The question is direct. The answer is too.
Do you want a crossword that opens fast, plays without internet, does not interrupt you with a 30-second video, does not collect your data, does not push notifications at you? Yes, that exists in Portuguese in 2026. It is Cruzadinha BLA, on the App Store, free.
How the app fits the question. Cruzadinha BLA is free. Daily Mini 5×5 every day, Big Sunday 15×15 every week, archive 11×11 organized by theme (Culture, Trivia, History in the opening archive). All of it, free.
The seasonal Special Editions (World Cup Pack, Drummond Pack, Carnival Pack) arrive at the right time of the calendar, open to everyone, inside the same app.
Offline too: the entire archive fits in the app download. Daily Mini, Big Sunday, archive by theme, everything travels with you. Airplane mode, subway, countryside without signal, anywhere.
Ads: zero. No banner, no video, no pop-up, no interstitial. You open the app, play, close. No visual friction.
What the app does not ask for. Data collection: nothing you do inside Cruzadinha BLA leaves your iPhone. Apple's Privacy Questionnaire is fully answered as No. No analytics, no tracking, no advertising identifier. Notifications: the app does not ask for permission to notify you. You open when you want. The app will not pull you to it. System permissions: the app does not ask for contacts, photos, location, microphone, camera. It does not need any of those to solve a crossword. Sign-up: no login, no account, no email. You download, open, play. There is nothing that connects your identity to the app.
You open the app, play, close. No sign-up, no permission, no collection. The app respects your time.
How the app pays its bills without ads. Legitimate question: if there are no ads, how does the app pay its bills? The answer is outside the app. BLA makes custom apps for companies, and its own apps are the living showcase of that work. It is editorial architecture instead of adtech architecture. The app does not need your eye to exist: what sustains the studio is the work it does for companies, from zero to the store. You play, and the app asks nothing else of you.
What this changes in practice. The difference is not just in the absence of ads. It is in the speed of the experience. The app opens instantly. There is no long splash. No network request to authenticate. No banner loading up there. You open and you are in the crossword. It is also the difference in who the app treats as interlocutor. When advertising pays for the app, the advertiser is the real client, and you are the product. In Cruzadinha BLA, you are the reader, and the app exists for you to read.
Common questions. Does Cruzadinha BLA have any mandatory paid version? No. The Daily Mini, the weekly Big Sunday, the 11×11 archive and the seasonal Special Editions are free. No paid version, no subscription. Does the app really work offline? Yes. The entire archive fits in the download. You can play in airplane mode, anywhere without signal. What kind of data does the app collect? Nothing you do inside Cruzadinha BLA leaves your iPhone. Apple's Privacy Questionnaire is fully answered as No. No analytics, no tracking. How does the app pay its bills without ads? BLA makes custom apps for companies, and its own apps are the showcase of that work. Whoever plays does not pay the bill.
Cruzadinha BLA is on the App Store, free. Download at https://apps.apple.com/app/cruzadinha-bla/id6769588425, or open the app page at https://bla.vc/apps/cruzadinha.
