ES Gameworks

birb. legal

Privacy Policy

Last updated: September 15, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains what our app collects, how it is used, and the choices you have. We refer to it as “the App” below; its name is birb. The App is operated by ES Gameworks LLC, which is responsible for the data described here.

1. Information we collect

  • Account information: your email address and display name when you create an account. Guest play requires no account information.
  • Game content you create: bird capture photos, audio recordings of bird songs, and your in-game progress, including discoveries, quests, and items.
  • Messages: direct and group messages you send to friends in the Flock. Messages are stored so conversations work across your devices and so a reported message can be reviewed.
  • Steps and activity (Nest egg): with your permission, the App uses steps to warm your Nest egg. On iPhone, Motion & Fitness supplies steps recorded by that phone, including up to seven days of recent steps; progress catches up when you open or return to birb. On Android, the App uses the step sensor and, if authorized, Health Connect, including in the background while an egg is incubating. Only the egg's hatch progress (a small credited-step total) is stored with your account. Raw sensor and health records stay on your device; no step history is uploaded.
  • Location: with your permission, the App uses your device location to tag your captures, suggest likely species for your area, and place your sightings on the map. Exact capture coordinates are visible only to you; the public map shows other players a randomized approximate area.
  • Device data: basic technical information needed to run the App and keep your progress in sync.
  • Optional usage analytics: if you enable it in Settings, the App sends pseudonymous usage events through Google Firebase Analytics, including broad feather earn/spend categories, balances, Store views, purchase interest, and app/device technical data. These events do not include your name, account id, species, photos, recordings, or precise location.
  • Crash diagnostics: release builds send crash stack traces and basic app/device technical data to Google Firebase Crashlytics so stability problems can be diagnosed. We do not intentionally attach your name, photos, recordings, or precise location to these reports.
  • Feedback you submit: your message, private account identifier, app version, phone model, and operating-system version. A reply email and screenshot are included only when you choose to provide them.
  • Early-access signup: the email address you submit through this website if you ask for launch updates.
  • Website analytics: aggregate visits, page views, referral sources, approximate country, device type, browser, and page performance measured by Cloudflare Web Analytics. Cloudflare states that this service does not collect or use visitors’ personal data.

2. How we use your information

  • To run the game: syncing progress across devices, showing the public Sightings Map, and enabling social features you opt into, including friends, messaging, aviary visits, birb-Off challenges, and Global Map Leaders.
  • Steps: solely to hatch the day's Nest egg. Step data is never used for analytics or advertising.
  • Bird identification: Local AI processes photos on your device. Only when you choose Enhanced AI and accept its first-use disclosure is the selected photo sent through our Firebase backend to Google’s Gemini AI service for bird analysis. Google’s handling of Gemini inputs follows the terms for our applicable API service tier and may include limited logging, service improvement, or human review. Avoid submitting photos containing sensitive personal information. AI results may be inaccurate.
  • Content safety: if you enable Sightings Map sharing, photos are stored with Google Cloud and sent to Google Cloud Vision for automated safety screening. Flagged photos stay private and may be checked by a human moderator. Google states that online Vision requests are processed in memory and are not used to train its models.
  • Content safety reports: if you report an account, message, or sighting, we store the reason and details you provide plus a private snapshot of the reported message or image so it can be reviewed. The reported person is not told who submitted the report.
  • Media backup: if you are a Pro Birber, your capture photos and song recordings can be backed up privately to cloud storage, readable only by your account.
  • Crash diagnostics: to identify and repair crashes and serious stability errors in release builds.
  • Feedback: to answer support questions, investigate problems, and decide which improvements would be most useful.
  • Optional analytics: understanding whether the in-game economy is fair and which Store offerings are useful. Analytics collection is off until you enable it.
  • Launch updates: emailing people who request early-access and launch news for birb.
  • Website improvement: understanding aggregate website traffic and page performance.

3. Where your data lives

Your data is stored with Google Firebase (Google Cloud) in the United States. Google Gemini processes photos you deliberately submit to Enhanced AI, and Google Cloud Vision processes photos you choose to share on the Sightings Map. Static app resources may be delivered via Cloudflare. If you send feedback, Brevo processes the feedback details described above, including any optional reply email or screenshot, solely to deliver them to our support inbox. If you submit a safety report, Brevo likewise delivers its report details to that private support inbox. Brevo also manages the website’s early-access list and processes the email address and consent status you submit so we can send the updates you requested. We require service providers to protect personal data consistently with this policy and applicable law. We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use third-party advertising networks.

4. What other players can see

Only what you share: your display name, avatar, level, pinned badges, public map sightings (approximate location, bird, and photo after safety screening), your Global Map Leaders rank if you join, your public aviary showcase if enabled, and birb-Off results with friends. Messages you send are visible to the members of that conversation. Your email address is never shown to other players.

5. Your choices

  • Location, camera, microphone, and photo permissions can be revoked in your device settings at any time. Related features will stop working.
  • Enhanced AI is optional. You can decline its disclosure or choose Local AI at any time; Local AI keeps identification on your device and prevents a new photo from being sent to Gemini.
  • Any capture can be hidden from the public map or kept off it entirely.
  • Global Map Leaders is off until you join and requires Map sharing. You can leave in Settings → Sightings Map without changing shared sightings. Turning Map sharing off hides your current Map sightings and leaves the rankings.
  • You can delete individual captures and recordings in the App.
  • You can enable or disable optional usage analytics at any time in Settings → Privacy. Turning it off stops future analytics collection.
  • You can unsubscribe from early-access and launch emails at any time using the link in each message.

6. Data retention and deletion

Your data is kept while your account is active. Deleting your account (Settings → Account → Delete account) permanently removes your cloud data, including sightings, messages you sent, media backups, and social records. Public map sightings also expire automatically after 72 hours. Safety reports may be retained in de-identified form after an account is deleted so moderation decisions and abuse patterns remain auditable. Feedback already delivered to our support inbox may be retained as needed to resolve the request; contact us if you want a support message removed. Photos rejected by automated map safety screening may be copied to restricted moderation evidence storage for up to seven days, then deleted. Cloud-provider recovery copies may remain briefly under backup or soft-delete protections before permanent removal. You can also request account and data deletion without the App — see Delete your account.

7. Children

birb. is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

8. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the App evolves. Material changes will be communicated in the App.

9. Contact

Privacy questions or requests: support@esgameworks.com