Next Game Up

Privacy Policy · Last updated: October 23, 2026

Next Game Up is a video game release calendar for Android. This policy explains what happens to your data when you use it.

What we collect

Nothing on its own. Next Game Up has no account system, no advertising, no analytics and no automatic crash reporting. The developer receives nothing from the app unless you choose to send or email a problem report (below).

What stays on your device

Your settings and a cache of release data are stored on your device. That covers your platform, genre, region, theme and alert choices, the games you follow, have alerts on or hid, your Always show and Never show lists, your filters, and the list of games the app downloaded. If you turn on alerts (or Date changes), the app also keeps a small square copy (about 256 pixels) of the cover of each game with an alert, and of the games you follow when Date changes is on, in its private cache, so a notification can show the cover without a connection.

If Android backup is on for your phone, a small copy of your choices goes into your phone's own Google backup, so a new phone or a reinstall can restore them. It holds your settings (including whether you have left a tip), the games you follow, have alerts on or hid, your Always show and Never show lists, and your platform, genre and play mode filters and view. It does not hold the release data, covers or any cache. The developer never receives it. You can turn backup off in your phone's settings.

Uninstalling the app deletes the data from the device.

To remove everything without uninstalling, use Settings → Data → Erase all data (two taps). It deletes, on the device:

Erase all data does not reach into Google's servers. A backup copy that was already stored there stays until Android replaces it with a newer backup. To remove it sooner, use your phone's Google backup settings.

Problem reports (only when you send one)

The app keeps a short list of your last 50 actions (for example "opened a game", "turned on an alert", "updated the list", or an error message), on your device only. Titles of games you tap are in it. Nothing you type is recorded; for a search it keeps only how many characters you typed.

Nothing is sent unless you choose Settings → Data → Bug or Suggestion. The dialog lists what the report holds and lets you read the full text first. Then you pick one of two ways:

The zip holds:

A report holds no account, advertising or device ID (your email is included only if you type it), no location, no contacts, no screenshots and no files from your phone.

Reports are used only to find and fix the problem. Uploaded reports are deleted automatically after 90 days. The upload service records no IP address or device ID; Cloudflare, which hosts it, sees the request like any web request. Reports sent from older versions of the app were saved in a private Google Drive folder and are deleted after about 3 months. To have your report deleted sooner, email NextGameUp425@gmail.com with the reference the app showed (for example ngu-report-202610071600-ab12.zip). Reports you email are kept in the developer's mailbox until deleted. If you use Email instead, a copy of the zip stays in the app's private cache until you make another report or erase all data (Send report keeps no copy on your phone). Erase all data also deletes the action list.

Third-party services the app contacts

To show release dates and cover art, the app requests public data directly from:

Cover images and screenshots load from image servers run by Wikimedia, Valve, Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo and IGDB (images.igdb.com). Your phone fetches these directly, so those servers see your IP address. The app also fetches the cover of a game with an alert from the same servers (not through the page), to keep the small copy used in notifications.

Every source can be turned off in Settings → Data → Sources (at least one stays on). A source that is off is never contacted.

If you choose Send report, the app also contacts Cloudflare to hand over the report zip, under Cloudflare's privacy policy. This happens only when you press Send. (IGDB data uses a separate page run the same way, described above.)

Like any web request, these services receive your IP address and basic request information, which they handle under their own privacy policies. The app sends them no account, device identifier, precise location or personal information. Requests carry only public game data, such as a game title, store ID, IGDB game number or date range from the release list, plus the two-letter store country for Steam prices (a country, not your location).

One exception: if you tap Look it up under your search results, the title you typed is sent to Steam and Wikidata, and to IGDB through the same developer-run service as above (if IGDB is on in Settings → Data → Sources), to find that game. Nothing else you type is sent.

Tips (Google Play Billing)

The optional tip buttons use Google Play Billing. The app connects to it when you open Settings, to show the tip prices, and after you start a tip. Google handles the payment, your payment method and the receipt under your Google account and the Google Payments privacy notice. The app has no login. It only learns that a tip went through, so it can say thanks, and keeps a yes or no flag on your phone. The developer does not learn who tipped and sees only standard Play Console sales reports from Google. The Google Play Billing library may also send Google its own diagnostic information about the purchase flow, under Google's privacy policy.

Notifications, background updates and calendar

If you turn on alerts, notifications are scheduled and shown entirely on your device. Price drop alerts (on by default, for games you follow) work the same way: the app compares the Steam price it fetched with the one it kept on your phone, and the price history stays on the device. On Android 13 and newer, Android asks for permission to show notifications when you first turn on an alert or a notification option, and once after a restore from backup if alerts were on.

Background updates are on by default. The app updates its release list in the background about twice a day (only with a network connection and when the battery isn't low). Those updates make the same public requests listed above and nothing else. Turn them off in Settings → Alerts → Update in the background.

"Add to calendar" opens your calendar app with the event pre-filled. The app cannot read your calendar.

Children

Next Game Up is not directed at children under 13. The app collects nothing on its own, and a problem report is sent only if you send it.

Changes

If this policy changes, the updated version will be posted at this address with a new date.

Contact

Questions about this policy or the app: NextGameUp425@gmail.com