Privacy

Last updated 31 October 2026. Covers handeware.com, mahjong.handeware.com and the Handeware apps.

This covers handeware.com, mahjong.handeware.com, and the Handeware apps — Sift, Chartra, Sugar Block Works, Seasons Mahjong, Nonogram, Crossword, Cryptogram and Sudoku. We have no accounts and no logins, and we run no server that any of our apps talk to. Our games, Sift and Chartra count a few events, not tied to your name, to help us improve them (see Statistics and crash reports below).

The apps

Sift and Chartra run entirely on your device. There is no account to make, no sign-in, and no server of ours for them to contact. Your photos, files and documents are read on the device and are never transmitted to us — we could not retrieve them if we were asked to, because no copy exists anywhere but your device.

• Photos. Sift reads your library to find duplicates, blurry shots, screenshots and large videos. Analysis happens on the device. Nothing is uploaded. Sift shows a photo’s approximate location from the photo’s own data, on your screen only.
• Files on the Mac. On the Mac, Sift reads the names, sizes, dates and owners of files in the folder you choose (or the whole disk, if you grant Full Disk Access) to build an index that stays on your Mac. It never reads what’s inside your files.
• Removing things. Sift only moves things to the Trash, and only when you confirm, or when a rule you turned on does it (Pro). It never empties the Trash. Every removal gets a receipt, and Put back returns items. On iPad, Sift can copy photos and videos to a drive or folder you pick, check the copy, then remove them from the library, which iOS asks you to confirm.
• Ask. Where your device has Apple Intelligence, Ask uses Apple’s on-device model, and on iOS 27 it can use Apple’s Private Cloud Compute. Either way the model gets your question and the counts, sizes, dates and places Sift’s own search found for it, never the photos themselves. Private Cloud Compute is Apple’s, covered by Apple’s privacy policy, not ours. On the Mac, Ask sees names, sizes and dates from the index, not file contents.
• Documents. Chartra scans, reads, signs and exports on the device, and text recognition is local. Your documents, receipts, invoices, Ask questions and drive log stay on your phone, or go only to Apple: iCloud if you turn on sync, Apple Maps for drives, and Apple’s model for Ask. Those are covered by Apple’s privacy policy, not ours.
• Help and ideas. If you write to support@handeware.com from Chartra, we receive your email address and your message, and use them only to answer you.
• What Sift remembers. What Sift learns from your swipes, and its saved scans, stay on your device. Settings > Forget what Sift learned erases them, and so does deleting the app.
• Notifications. Local only, and only if you allow them.
• Purchases. Handled by Apple. We never see your payment details, and your purchase is tied to your Apple ID rather than to any record we hold.

You can verify all of this: run a scan with the phone in airplane mode. It completes normally, because nothing needed a network.

Ads inside the apps

On the free plan, Chartra offers a short ad in exchange for extra free use, shows a full-screen ad at natural breaks, and shows one sponsored card in the Library; Chartra Pro removes every ad. Seasons Mahjong offers an ad for an extra hint or undo. Nonogram, Crossword, Cryptogram and Sudoku each show a banner, occasional full-screen ads between puzzles (never before your first win), and offer an optional short ad for a hint or a second chance; some of those moments show one of our other games instead. Sift shows a banner under its tabs and offers an optional short ad for more free space; Sift Pro and its free trial show none. Those ads are served by Google AdMob, which may collect your device’s advertising identifier (only if you allow tracking when iOS asks), a rough location from your internet address, how you interact with ads, and performance and diagnostic data, to choose and measure ads. That data goes to Google, not to us, and it concerns the ad — never your photos, documents or contacts, which the ad software has no access to.

iOS asks your permission before any app can track you across other companies’ apps, and in the EEA, UK and Switzerland you also get a consent prompt. Declining either changes nothing about what the app can do; you simply see non-personalised ads. Paying to remove ads stops every ad you did not ask for; in some games you can still choose to watch one for a reward. In Seasons Mahjong, Google’s ad software is still part of the app and starts with it, so Google may receive the basic device information that start-up sends.

Statistics and crash reports

Seasons Mahjong, Nonogram, Crossword, Cryptogram and Sudoku use Google Firebase Analytics and Crashlytics. They count a handful of game events — a puzzle started, won or left, a hint used, an ad shown, a Remove Ads purchase — and send a report if the app crashes, so we can see which puzzles are too hard and fix problems. They send only those counts, times and device basics (phone model, system version and an identifier for this install of the app), never your name, contacts, photos or anything you type. That data goes to Google, which processes it for us. Sift sends crash reports the same way, and a few events: a scan finished, space cleared (in rough sizes), a question asked (which model answered, never the question), an ad watched, the free limit reached, a trial or Pro purchase. In the EEA, UK and Switzerland it sends those events only if you agree in the consent prompt. Chartra counts which features and tools you use, with Firebase Analytics and without the advertising identifier, and sends crash reports that are not linked to you. It never sends your documents, names, amounts or anything you type. Both stay off until you agree, and you can turn them off at any time in Settings. Sugar Block Works sends none of this.

This website

handeware.com serves no ads in its games. If you tap Accept in the cookie notice, the site uses Google Analytics to count visits: the pages you open, roughly where you are, and your device and browser. It sets cookies for that, and Google processes the data for us. Until you choose, and if you tap No thanks, no cookie is set: Google gets only a few anonymous, cookie-free signals that help it estimate visits. You can change your choice at any time with Cookie settings at the foot of every page. The games themselves never use Google Analytics. Our host keeps standard server logs, as every web host does.

Some English pages show a short list of supplies on eBay. The plain links load nothing from eBay until you tap one. If you accepted cookies, those pages also show eBay’s own picture cards, which load from eBay and may use eBay’s cookies to choose items. If you buy something after tapping, we may earn a commission from eBay; eBay’s own privacy notice applies.

Your saved games

Mahjong on the web stores your progress in your browser’s localStorage. It never leaves your device — the game makes no network requests while you play. Clearing your browsing data deletes it, and we cannot recover it.

Seasons Mahjong on iPhone and iPad keeps your games, gold, medals and portrait on the device. There is no account and no server of ours to sign in to. The app reaches the network only for the ads described above and for Game Center achievements if you are signed in — Game Center is Apple’s, covered by Apple’s privacy policy, not ours. Deleting the app deletes your progress, and we cannot recover it.

Sugar Block Works keeps your score, coins and unlocked crew on the device itself. There is no account and no server of ours to sign in to. The game does reach the network for the ads described above, and for Game Center leaderboards if you choose to use them — Game Center is Apple’s, and what it stores is covered by Apple’s privacy policy, not ours. Deleting the app deletes your progress, and we cannot recover it.

Children

Our apps are not directed at children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect anything from them. Since we collect nothing from anyone, there is nothing to delete on request — but write to us with any concern and a person will answer.

Your rights

GDPR, CCPA and similar laws give you the right to see, correct and delete data a company holds about you. We hold almost none. There is no account and no profile; the only thing we keep is an email you send us, and we delete it when you ask. Data held on your own device is removed by erasing it in the app, or by deleting the app.

Contact

support@handeware.com · Handeware LLC, Delaware.