This Privacy Policy explains what information the GeonHunt mobile application
("GeonHunt", "the App", "we", "us") collects, how it is used, who it is shared
with, and the choices you have. It applies to the Android application published
on Google Play and, where applicable, to related backend services.
1. Information We Collect
We only collect information that GeonHunt actually needs to provide its features: account sign-in, the map/hunt experience, the Tracker, Stories, messaging, groups, notifications, and ads that support the free app. The table below summarizes each category.
Category
What we collect
When
Account & authentication
Email address and password (encrypted by Firebase Authentication), or your Google account name/email/profile photo if you use Google Sign‑In, or an anonymous guest ID if you continue as a guest
Precise (GPS) and approximate location; background location while a Tracker session is active; place coordinates attached to Hunts and Stories you create
When location permission is granted / while using Tracker or posting content
Photos & videos
Images/videos you choose to upload for your profile photo, Hunt posts, and Stories, plus captions/notes you add
When you upload content
Comments & replies
Text of comments and replies you post on Hunts, together with your name and profile photo
When you comment
Likes
Which Hunts you've liked
When you like a Hunt
Follows
Who you follow and who follows you
When you follow/unfollow a user
Messages
Direct messages (text and optional images) between you and another user, and read/seen status
When you use in‑app chat
Groups
Groups you create or join, your role in them (owner/admin/member), and group photos you upload
When you create, join, or manage a group
Notifications
In‑app notifications generated by activity on your account (likes, comments, follows, reports) and the identity of who triggered them
When another user interacts with your content or profile
Reports
Reports you submit about a Hunt, chat, or user, including your identity as the reporter and the reason given
When you report content
Notification delivery data
Firebase Cloud Messaging device token
After notification permission is granted
Usage & analytics
App interactions and events (e.g., sign‑in, sign‑up, screen views) via Firebase Analytics
Throughout app use
Diagnostics
Crash logs and error reports via Firebase Crashlytics
If the app crashes or errors occur
Advertising data
Advertising identifier and ad interaction data used by Google AdMob to serve banner and rewarded ads
While ads are shown
We do not collect payment card details, government ID numbers, contacts, SMS, call logs, or microphone/audio recordings.
2. How We Use Your Information
To create and secure your account and let you sign in with Google or email/password
To operate core features: the map, Hunts, the location Tracker, and Stories
To show your posts, route data, and profile to other users according to the visibility you choose
To provide social features: comments, replies, likes, follows, direct messaging, and groups
To send push and in‑app notifications relevant to your account or activity
To review reports submitted about content, chats, or users, for moderation and safety purposes
To measure app performance and usage (Firebase Analytics) and to diagnose crashes (Firebase Crashlytics)
To display and, where applicable, personalize ads through Google AdMob, which supports the free app
To maintain the security and integrity of the App and prevent abuse
3. Location Data in Detail
Location is central to GeonHunt's map and hunting features, so we ask for the following Android permissions: ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION, ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION, and ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION (used together with a foreground service, FOREGROUND_SERVICE_LOCATION).
Map & nearby places
Your approximate or precise location is used on-device to center the map and show nearby Hunts. This does not require background access.
Tracker (route recording)
If you start a Tracker session, the App records your GPS route (latitude, longitude, altitude, accuracy, and timestamp for each point) so it can display your path and distance. This continues in the background only while a Tracker session is running, shown to you via a persistent notification/foreground service. Route data is saved to our Firestore database under your account so your history is available across sessions.
Geotagged content
When you post a Hunt or a Story, your location at that moment (and a reverse‑geocoded place name) is attached to the post so it can appear on the map for other users, according to the visibility you select.
You can deny or revoke location permission at any time in your device Settings; core map browsing may then be limited and the Tracker and location‑tagging features will not work.
4. Photos, Videos & Content You Share
GeonHunt lets you upload photos and videos for your profile, Hunt posts, Stories, group photos, and chat images. These files are stored in Firebase Storage under your account, together with metadata such as location, place name, notes/captions, timestamp, and the visibility setting you chose.
Stories are designed to be temporary: each Story automatically stops being shown to other users 24 hours after posting. Removing visibility does not always mean the underlying file is deleted from our storage immediately; residual copies may exist briefly for backup or moderation purposes before routine cleanup.
Do not upload photos, videos, or notes containing sensitive personal information about yourself or others that you are not comfortable sharing publicly or with other app users, depending on the visibility option you select.
5. Social & Community Features
GeonHunt includes social features that necessarily involve other users seeing information about your account and activity:
Comments & replies
Comments and replies you post on a Hunt are visible to anyone who can view that Hunt, along with your display name and profile photo. The Hunt's owner and other commenters may be notified.
Likes
Liking a Hunt is visible to that Hunt's owner and contributes to a public like count; your own list of liked Hunts is stored under your account.
Follows & followers
You can follow other users and be followed by them. This connection, and follower/following counts, are used to power your profile and feed.
Direct messages
One‑to‑one chat lets you exchange text messages and images with another user. Messages are only visible to the two participants in that conversation, along with delivery/seen status.
Groups
You can create or join groups. Group membership (including your role — owner, admin, or member), and any profile/cover photos uploaded for a group, are visible to other members (and, for public groups, to other users browsing groups).
Notifications
When another user likes, comments on, or follows your content or profile, or reports something, an in‑app notification is created recording who triggered it and what it relates to.
Reports
If you report a Hunt, a chat, or a user, we record your identity as the reporter, the content/user being reported, and your stated reason, so it can be reviewed for moderation purposes.
