Privacy policy

1. Who we are and what this covers

NSF Labs LLC, based in Florida, United States ("NSF Labs," "we," "us"), operates Weekly Gems. This Privacy Policy covers the Weekly Gems Android, iPhone and iPad apps, the web app at gems.nsflabs.org, its Live Trivia service, and these Weekly Gems resource pages on NSFLabs.org. Other NSF Labs apps have their own policies.

For privacy requests, questions or comments, contact [email protected]. You can use the same address without installing the app.

2. Information processed and why

The app does not request your address book, microphone, precise location, camera, advertising identifier or a personal profile. It does not ask you to identify your religious beliefs or congregation. Your choice to use a Bible-study game, nickname or support message could nevertheless reveal religious interests; use a nickname and avoid unnecessary personal information.

We do not use app activity for targeted advertising, cross-app tracking, data brokerage or automated decisions producing legal or similarly significant effects.

3. Live Trivia and information visible to others

Live Trivia is optional and needs an internet connection. A host creates a room and shares a joining link or code. Nicknames, scores, standings and round results may be visible to the host, other participants and anyone viewing the room’s TV display. Treat a shared display or joining link as accessible to its recipients; there is no real-name verification.

Use a nickname that does not identify you, and only share links with intended participants. Keep host and participant credentials private. Anyone who sees a mirrored screen may also see device notifications outside our control. Hosts can remove participants and end a room. The app offers no public chat, photo uploads or public profile directory.

Solo progress is not synchronized through Live Trivia. Separate local host history helps reduce repeated live questions. Choosing not to use Live Trivia leaves the solo puzzles available.

4. Sharing and service providers

We share information only as needed to deliver features you use, follow your instructions, operate and protect the service, meet legal obligations, or establish and defend legal rights. We do not sell or rent personal information or share it for cross-context behavioral advertising.

• Hosting and delivery: NSF Labs operates the room server. Cloudflare provides website delivery, encrypted network routing and security. It processes connection information as described in Cloudflare’s Privacy Policy.
• Support: Our email provider processes messages sent to us. Authorized NSF Labs personnel use them for support and administration.
• Participants: Room information is shared as described above when you choose multiplayer play.
• Your exports: You choose the destination when saving or sharing a backup; that destination’s provider receives the file. We do not automatically upload it.
• External services: JW.org, Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY, Buy Me a Coffee, app stores and any browser or sharing service you choose process data under their own policies when you use them.

Service providers are used for their relevant service functions, rather than permission to sell app data. Where applicable, we use contractual or other legally required safeguards for processing. We may disclose necessary information in response to a valid legal process, to protect safety or security, or as part of a business transfer subject to appropriate notice and safeguards.

5. Cookies, local storage and research browsing

Weekly Gems uses local storage for solo saves, preferences, recent-use history and Live Trivia session recovery, and caches app resources for offline use. These are functional storage mechanisms, not advertising trackers. The app does not set advertising cookies. Hosting security services may use technical cookies or similar mechanisms when needed to deliver or protect a website.

Opening a study link loads an external page from JW.org or Watchtower ONLINE LIBRARY. The external service receives the usual web request information, such as your IP address and browser details. We do not send your puzzle answers or solo save to that site. Its own Privacy Policy and cookie controls apply.

The in-app research browser retains its cookies and cache between visits so it can remember choices you make on the source website. Weekly Gems does not intentionally read those cookie values into its game data or reset them on each visit. Separate browsers, domains, devices, private-browsing sessions, storage removal or a website’s own consent rules can cause another prompt. Change optional cookie choices through that website’s privacy controls. Use ← Game to return without discarding your puzzle.

These policy and guide pages use a local stylesheet and system fonts. The NSFLabs.org homepage currently loads fonts from Google Fonts, which receives the associated web requests; see Google Fonts privacy information.

6. Optional tips and platform services

The tip jar offers $1, $3 and Other as suggested amounts and opens Buy Me a Coffee. The choice in Weekly Gems is an instruction for you to enter at checkout, not a charge or a guaranteed preselected price. Confirm the amount, currency and whether support is one-time or recurring on that service before paying. Tips do not unlock puzzles, hints or scoring advantages.

Payment and supporter data are governed by Buy Me a Coffee’s Privacy Policy and its payment providers’ notices. Contact the provider about its checkout data and contact us about records we receive. A tip to NSF Labs is not a donation to any religious organization.

Apple, Google, your operating system and app store may process download, device, backup, purchase or diagnostic information under their own settings and privacy policies. Weekly Gems does not add an advertising or crash-reporting SDK. An optional spoken winner announcement uses the device/browser’s speech service; the chosen voice service may have its own processing practices.

