Privacy Policy

Shadowboy is designed around a simple idea: your games, saves, and settings belong to you and stay on your device. This page explains what that means in practice.

What We Collect

The Shadowboy Android app does not collect, transmit, or sell personal information. Shadowboy apps do not include advertising SDKs, ad trackers, or third-party behavior tracking.

Shadowboy Desktop uses Sentry for anonymous crash and error diagnostics. If Desktop crashes or hits an app error, Sentry may receive technical details such as the app version, operating system, basic device/runtime information, error message, stack trace, timestamp, and diagnostic breadcrumbs around the failure. These reports are used only to find and fix crash bugs and stability issues.

Desktop crash diagnostics are not intended to include ROM files, save files, save states, screenshots, clips, controller profiles, or the contents of your game library.

The Shadowboy website uses PostHog analytics to understand basic website usage, page views, download button clicks, and download-related events. This helps us see whether people can find the right Android, Windows, and Linux downloads and improve the website. Shadowboy does not sell analytics data or use advertising trackers.

What Stays On Your Device

Shadowboy stores the following data locally on your device only:

• ROM files you have loaded into the app
• Save files and save states generated while you play
• Screenshots, clips, and recordings you capture
• Your control layouts, button mappings, and app preferences
• A local index used by the game library to display box art and metadata

This data is never sent to us or to any third party. Uninstalling the app removes it along with everything it stored in its private app storage.

Network Access

Shadowboy can use network access for features that need an online connection: fetching box art, public metadata, and cheat codes from the Shadowboy metadata service when enabled, Desktop multiplayer lobbies and relay services, app updates and downloads, Desktop crash diagnostics through Sentry, and website analytics on shadowboy.app.

Metadata service requests send only the game and system lookup details needed to return matching artwork, metadata, and cheats. They do not upload your ROM files, saves, save states, screenshots, clips, or recordings. You can disable cover art fetching in settings, and offline play does not require the website analytics or Desktop crash diagnostic services.

Website Analytics

On shadowboy.app, PostHog may receive standard web analytics information such as page URL, referrer, browser, approximate device details, and interaction events like download clicks. These events are used only to operate and improve the website and release flow.

Permissions

• Storage / File access — Required to read the ROMs and write save files you point Shadowboy at.
• Bluetooth — Optional. Used only if you connect a Bluetooth controller.
• Internet — Optional. Used for box art fetching, cheat code lookups, online multiplayer features, app update/download services, and Desktop crash diagnostics.

Children's Privacy

Shadowboy does not knowingly collect any information from anyone, including children. See “What We Collect” above.

Changes to This Policy

If we ever change how Shadowboy handles data, this page will be updated with a new “Last updated” date. A changelog of material changes will be kept alongside the app's release notes.

Contact

Questions? Reach us at [email protected].