Privacy Policy — Black Market Trader
Effective Date: August 25, 2026
Last Updated: August 25, 2026
Who We Are
Black Market Trader is developed and operated by Pinkham Software. If you have questions about this policy, contact us at gary@pinkham-software.com.
The Short Version
- You don't need a real name or email address to play. We use anonymous accounts.
- We collect only what the game needs to run: your in-game handle, your trade history, your holdings, and which cities you're in.
- We don't sell your data. We don't show ads. We don't share your data with third parties for marketing.
- Your data is encrypted in transit. It's stored on Supabase (Postgres), a cloud database provider.
- You can ask us to delete your account and data at any time.
What We Collect and Why
1. Account Information
When you first open the app, an anonymous session is created automatically. No name, no email address, and no phone number is required to play.
You may optionally choose an in-game handle (a username visible to other players). This handle is the only piece of identifying information associated with your account by default.
If you later choose to save your progress (offered after your first profitable trade), you may sign in using Sign in with Apple. Apple's sign-in flow may share a relay email address with us; we use it only to link your account and never for marketing.
We do not collect: your real name, home address, phone number, government ID, payment card details, or precise location.
2. Gameplay Data
To operate the game, we store:
| Data | Why we collect it |
|---|---|
| Your in-game handle | Displayed on leaderboards and city rosters |
| Your cash balance and trade history | Powers the leaderboard and your net-worth display |
| Your holdings (goods and quantities) | Tracks your inventory across sessions |
| Cities you've joined or founded | Associates you with a city's market and leaderboard |
| Realized profit/loss per city | Powers the city leaderboard |
| Trades you've executed (city, good, side, quantity, price, timestamp) | Immutable ledger; used for anti-cheat, leaderboards, and price history |
We do not store: push notification tokens, the contents of any messages (there is no in-game chat), payment or financial information beyond in-game fictional currency, crash logs, analytics or diagnostics events, or device advertising identifiers.
3. Push Notifications (Planned — Not in v1.0.0)
Push notifications are not yet implemented. When they are added, we will collect your device push token to deliver opt-in alerts (rank-change and price-dislocation). This policy will be updated at that time before push is enabled.
How We Store Your Data
Your gameplay data (account, trades, holdings, city membership) is stored in Supabase, a cloud database and authentication provider. Supabase runs on AWS infrastructure in the US East (N. Virginia) region (us-east-1). Supabase's privacy policy is available at https://supabase.com/privacy.
All data is encrypted in transit using TLS. Data at rest is encrypted by the underlying infrastructure provider (AWS).
How Long We Keep Your Data
We retain your gameplay data for as long as your account is active. If you request deletion (see below), we delete your account and all associated data within 30 days, except where we are required by law to retain records longer.
Third Parties We Work With
| Provider | Purpose | Their Privacy Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Supabase | Database, authentication, and realtime | https://supabase.com/privacy |
| Expo / EAS | App delivery (OTA updates) | https://expo.dev/privacy |
| Apple | Sign in with Apple (optional, future) | https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/ |
We do not work with advertising networks, analytics platforms, crash-reporting services, data brokers, or any third party that would receive your personal information for marketing or re-targeting purposes. We do not display third-party ads in the game.
Your Rights and Choices
Account deletion: To request deletion of your account and all associated data, email gary@pinkham-software.com with the subject "Delete my account" and include your in-game handle. We will confirm deletion within 30 days. These instructions are also published at https://black-market-trader.app/delete-account.html.
Access or correction requests: If you would like to know what data we hold about you, or to correct your in-game handle, contact us at gary@pinkham-software.com.
Depending on your location, you may have additional rights under applicable privacy laws (e.g., GDPR, CCPA). Contact us at gary@pinkham-software.com to exercise any such rights.
Children
Black Market Trader is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has created an account, contact us at gary@pinkham-software.com and we will delete the account promptly.
Changes to This Policy
If we make material changes to this policy, we will update the "Last Updated" date and, where required, notify you through the app. Continued use of the game after a policy update constitutes acceptance of the revised terms.
Contact
Questions or requests: gary@pinkham-software.com