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Sway: a guide for parents and carers

Last updated 11 November 2026.

Sway is a puzzle game about a little cargo boat sailing around Australia. Players match cargo, free sea animals from ghost nets, collect postcards of real places and build their own seaside town. This page explains the parts of Sway that parents most often ask about.

Is Sway free?

Sway is free to download, and everything needed to finish the game can be earned by playing. A few extras come only with the Captain's Ticket, like each month's special ship parts.

With real money, players can buy:

Nothing bought in Sway is left to chance. There are no loot boxes or mystery prizes for money. Every crate and bundle shows exactly what's inside before you buy.

In this version, progress and consumable items are saved on the device. Deleting Sway or losing the device can lose them, including purchased doubloons. A device backup may help with recovery, but Sway cannot guarantee it. Eligible non-consumable purchases can be restored from the Store using the same Apple Account; this does not restore consumable items or level progress.

Controlling purchases

Purchases go through Apple, so you can control them on your child's iPhone or iPad with Family Sharing's Ask to Buy, so you approve each purchase (Apple's guide).

If your child bought something without your permission, ask Apple for a refund at reportaproblem.apple.com. Email us at [email protected] if you need help.

Are there ads?

There are no ads that interrupt play. Some buttons offer a reward for choosing to watch a short video ad, and players can always say no. The ads come from Google AdMob. Sway asks Google to show only ads rated G and not to personalise them, so they're never based on what your child does in other apps, and Sway never asks to track them. If an ad seems wrong, tap the AdChoices icon on it to block it, or email us.

Who can my child talk to?

Nobody. This version of Sway has no online play at all: no chat, no friends and no crews, and nothing your child does is seen by other players.

Online play, with friends and crews, comes in a later update. We'll update this page before it arrives, and it will come with its own safety tools.

What does Sway know about my child?

Very little. Sway never asks for a real name, email address, phone number, photos or contacts, and never uses the device's location services. Their home port, where their voyage starts, is picked from the device's time zone, and it can be changed.

The game's progress and the names your child chooses stay on the device. To help us fix the game, Sway sends play statistics (such as which levels are won or lost) and crash reports to Unity, which runs them for us. They carry no name. You can turn play statistics off in Settings with "Help improve Sway". Our privacy policy has the details, and Delete your data explains how to remove everything.

Competitions

From the middle of the game, players can race in the Regatta against computer sailors. It's free, pays only in-game rewards, and can be switched off in Settings.

Time and reminders

Sway has lives that refill over time, which gives natural breaks. Reminders are off unless your child says yes. There are no countdown timers on offers or events, and no warnings that something will be lost if they don't play.

Screen Time on iPhone and iPad can set daily limits.

Settings worth knowing

All of these are in Sway's Settings:

Questions?

Email us at [email protected] and we'll help. The Email us button in Sway's Settings, under Help, starts an email with the device and the game's version filled in.