Privacy policy

For the Glimpse app (iOS and Android) and the server at this address. Last updated: October 24, 2026

1. Controller

2. In short

• You can play as a guest without an email address. An account with email and password is optional.
• Your location is only requested while the app is open and you do something that needs it. There is no background location tracking and no public map of players.
• No ads, no analytics or tracking services, no selling or sharing of data for advertising.
• You can delete your account with all progress and your own photos at any time in the app.

3. What data we process

Account

On first launch the app creates a guest account. We store a random account ID, your display name, your settings (sound, voice, haptics, color scheme) and when the account was created. You choose the display name yourself; you do not have to use your real name. If you register, your email address and a salted hash of your password (scrypt) are added, never the password itself.

To sign in, the app receives a random session key. The server only stores a hash of it and its expiry date; a session expires after 30 days.

Game progress

Rounds you play with mode, route, score, times, hints used and the result, as well as the places you found and group games you take part in. This makes up your history, your collection and the leaderboard.

Location data

Glimpse only requests your location in the foreground: to find a starting point near you, to check whether you have arrived at a place you are looking for, for direction hints and when you create your own photo target. Position, GPS accuracy and time are sent to the server. For a running game the server keeps the last reported position to check your arrival. Paths are not recorded.

Your own photos and routes

When you create your own photo targets, the photo, your title, your hint and the confirmed location are uploaded. The server scales the image down and removes all embedded metadata (EXIF, including GPS data). Your own routes are private and are only shared through a group invite. Image files have unguessable addresses but can be retrieved by anyone who knows the address, so do not upload confidential photos.

Reports

If you report a place as wrong or not accessible, we store the reason, your optional text and the game concerned.

Camera and photo library

The camera and photo library are only opened when you create your own photo target. Only the photo you explicitly take or select is uploaded.

Technical data

Your IP address is processed with every connection. The server keeps it in memory only to limit abuse through too many requests and does not log individual requests, only errors. The upstream reverse proxy writes access logs (IP address, time, requested address) and blocks attacks; this data is used for security only and deleted regularly.

On your device

The session key, language, settings and an unsaved route draft stay on your device, the session key in the operating system's protected storage. They are deleted when you uninstall the app.

4. What other players see

Other players see your display name and ranked results on the leaderboard. In a group game, participants see each other's progress. Nobody sees your position.

5. Recipients and services

• Server: run by the controller; no hosting provider is involved.
• OpenStreetMap map tiles (OpenStreetMap Foundation, United Kingdom): when the map is shown, your IP address and the visible map area are transferred. The EU Commission has issued an adequacy decision for the United Kingdom.
• jsDelivr (cdn.jsdelivr.net): delivers the Leaflet map library. Your IP address is transferred, not your location.
• Expo (650 Industries, Inc., USA): on launch the app checks Expo for updates and downloads them. Your IP address and technical details about the app version are transferred. The transfer to the USA is based on the EU Standard Contractual Clauses (Art. 46(2)(c) GDPR).
• Place and photo search: searching for cities and public photos near you is done by the server, not your device. It sends search terms and coordinates, but no personal data or IP address, to Photon (komoot), Wikimedia Commons (Wikimedia Foundation, USA), the Overpass API and the OpenStreetMap API, and Mapillary (Meta Platforms, USA).
• Voice hints use your device's text-to-speech; no data is transferred for this.
• App Store / Google Play: downloads and updates of the app go through Apple or Google; their privacy policies apply.

Beyond this we do not share data unless we are legally required to. If you enter a different server in the app, its operator is responsible for the data processed there.

6. Legal bases

• Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR: providing the game you use (account, progress, location while playing, your own photos and routes, leaderboard).
• Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR: your consent through the system prompts for location, camera and photo library. You can withdraw it at any time in the system settings.
• Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR: our legitimate interest in secure and fair operation (request limits, access and error logs, reports about places, app updates).

7. Retention

• Account, progress, collection, your own photos, routes and reports: until you delete your account.
• Sessions: until you sign out, at most 30 days.
• Reverse proxy access logs: deleted regularly.

8. Deleting your account

In the app under Settings → Delete account you immediately delete your account with profile, email address, progress, collection, reports, your own routes and uploaded photos. Group games you opened are handed over to another participant. To have your data deleted without the app, send us an email.

9. Your rights

You have the right of access (Art. 15 GDPR), rectification (Art. 16), erasure (Art. 17), restriction of processing (Art. 18), data portability (Art. 20) and to object to processing based on legitimate interests (Art. 21). You can withdraw consent at any time with effect for the future. Just write to the email address above.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority, for example the State Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information of North Rhine-Westphalia, Kavalleriestraße 2–4, 40213 Düsseldorf, Germany.

10. Security

All connections between the app and the server are encrypted with TLS. The server stores passwords and session keys only as hashes. Database and server run with restricted privileges in isolated containers; the database cannot be reached from outside.

11. Changes

If the app or the data processing changes, we update this policy. The version published here applies.