6. Third-Party Services
GeonHunt is built on Google Firebase and Google Mobile Ads. These providers process data on our behalf under their own privacy and security commitments:
Firebase Crashlytics – collects crash and error diagnostics
Google Sign‑In – authenticates you with your Google account
Google AdMob (Google Mobile Ads SDK) – serves banner and rewarded ads and may use the advertising identifier for ad delivery/measurement
These services are provided by Google LLC. You can review how Google handles data at policies.google.com/privacy. For ad personalization controls, see Google Ads Settings and your device's "Opt out of Ads Personalization" option (Android Settings → Privacy → Ads).
7. How Information Is Shared
With other users – your display name, profile photo, and any Hunt/Story/comment/group content is visible to other users according to the visibility setting you choose when posting; follows, likes, and group membership are visible as described in Section 5
With service providers – Google/Firebase and Google AdMob, as described in Section 6, strictly to operate the App
For legal reasons – if required to comply with a legal obligation, enforce our terms, or protect the rights, safety, and security of GeonHunt, its users, or the public
We do not sell your personal information.
8. Data Retention
We retain account, profile, Hunt, comment, like, follow, chat, group, notification, and Tracker data for as long as your account is active, so the App can function correctly. Story media is shown to other users for 24 hours and then hidden; the file and associated record may be kept briefly afterward for backup/abuse‑prevention purposes before being purged.
If you delete your account (see Section 9), the categories listed there are removed as part of that process — most of them immediately, at the time you confirm deletion in the app. Two categories are not tied to your deleted account going forward and are retained under Google's own products:
Crash logs (Firebase Crashlytics) and aggregate usage events (Firebase Analytics) already recorded before deletion are retained by Google/Firebase according to their standard retention windows; they are not re‑linked to your deleted profile afterward.
Reports that other users filed about your content or account are moderation records kept for safety purposes and are not removed when you delete your account.
9. Account & Data Deletion
You can permanently delete your GeonHunt account and the data tied to it at any time, in either of the following ways:
In the app
Go to Profile → Info (ⓘ) → Danger Zone → Delete Account. You'll be shown what will be deleted, asked to confirm, and asked to re‑authenticate (your password, or your Google account) to verify it's you. Deletion then proceeds immediately.
Without the app
If you can't sign in or no longer have GeonHunt installed, request deletion at:
That page explains how to email a deletion request; we verify it against your account and delete it, typically within 30 days.
What is deleted
Deleting your account removes your profile (name, email, photo, level), Hunts/places you posted (with their photos, videos, comments, and likes), comments and replies you left elsewhere, your own likes, Stories, your Tracker route history, chats and messages you're part of, groups you own (including their membership and photos) and your membership in other groups, follows/followers connecting you to other users, notifications addressed to or from you, reports you filed, your push notification token, and finally your sign‑in credentials — after which you can no longer sign in.
Two narrow exceptions, both pre‑existing limits of the underlying system rather than data we choose to keep about you: a comment or like that another user left on your Hunt can only be removed by that other user, so it may remain, pointing to content that no longer exists; and reports other users filed about you are retained as moderation records (see Section 8). Everything else in the list above is removed.
This action cannot be undone.
10. Your Rights & Choices
Access & correction – view and edit your name and profile photo from the Edit Profile screen
Location – grant, deny, or revoke location permission at any time in device Settings
Camera & media – grant or revoke camera/photo access in device Settings
Notifications – disable push notifications in device Settings
Ad personalization – opt out via your device's Ads settings or Google Ads Settings (Section 6)
Deletion – request full account and data deletion as described in Section 9
Depending on your location, you may have additional rights under laws such as the GDPR or CCPA, including the right to request a copy of your data. Contact us using the details in Section 15 to exercise these rights.
11. Security
We rely on Firebase's security infrastructure, including encrypted network transport (HTTPS/TLS) and Firebase Authentication for credential handling. We apply Firestore and Storage access rules so that users can only access data appropriate to their account. No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
12. Children's Privacy
GeonHunt is not directed to children under 13 (or the minimum age required by your country), and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us so we can delete it.
13. International Data Transfers
Our service providers (Google/Firebase) may process and store data on servers located in countries other than your own. By using GeonHunt, you understand that your information may be transferred to and processed in such locations, which may have different data protection laws than your country of residence.
14. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in the App or legal requirements. We will update the "Effective date" above when changes are made. Continued use of GeonHunt after an update constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.
15. Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how your data is handled, contact us at:
5. Social & Community Features
GeonHunt includes social features that necessarily involve other users seeing information about your account and activity:
Comments & replies
Comments and replies you post on a Hunt are visible to anyone who can view that Hunt, along with your display name and profile photo. The Hunt's owner and other commenters may be notified.
Likes
Liking a Hunt is visible to that Hunt's owner and contributes to a public like count; your own list of liked Hunts is stored under your account.
Follows & followers
You can follow other users and be followed by them. This connection, and follower/following counts, are used to power your profile and feed.
Direct messages
One‑to‑one chat lets you exchange text messages and images with another user. Messages are only visible to the two participants in that conversation, along with delivery/seen status.
Groups
You can create or join groups. Group membership (including your role — owner, admin, or member), and any profile/cover photos uploaded for a group, are visible to other members (and, for public groups, to other users browsing groups).
Notifications
When another user likes, comments on, or follows your content or profile, or reports something, an in‑app notification is created recording who triggered it and what it relates to.
Reports
If you report a Hunt, a chat, or a user, we record your identity as the reporter, the content/user being reported, and your stated reason, so it can be reviewed for moderation purposes.