Alibis & Ink

// support

A hand with the case

For game help or account questions, email [email protected].

Practice and saved progress

The 34 included puzzles work without an account or a connection. Practice saves, puzzle progress, tutorial progress and preferences are stored on your device. They are separate from your online friend-game account and are not synchronized by the game's service.

Keep the app installed while asking for help with a save. Deleting or reinstalling the app can remove local progress.

Playing with a friend

Friend games need an account and a connection. On iPhone or iPad, open Play with a Friend and use Sign in with Apple. Share an invitation with someone you know, or enter the code they sent. Preview the invitation before choosing to accept it.

If a connection fails while a move or invitation is being checked, keep the app's saved request and use its retry or refresh action when connected. Reinstalling is not needed to retry a connection.

Holiday purchases and restore

Where available, Christmas with Finch is an optional, one-time App Store purchase containing 25 holiday puzzles. Sign in with Apple in the game before buying or restoring. Apple shows your local price before you confirm. The 34 included puzzles remain free, and friends can accept your holiday-puzzle invitations without buying the pack.

Open Choose a puzzle, then Christmas with Finch, to buy or use Restore purchases. Restore uses the App Store account that made the purchase and the original Apple sign-in used for your game account. A restored purchase does not restore deleted online games or local puzzle saves. Contact support if the purchase belongs to a different game account.

If Apple is waiting for approval or a connection interrupts confirmation, keep the app installed and use Check purchase again when available. Do not buy the pack again to fix an interrupted confirmation. Holiday practice can work offline after ownership is confirmed; reconnect at least once every 30 days to refresh access. Losing access does not erase saved puzzle progress. Purchases and refund requests are handled by Apple.

Text and screen layout

Use the in-game Aa control for larger text. Mobile play stays in portrait, including on iPad. Scrollable game lists and reading panels can be swiped.

Reporting a problem

Please include:

• The app version and build number, if available.
• Your device model and operating-system version.
• What you were doing, what happened and any message shown by the game.
• An optional screenshot with unrelated personal information removed.

Do not send passwords, Apple verification codes or sign-in tokens. For account removal, see Deleting your game account below.

// game privacy

Your game and your information

Effective November 15, 2026

This policy describes the current native iPhone/iPad Alibis & Ink game published by The Mad Botter INC and information you send us for game support. Visiting this website is covered separately by the website privacy policy.

Local practice

The included free practice puzzles do not require an account. Practice saves, completed-puzzle progress, tutorial state and reading preferences stay in the app's local files; the game does not provide its own cloud synchronization for that practice data. Removing the app can remove those files. Device backups are controlled by your device and platform settings.

Sign-in and account information

Online friend play uses a verified sign-in account. For Sign in with Apple, the game requests your name, which Apple may provide when you first authorize the app. The current iOS game does not request your Apple email address. We use a provider account identifier, a game player identifier and a public display name to operate your account.

Sign-in proofs and session credentials are processed by the game service to verify your account and keep you signed in. The iOS game uses Apple's Keychain to remember sign-in on that device. The service also retains an encrypted Apple credential so it can request revocation when your game account is deleted. The game does not ask for your Apple password.

Purchases and ownership information

Apple processes App Store payments. We do not receive your card or bank-account details. To confirm, restore and protect purchases, the game and service process signed installation and purchase information, product and transaction identifiers, an account reference, purchase status and refund or revocation information. Purchase records are linked to your game player account.

We use this information to unlock the pack, check access when starting a holiday challenge, handle refunds and restore purchases. The device keeps protected purchase-confirmation and offline-access information in Apple's Keychain. Purchase checks communicate with Apple and the game's service. Accepting a friend's holiday challenge grants access to that game without granting ownership of the pack.

Optional pack announcements

Home may show optional announcements for our own puzzle packs. The app checks ownership on your device to avoid showing an offer for a pack you already own, and remembers dismissed announcements on that device. Dismissal choices are not sent to our service. Opening an announcement shows pack details; buying still requires your confirmation through Apple.

Requests for Home announcements and their artwork omit game sign-in credentials and purchase-confirmation records. Hosting providers can still process request IP addresses, requested content, timing and other technical connection information to operate and protect the service.

Online games and what other players see

The game service stores your account, friendships, invitations, chosen crosswords, boards, moves, scores, game status and timestamps so friend games can continue between turns and across sessions.

Someone with an invitation code can see the inviting player's public name and identifier and the case information needed to preview it. Friends and opponents can see the names, player identifiers and shared game history relevant to their games. Accepting a game also adds both players to each other's Friends list. Removing a friend removes that friendship; it does not block the player.

Service operation and providers

Platform sign-in providers process authentication under their own policies. Hosting providers process the information needed to run the online game service. The service uses request IP addresses for rate limiting and records operational errors to help diagnose service problems.

The current native game does not include advertising-tracking SDKs or gameplay-analytics SDKs. This does not mean that online play sends no data: the account and game information described above is needed for friend play.

Deleting your game account

In the game, open Account and choose Delete account. Deletion requires fresh provider sign-in and your confirmation. It signs out your game sessions, removes identity links and friendships, and replaces your public name with “Deleted player.” Unfinished games are cancelled or resigned, and friend-game drafts are cleared on the device where you delete the account. Local offline practice is separate and is not removed by this account action.

Account deletion does not erase every historical record. Match identifiers, boards, moves, scores and command history remain on the service, along with records used to complete account deletion and provider-credential revocation. Revocation may continue after you confirm deletion. Contact us with questions about your information or an account-deletion problem.

We retain the purchase and refund records and a one-way Apple-account reference needed to prevent duplicate claims and allow restoration of a permanent purchase after account deletion. Restoring requires fresh sign-in with the same Apple identity and verification of the App Store purchase; it can associate the purchase with your new game account without recovering deleted games or friendships. Deleting a game account does not request an App Store refund.

Support correspondence

If you email us, we receive your email address and the information you choose to include, such as a problem description or screenshot. We use that information to answer your request. Your email provider and ours also process that correspondence. Send privacy questions to [email protected].

This website and policy updates

This support page uses the site's existing website analytics. Website visits and any campaign information stored by this site are described in the website privacy policy, separately from the native game. We will update the effective date here when this game policy changes.