Privacy Policy
Last updated: October 22, 2026
1. Overview
Lantern Mahjong is a mahjong solitaire game for iPhone and iPad, with Home Screen widgets and a Messages app, developed by Orochi Systems (Can Kirsallioba, Tokyo, Japan). It is free, has no in-app purchases and no ads, and needs no account. Your progress is stored on your device. Lantern Mahjong has no server of its own, makes no network requests of its own, and contains no analytics, advertising, or third-party software development kits. The App's privacy manifest declares no collected data and no tracking, and its App Store privacy label is Data Not Collected.
2. What Lantern Mahjong Keeps on Your Device
- Your progress: stars and results for each level, Lumi's XP, matches, streaks, knots untied, the hours of the Long Night and the boards you left there, the lanterns in your sky, layouts you made in the editor, and the lanterns you are passing with friends. - Your settings: difficulty, sound, haptics, look, the reminder time, the Game Center switch, and the name you choose to sign lanterns with. All of this is kept in the App's own storage on your device. A short summary, such as your next level, Lumi's stage, your streak, the hour of the night and the lanterns in your hand, is copied to a storage area shared only with the Lantern Mahjong widgets and the Lantern Mahjong Messages app, so they can show it. None of it is sent to Orochi Systems. Like other app data, it is included in your iPhone or iPad backups, which are governed by Apple's terms and your settings.
3. Game Center (Optional)
Game Center is off until you turn it on in Settings › Game Center. When it is on, Apple's Game Center signs you in with your Apple Account, and Lantern Mahjong sends three scores to its leaderboards: your Daily Path time, your total journey stars, and Lumi's XP. Other players may see these scores beside your Game Center nickname, depending on your Game Center settings. If you pass a lantern to a Game Center friend, the deal, the pairs played and the names signed on each hand are stored with that turn-based match by Game Center and are visible to everyone in the match. Game Center tells the next player when it is their turn. Game Center is operated by Apple under Apple's privacy policy. Orochi Systems does not receive your Apple Account details. Turning Game Center off in the App stops it from sending further scores or lanterns.
4. Pass the Lantern
When you pass a lantern outside Game Center, the App makes a short text code holding the board, its difficulty, the pairs played so far and the names signed on each hand. Yours is the name you set in Settings, or "A friend" if you left it empty. You decide where the code goes: Messages, WhatsApp, LINE or any app in the share sheet. The Lantern Mahjong Messages app sends the same code as a card in the conversation you choose. That app delivers the message under its own terms, and anyone who receives the code can read what it holds. The App never uploads the code anywhere itself. When you return to the App after copying something, it checks only whether the clipboard holds new text, without reading it, so that it can offer a Paste button. The text is read only when you tap that system Paste button.
5. Reminders and Shared Pictures
The daily reminder is optional and off until you turn it on. It is a local notification scheduled on your device at the time you choose. iOS asks for permission the first time, and you can change it at any time in the Settings app. The Daily Path card and your lantern sky can be shared as pictures. The App hands the picture to the iOS share sheet, and you choose where it goes. The App does not ask for access to your photo library, camera, microphone, location, contacts or calendar.
6. What Lantern Mahjong Does Not Do
- No account, sign-in or Orochi Systems server. - No analytics, usage statistics or crash reporting of its own. - No advertising, no tracking and no third-party software development kits. The App does not ask for tracking permission because it does not track you. - No in-app purchases. If you have agreed in your device settings to share analytics with app developers, Apple may provide us with crash and usage information from the App Store and TestFlight under Apple's own terms.
7. Retention and Deletion
Your progress stays on your device until you erase it. Settings › Progress › Reset progress erases your progress and settings in the App. Deleting the App removes everything it stored on that device, including the summary shared with the widgets and the Messages app. Orochi Systems holds no copy and cannot restore it. Scores already sent to Game Center and lanterns already passed are held by Apple or by the apps you sent them through. You can manage your Game Center profile in the Settings app.
8. Emails to Support
If you write to us, we use your email address and message only to answer you, and we delete them when they are no longer needed for that. Please send only what your question needs.
9. Children
Lantern Mahjong is rated 4+ and is made for everyone. It does not collect personal information from anyone, including children. Game Center and sharing through other apps are services of Apple and of those apps, and parents can limit them with Screen Time.
10. Your Rights
Because your data stays on your device, you can see, change and erase it directly in the App. If privacy law where you live, such as Japan's APPI, the GDPR or the KVKK, gives you further rights over information you have emailed to us, contact lanternmahjong@orochisystems.com and we will act on it.
11. Changes to This Policy
If Lantern Mahjong starts handling information differently, we will update this policy and the date at the top before that version is released.
12. Contact
For privacy questions about Lantern Mahjong, write to lanternmahjong@orochisystems.com or visit https://www.orochisystems.com/lantern-mahjong/support.