Legal
Last updated: October 25, 2026
Shio Studios ("Shio Studios", "we", "us") is an indie video game studio based near Amsterdam. This policy explains what personal data we collect through our website (shiostudios.com) and our games — including The Mystery Sisters, Bars & Bruises, Life on the Grind Döner Dynasty and Cozy Sort — across web, iOS, Android, Android TV, Apple TV, Xbox and any other platform we publish on, and what choices you have.
Our games are built to be played without an account, and we keep the data we collect to a minimum:
Some games work differently from the description above. Döner Dynasty (Android) shows ads served by Google AdMob (which uses the advertising ID, approximate location from the IP address and diagnostics), offers optional in-app purchases through Google Play, and has an optional Shio Gaming Network (shared rewards and offers, only after you tap Accept). All details are in the Döner Dynasty privacy policy, which applies to that game in addition to this policy.
Cozy Sort is intended for players aged 13 and older. You can play its puzzles without signing in or connecting to the internet. Puzzle progress, collections, settings, purchase entitlements and purchase-token hashes are stored on your device.
Retention, deletion and controls. Local data remains until cleared or the app is uninstalled. Cloud saving can be disabled in Settings, and the current cloud snapshot can be deleted there after confirmation. Deleting a cloud snapshot does not delete local progress or Google's achievement, ranking or purchase records. Those records can be managed using Google's account tools. Permanent purchases can be restored through Google Play; already-consumed coin balances cannot be restored from purchase history if both local and cloud saves have been deleted. Advertising privacy options are available when required by Google's consent system.
For Cozy Sort privacy questions or deletion requests concerning data held by Shio, contact support@shiostudios.com. Provider-managed data is subject to the relevant Google service policies and account controls.
Mystery Sisters is intended for players aged 13 and older. Chapter 1 can be played free without signing in. A single optional Google Play purchase unlocks chapters 2–10. The game does not include advertising or third-party analytics trackers.
Crystal Ruckus (com.shiostudios.crystalruckus) is a local-first mining game. Its core gameplay can be played offline. Progress, settings, earned and purchased balances, purchase entitlements and purchase-token hashes are stored on the device.
Optional Google Play Games. Google processes Play Games authentication, achievements and leaderboard scores. Google Saved Games can store a progress snapshot, including earned and purchased balances and the token-hash ledger that prevents repeat grants. These services use the player's Google account. Shio does not operate a player-account or cloud-save storage server for this game. Cloud restore is an explicit player action; different saves are not silently merged.
Google Play purchases. Google handles checkout and payment information. The app receives product identifiers, purchase state and purchase tokens to grant the purchased content and acknowledge or consume the purchase. Durable purchase-token hashes prevent duplicate grants. Shio does not receive card or bank details.
Advertising. Google AdMob and the User Messaging Platform provide advertisements and consent/privacy choices. Depending on consent and region, Google may process approximate location inferred from IP, advertising or other device identifiers, ad/app interactions, diagnostics and performance information for advertising, measurement and fraud prevention. Advertising privacy choices are available in the Google Play & Premium menu. Reward videos are optional; the app records a local receipt to grant the reward once.
Shio Passport and cross-promotion. The game connects to passport.shiostudios.com using an app-private device key and pseudonymous game/device identifiers. Passport serves verified campaign configuration and records campaign impressions/clicks and network preferences. It is separate from Google saves and purchases. Players can change network/promotion preferences and request deletion of their Shio Passport from the game. Deleting Passport does not delete local game progress or the player's Google account.
Connections use HTTPS. Local progress can be removed by clearing app data or uninstalling; retain a valid Google save before doing so. Google manages its account and platform data under its own privacy policy. For privacy questions or deletion assistance, contact info@shiostudios.com.
We do not sell personal data. Our website and our games without ads do not share personal data with third parties for advertising purposes. Ad-supported games, including Döner Dynasty and Cozy Sort, share data with Google AdMob to show ads, as described in section 1a and in that game's privacy policy. We share information only with the app store or platform you downloaded a game from (as part of normal distribution), with service providers who host our infrastructure, or where required by law.
Gameplay save data lives on your device and is retained for as long as you keep the game installed, or until you delete it. Support emails are kept for as long as needed to resolve your request and for a reasonable follow-up period.
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, delete or export personal data we hold about you, and to object to or restrict certain processing. Since most gameplay data never reaches us, this mainly applies to information you've sent us directly (such as support emails). To exercise these rights, contact us using the details below. If you are in the EU/EEA, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.
Our games are not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.
We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect the limited information we hold. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.
We may update this policy from time to time. We'll update the "Last updated" date above whenever we do.
Questions about this policy or your data can be sent to hello@shiostudios.com.