7. How long information is kept

• Solo saves and preferences: Until you reset progress, clear relevant app/browser storage, or your device/browser removes it. The five-day repeat rule determines when an item may reappear; it does not automatically delete history after five days. Local repeat history is bounded to limit storage.
• Live session credentials and host history: Stored locally for reconnection and repeat control until replaced or cleared. Deleting solo progress does not remove these separate records.
• Live room data: Rooms expire four hours after creation. The running service removes expired room records from its active database. Ending a room stops play but does not immediately erase its stored record.
• Server backups: A rolling set of the seven most recent daily database backups is retained for recovery. A room record may remain in these backups after active deletion, normally for about seven days; retention can be longer if scheduled backups are interrupted. Backups are restricted operational copies, not a player-accessible archive.
• Rate limits: App-server IP-based rate-limit entries are held in memory and normally expire after about one minute. Infrastructure security or diagnostic records follow the relevant provider’s retention practices.
• Email and support: Kept as needed to resolve the request, maintain necessary follow-up and business records, and satisfy legal obligations. You may request deletion; any necessary exception will be explained.
• Payment records: Providers retain their records under their policies. NSF Labs retains necessary supporter/accounting records for legitimate administration and applicable recordkeeping obligations.
• Files you export and OS backups: Remain where you or your device’s backup service put them until removed there. Deleting in-app progress does not delete those copies.

8. Your choices, deletion and privacy rights

No Weekly Gems account is created, so there is no account-deletion step. You can use solo play without joining a room, giving a tip or contacting support.

1. Delete solo progress: Open Settings → Delete local progress → Yes, delete progress. This removes puzzle entries, completion and solo recent-use history, while preserving your preferences. It does not erase live sessions/history, research-browser cookies or exported backups.
2. Remove broader local data: Clear Weekly Gems storage in your browser or device settings. On iPhone/iPad, deleting the app removes its local app container; offloading it may retain data. Operating-system backups or other browsers may retain their own copies. Clear external browser data separately when applicable.
3. Live room requests: Email us with the approximate game time, room code if known and your nickname. Do not send a host token, password or private link. We will use proportionate verification and explain if the data has already expired or cannot reliably be associated with you.
4. Support or other records: Email [email protected] to request access, correction or deletion, or to ask about a copy of information we hold.

Depending on your location and applicable law, you may also have rights to portability, restriction, objection, withdrawal of consent, or appeal of a privacy decision. We respond within applicable legal time limits, may need to verify your request, and will explain any legal exception. You may complain to the relevant privacy regulator. We do not discriminate against you for exercising applicable rights. Where we rely on consent, withdrawal affects future processing and does not undo prior lawful processing.

We cannot remotely view, retrieve or erase solo information that exists only on your device. Export a backup before clearing it if you want to keep a copy. Global Privacy Control or similar advertising opt-out signals do not change app behavior because Weekly Gems does not sell data or use cross-context behavioral advertising.

9. Security, purposes and international processing

Public app and room connections use HTTPS. We use restricted server access, limited room lifetimes, capability-based room credentials, and restricted backups to reduce unnecessary access. This is not end-to-end encryption, and no storage or transmission method is guaranteed secure. Protect your device, exports and private session links.

NSF Labs operates in the United States. Our infrastructure and service providers may process information in the United States and other countries with different privacy laws. Where required, legally recognized transfer safeguards apply. Contact us for information about relevant processing or safeguards.

Where a legal basis is required, we process information to provide features you request, pursue legitimate interests in security and support, meet legal obligations, and obtain consent when required for optional processing. We do not use game participation to build a religious profile or advertising audience.

10. Children and family use

Weekly Gems does not request a date of birth or verify players’ ages. Families should supervise children’s use of online rooms, external research sites, email and tip links. Children should use a non-identifying nickname and should not include personal information in rooms or support messages. A parent or guardian should handle payment and support requests for a child.

We do not knowingly solicit children’s personal information for advertising or profiling. If you believe a child has provided personal information that should not have been collected, contact [email protected] so we can investigate and remove it where appropriate. This notice does not assert that the app has been certified under a children’s privacy program.

11. Independent app and publication references

Weekly Gems is an independent NSF Labs app. It is not affiliated with, sponsored by, endorsed by, or part of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc., or Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania.

Starting with version 1.0.0 build 19, Weekly Gems does not bundle publication excerpts, quoted missing-term passages, complete Watch Tower publications, or original EPUB/JWPUB files. It presents independently worded trivia and source-lookup prompts, answer terms, bibliographic citations and links. Read the original material on the publisher’s website. Titles, topic names and reference details identify the source; they are not an assertion of ownership.

Referenced publications, names and trademarks remain the property of their respective owners. Links direct readers to official sources for context; they do not imply endorsement or transfer any rights. Use of external materials is subject to applicable law and JW.org’s Terms of Use. Links are provided to direct readers to the official source, consistent with the terms’ provision for sharing links. This policy does not grant a license, claim publisher authorization, or certify compliance with all applicable terms. Contact [email protected] with a content or rights concern.

12. Changes and contact

We update this policy when the app’s practices change and show the new effective date here. For material changes, we will provide additional notice in the app or through another appropriate channel, and request consent where required. The current policy is accessible from the app’s Settings and NSFLabs.org app resources.

Privacy contact and developer: NSF Labs LLC, Florida, United States. [email protected]. This policy explains actual app practices; app-store privacy labels and Data safety disclosures must also accurately describe the released version.