: what it covers and what it does not
The rating evaluates content: violence, language, sensitive themes.
It does not evaluate ad volume, monetisation aggressiveness, or mechanics designed to hold attention — daily streaks, energy that refills, return rewards.
So a game can be rated for everyone and still be designed to maximise screen time. The two pieces of information are independent, and only the first is prominent in the store.
4. Permissions and updates: the indirect signals
Permissions requested. A platformer does not need contacts, a microphone or precise location. Disproportionate permissions signal an embedded third-party library.
Recent updates. A game abandoned two years ago usually carries old libraries — including ad libraries — and is where the most outdated privacy policies live.
The ten-minute test no listing performs
After all that, one piece of information remains that no store field declares: how much the game interrupts.
Install it, play ten minutes and count:
- 1. How many ads appeared unprompted? Ads between rounds are normal; ads
mid-round are a hostile decision.
- 2. Is the close button findable? A tiny, delayed X, or one positioned to
induce a mis-tap, is a dark pattern — and the stores themselves reject updates over it.
- 3. Does the game ask for a rating or notifications before I play? A request
before the first round signals inverted priorities.
- 4. Can you play without an account? For a children's game, requiring signup is
friction with a privacy cost and little benefit.
Ten minutes answer what half an hour of reading descriptions will not.
Our side of the table
Our own endless flyer is a tap-and-hold game with a broad casual audience, part of it children.
Worth being transparent about what that implies: a free casual game sustains itself through ads, optional purchases, or both. There is no magic version where it costs nobody anything.
What can be done, and what we consider the minimum:
- Declare correctly on the listing what is collected and what is shared — do
not use the form's ambiguities to look better.
- Keep ads out of the round, between rounds only.
- Keep the close button visible and functional. This is store policy, and
rightly so — an ad that would not close already cost us a failed review, which is uncomfortable to write and true.
- Publish the privacy policy on an open page, without requiring an install to
read it.
An honest game is not one that does not monetise. It is one that makes how it monetises clear before you hand the device to a child.
Frequently asked questions
Does an age rating guarantee a game is appropriate?
It guarantees one thing: that the content was rated for an age band. It says nothing about ad volume, purchase aggressiveness or mechanics designed to hold attention. Two different pieces of information, and only the first is prominent.
Do offline games collect no data?
Not necessarily. Many games run offline and still bundle ad or analytics libraries that send data when the connection returns. The data safety section is where that shows up — working without internet and not collecting are different things.
What is a rewarded ad and why is it everywhere?
It is an ad the player chooses to watch in exchange for something — an extra life, currency, a continue. It is considered less intrusive because it is optional, but in a children's game it teaches a trade the child does not evaluate well.
Is it worth paying for the ad-free version?
Often yes, and it is the simplest trade to explain: you pay once instead of the game charging continuously in attention. When that option exists it is usually the best deal on the listing.