Privacy policy

Last updated: 14 October 2026

The Scavengers (also called "The Scavengers: Lost City Treasures" and CityHunt) is a treasure hunt game played on the streets of a real city, on Android and in a web browser. This policy explains what the game collects, why, who sees it and how long we keep it.

The game is operated by Michael Kelly, Belfast, Northern Ireland. Contact: game@the-scavengers.com.

What we collect and why

• Your explorer: the display name you choose and your character's appearance, outfits, coins, XP and ranks. Shown to your team and party, and (first name only) on the leaderboards.
• Google account details (only if you sign in with Google): your Google account id, your email address (if Google has verified it), your name and your profile picture's web address, used to identify your account. Guests give us a name only, no email. Your profile picture is shown, small, to other players beside your name (to people joining a hunt you host, in the lobby and on the leaderboards) unless you turn off "Show my Google photo to other players" in Base Camp; then they see your character instead. Only the picture's web address is shared, never your email or Google account id.
• Precise location, while you play: used to run the game (distance to clues, hazards, the evacuation zone, distance walked) and shared live with your team, or your party, during a game. We keep your latest position (overwritten as you move), not a track of where you went. Your position at that moment is also saved with each answer, photo clue or check-in you send, with clues you write or confirm, and as the start point of a hunt you set up. Starting points also feed an anonymous map of popular hunt spots (rounded to about 100 m, no name or id). The game uses location only while it is open and in front; it does not collect location in the background.
• Photos you take for photo clues: checked on your own phone and not uploaded. Only the phone's short verdict (for example "statue: yes") and your location at the time are sent. A photo is uploaded only when you ask a person to look at it, when your game's host has chosen to review photos, or when our game masters have switched on the cloud photo judge (off by default); then it goes to Google's Gemini AI service to be checked. A photo waiting for a person to judge it is kept only until it has been judged (at most an hour after your hunt ends, and never more than 48 hours). Photos for photo clues are never shown to other players, except to the host who reviews them.
• Statue scans (Statues of Belfast): when you scan a statue to collect its card, that photo is uploaded so our game masters can add it as a reference picture. On Android, faces in it are blurred on your phone first; in a web browser they are not, so please avoid photographing people. A photo they reject is deleted; one they accept is kept as a reference picture and may be used to make the statue's 3D card.
• Answers, scores, team chat messages and game results: stored to run the game, the results and the leaderboards.
• Clues you write, and your confirmations and comments on other players' clues, with the location where you made them. Other explorers nearby see your clue without your name; an accepted clue can become part of the game and of its public offline city packs.
• KID marks: a team leader or host can mark a player as a young explorer with the lobby's KID button, so the Benefactor helps them a little more. We never ask for anyone's age. The mark is shown to the players in that hunt and is cleared when the hunt ends.
• "Let team leaders nearby invite me" (off unless you switch it on, on the Join a hunt screen; it switches itself off after 15 minutes or when you leave that screen): while it is on, your phone sends your position every 15 seconds so team leaders within about 25 m can see your name and character and invite you, and on Android it broadcasts a short-lived Bluetooth code that carries no name or id. Both are held in memory for a few minutes only.
• Anonymous usage statistics (optional, on by default): which screens you open and for how long, which puzzles you play and how they go (solved, time, mistakes), menu and tab taps, shop views and purchases with coins, the steps of the sign-up flow, and hunt starts and finishes. They carry a random id made by your phone, the app version and platform, and, when you are signed in, your account id on our server; never your name, email, position, answers, photos or messages. We use them only to improve the game (for example, to see which puzzles are too easy or too hard) and never for advertising. Switch them off in Settings, Game preferences: "Share anonymous usage to improve the game". Our server separately counts hunts set up, started and finished (without your id) and records coin purchases in its shop with your account id; that switch does not affect those.
• Connection diagnostics: so we can fix problems, the app records failed or slow requests, connection drops, errors and (on Android) why the app last closed, with the same random phone id, your account id when signed in, the app and system version (for example "Android 14"), the browser engine version and the network type (Wi-Fi or mobile). They contain no position, except the distance and position of a game hazard when a hazard event is recorded. The usage switch above does not turn diagnostics off. "Send diagnostics" in the menu sends a report on purpose and shows you a reference code to quote to us.
• Sign-in sessions: a random session token, with the browser or app identifier ("user agent") it was used from.

