Good app, but invasive privacy policy!
Scrabble
The app is well designed, and fun to play. However, Electronic Arts is gathering so much information on what you are doing -- even collecting all the *private* games you have played *OFF LINE* -- that we cannot recommend this app.
It gathers location data, device ID, plants tracking cookies, and shares information with third parties!
Worse, it does that even if you dont sign up for its on-line services or "play with friends".
There is also no way of opting out of most of this data collection -- of course, it should be opt-in to begin with, but EA has no business exploiting users info, habits, and browsing this way.
We highly recommend reading their privacy policy. *You* may be comfortable with such data gathering, but we are not! See later on for some of the details.
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There are also a couple of game-app flaws.
1. Music and sounds are turned on by default. It woke my partner up when I first launched the game. Suggestion: have it off by default and simply have text on screen -- silently -- saying you can turn it on sound effects and music!
2. One is forced to go through a tutorial -- and it is irritating. There is a skip button (discovered later) at the beginning, but no way of exiting once you are trapped inside the tutorial. Suggestion: here, too, just a brief message saying tutorial available.
3. The game gets stuck at the end when player and computer have nothing to play! You have to go back and forth *three* times before it will finally conclude the game!
4. The app plays many unusual, even questionable, words and that detracts from the enjoyment. Suggestion: The dictionary should include definitions! That way, users could learn something along the way.
5. The Best Word feature is fine, but the animation is distracting and gets old fast!
PRIVACY POLICY NEEDS OVERHAUL
Cannot believe all that Electronic Arts is gathering! Here are some statements from their privacy policy -- thats a misnomer, in any case -- its more like a "*Lack* of Privacy Policy"!
Exclamation points added!
"If you play a game offline, this data will be stored on your device and transmitted to EA when your device connects to the Internet." !!
Can you believe that?! Thats none of their business!
"We collect other information automatically when you use our products, including:
IP address; !! Monitoring you.
Mobile and other hardware or device identifiers; !! Identifying your stuff.
Browser information, including your browser type and the language you prefer; !!
So, collecting data in your browser preference, but on your language! Is EA part of the NSA?!
Referring and exit pages, including landing pages and pages viewed; !!
In other words, where you are browsing!
"Platform type;
Information about your media, device, hardware and software," !!
"your hardware settings and components," !!
Theyre really being invasive!
...
"Details about what EA products you use and your use of them;" !!
"Use of them"?!
and
"Device event information, including crash reports, request and referral URLs" !! (Note error: it should be URLs.)
Then, the coup de grace:
"We also may collect and store information locally on your device, using mechanisms like cookies, browser web storage (including HTML 5) and application data caches." !!
"We use cookies and similar technologies to help us understand things like what web pages, features or ads you view and what games you play." !!
In other words, EA is tracking you, which is akin to stalking.
NO THANKS!
AstroPaul about SCRABBLE Premium, v5.22.0