The game does not use your microphone. Your camera is used only when you take a photo or scan a QR code, and the checks on photos run on your phone. The hunt's notification on Android is made by your phone; no push service is used.

Who we share it with

• Other players in your team or party: your name, character, score, KID mark, live location during a game and chat messages, and, if you signed in with Google and left the switch on, your Google profile picture. Players on the public leaderboards see your first name, XP, rank and character or picture, and on the world board the cities your XP came from.
• Our game masters (the people who run the game) can see accounts, including the email address of Google accounts, to look after the game, review photos and community clues, and answer requests.
• Service providers that run the game for us:
  • Railway, which hosts our server and database.
  • Google: Google Sign-In; Gemini, which checks photos only when the cloud photo judge is on and helps write clues from the area around a hunt's starting point; and, when we turn it on, Google Places, which suggests a café near where your hunt ends (our server sends the location, not who you are). In a web browser, signing in with Google loads Google's own sign-in script, which may set Google's cookies.
  • OpenStreetMap services (map data and place names for the area of a hunt) and, when we turn it on, Foursquare (landmarks): our server sends them the area, not who you are.
  • OpenFreeMap map tiles and Wikimedia Commons pictures are loaded by your device directly, so those services see your device's internet address.
  • Meshy, an AI 3D service, which may receive accepted statue reference photos to make a statue's 3D card.
  • In-app purchases are not offered at the moment. If we switch them on, Google Play handles payment and RevenueCat records which plan your account has, using your account id.
• We don't sell your data or use it for advertising, and the game shows no ads.

Cookies and storage on your device

In a web browser we set one cookie, ch_session, which keeps you signed in (30 days, renewed as you play). The app also keeps your session, settings, puzzle bests and queued statistics in your device's own storage. We use no advertising or third-party analytics cookies.

How long we keep it

• Your account, explorer, XP, coins and Google details: until your account is deleted.
• Your latest position: overwritten as you move, and deleted after 30 days without an update.
• Photos waiting for a person to judge them: until judged, at most an hour after your hunt ends, never more than 48 hours.
• Sign-in sessions: they expire 30 days after you last used them.
• Raw usage events: 90 days. After that we keep only daily totals (for example "how many puzzles of each kind were solved on a day"), which contain no ids.
• Connection diagnostics, server error logs and hazard snapshots: 14 days.
• KID marks: until the hunt ends. Nearby invite presence: a few minutes.
• Team chat messages, answers (with the positions sent with them), game results, clues you write and confirm, and accepted statue photos: kept with the game's records. We don't delete these on a schedule yet; ask us and we will delete yours.

Your choices and rights

You can play as a guest with a name only. You can turn off location access, but the hunt needs it to work. If you signed in with Google you can hide your profile picture from other players at any time (Base Camp, "Show my Google photo to other players"). You can switch off the anonymous usage statistics in Settings, Game preferences.

"Reset this phone" in the menu signs you out and clears the game from your phone, but it does not delete your account on our server. There is no delete button in the app yet: to access, correct or delete your data, contact us at game@the-scavengers.com. If you are in the UK or EU you can also complain to your data protection authority (in the UK, the ICO).

Children

The Scavengers is for players aged 10 and over. Children play together with a parent, guardian or another responsible adult, who stays with them on the hunt; the hunt is played on real streets, so the adult is there to keep them safe. Children shouldn't sign in with a Google account of their own (Google's accounts are for 13 and over); they can play as a guest with a first name or a nickname, or in the adult's team. The game never asks for anyone's age; a KID mark (above) is the only way a young explorer is identified, and it lasts for one hunt.

Changes

When the game starts collecting or sharing something new, we update this page and the date at the top.

Map and content attribution

Maps © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), tiles by OpenFreeMap. Clue facts may come from Wikidata (CC0), Wikipedia (CC BY-SA) and Open Plaques (CC BY-SA); sources are linked in the app.