Privacy Policy — The Quest

Effective date: 2026-10-20

This policy explains how The Quest processes information when you use the iOS app and this website. The controller is Zakhar Pauliushchyk, operating as Individual developer in Belarus. Correspondence address: Bogomolova 11, apt. 85, 223709 Soligorsk, Belarus. Privacy requests: app.thequest@gmail.com. Support: app.thequest@gmail.com.

1. Scope and important visibility choices

The Quest combines location-based quests, activity goals, game progress and social sharing. An account is required for account-specific services. Your public profile is available to other signed-in users. Personal Moments are available to signed-in users, including people who are not your friends. Mutual followers can access certain friend features and shared progress. Published photos in shared Moments may also be visible to signed-in users outside the quest team.

Friend location sharing is off by default. Turning it on is a separate choice from granting iOS location permission. The account-specific choice and its version are stored in the account's private Firestore settings. While sharing is enabled and the app is active, precise coordinates are supplied to mutual friends. Sharing is paused when the app leaves active use; the app attempts to remove the current presence record. Server access rules and app/widget freshness checks stop displaying a position after five minutes without an update. This does not guarantee immediate physical deletion of every historical coordinate, cached image or independently saved copy. You can turn sharing off in Privacy settings; if the change cannot reach the server, retry when connected. Do not rely on a marker as proof of someone's current whereabouts.

2. Information you provide

Account information: email address, authentication provider, account identifier and authentication credentials managed by Firebase Authentication. Passwords are handled by the authentication service; the app does not store a readable password in your Firestore profile.
Profile information: display name, username, avatar, profile creation information and associated public identifiers. Public profile records are readable by other authenticated users under the current rules.
Content: photographs, videos and their audio, preview images, captions, comments, reactions, story interactions and shared-quest album contributions. Content can include people, places and other personal information that you choose to upload.
Support and feedback: messages, selected feedback topics, ratings and information needed to investigate a request, together with account ID, app/build version and device or operating-system details supplied by the app.
Preferences: settings such as activity goals, friend location sharing and notification choices. Friend-location consent is stored separately for each account; other preferences may be stored on the device.
Safety information: reports and reasons, optional supporting details, the reporting account ID, relevant content/account references and a limited text preview, block relationships, moderation decisions, operator identity and decision reasons. The report and reporter identity are not made available to the reported user through the app. Outcome notices may be sent to the reporter in Inbox; authors can receive a separate removal/restriction notice with an approved public reason and appeal contact. Private operator notes are not copied to these notices. Authorized operators may inspect the original content in private review tools; do not attach unnecessary sensitive information.

When you select media from your photo library, the app uses the access you grant through iOS to display available items and prepare your selection. If an item is stored in iCloud, iOS may download it so it can be prepared. Selecting an item or opening the camera does not by itself publish it to other users. When you choose to publish, the app uploads prepared media, preview images and the information needed to display the post or story. Uploads may begin before publication is confirmed; an interrupted or unsuccessful publication can leave uploaded files that require later cleanup.

The in-app camera uses camera permission for photos and video. Microphone permission is requested for video recording with sound; it is separate from camera and photo-library access. The app prepares media on your device, including image resizing, video conversion and preview generation, and can create temporary working files. The video preparation flow clears the export's metadata list, but this is not a guarantee that every metadata field or identifying detail has been removed. Faces, voices, landmarks, captions and location details you add can identify people or places. Review your media before publishing.

Please avoid uploading identity documents, financial information, sensitive personal information or other people's private information in posts or ordinary support messages.

3. Information generated through use

Location: with iOS permission, The Quest uses precise foreground location for nearby quests, map interactions, proximity checks, shop positioning and optional location content. The app uses location during active use; it is not designed as a continuous background location-tracking service. Quest completion and other records can preserve coordinates and timestamps after a location check. Optional location information attached to a Moment may include coordinates, accuracy and a place label.

Activity: with Motion & Fitness permission, Core Motion supplies pedometer steps and distance. Goals, baselines and recorded activity used for weekly step quests can be stored with your account. This step-counting feature uses the pedometer, not your full HealthKit history. We do not receive your entire Apple Health record through this feature.

Profile setup also stores the country you select, initially suggested from your device region. This is self-declared and does not verify your location or citizenship. The selected country is also shown automatically as a country label and flag on your profile; it does not follow your live GPS location. For legacy accounts without a setup country, a previously saved profile country label may be used instead. Your underlying account record remains private. Country/rank information shown through leagues is a separate feature disclosure.

Game information: quests started or completed, quest types and positions, scores, streaks, XP, Qbucks balances and transactions, inventory, purchased quest access, shop relocation expiry, leagues and rewards. League participation may start at zero points. Country information used by leagues can be initialized from device region information; it is not a verified citizenship record.

Optional technical information: Google Analytics for Firebase and Firebase Crashlytics are disabled by default until you choose to enable each service separately in Privacy settings. These preferences apply to this installation. Analytics can record app interactions such as authentication, onboarding and quest activity after permission is enabled. With diagnostics enabled, crash reports and sanitized non-fatal information are retained locally for upload on a subsequent launch while that choice remains enabled. Automatic crash-report upload is disabled; opting out requests deletion of unsent reports. Reports captured before a new opt-in are not intentionally uploaded. Firebase Auth account IDs are not attached to these optional services by the app. Arbitrary error userInfo, free-form app diagnostic logs and account identifiers are not intentionally forwarded by the telemetry wrappers. Provider SDKs may still process installation/device identifiers, app/device characteristics, network information and IP addresses as described by their provider; absence of an account ID does not make all telemetry anonymous. Disabling sharing stops future optional collection; it does not automatically erase information already processed by the provider. Historical releases may have collected optional telemetry without these controls; provider-side settings, historical retention and any deletion requests must be assessed separately.

Notifications: local notifications can be scheduled on your device. If remote notifications are enabled in your app version, a push registration token and delivery metadata may be processed to send service notifications. Availability depends on the shipped build and your settings.

Purchases: the app contains Apple StoreKit purchase and restore flows for Premium. When available, Apple handles payment credentials; The Quest uses product and transaction/entitlement information to supply access. Qbucks shop spending is recorded separately. We do not receive your full payment-card number from Apple.

4. Why we use information and legal bases

We use account and authentication information to create, protect and operate your account; location and activity information to deliver the quest features you request; game records to maintain progress and rewards; and content and social relationships to deliver sharing features you use. For EEA/UK users, necessary processing for these requested services is generally based on performance of the service contract.

We use necessary security, abuse-prevention, reliability and support information to protect users and operate the service, where a legitimate-interest assessment supports this and subject to your rights. Processing required by applicable legal obligations relies on those obligations. Optional processing that legally requires consent must use valid consent and allow withdrawal. An iOS location, motion, camera or photo permission controls access to that device capability; it does not replace other consent required by law.

For optional Analytics and Crashlytics in this release, collection relies on your separate opt-in choices. You can withdraw either choice in Privacy settings. Necessary operational security and server logs remain a separate category with their own justified basis and retention. This policy does not create consent by itself. Contact app.thequest@gmail.com about historical collection or the configuration applicable to your version.

We do not use quest rankings to make decisions with legal or similarly significant effects about you. Game ranking and reward calculations are part of gameplay.

Your name, username and avatar can appear in profiles, discovery/search results, league tables, friend lists and activity associated with you. The publicProfiles collection contains an allowlisted projection: name, username, avatar, visible Premium status, equipped cosmetic identifiers/colors, the selected profile background identifier, the country selected during account setup (or a saved legacy profile label when the setup country is unavailable), and the calendar month and year of joining when a stored registration date is available. The exact registration timestamp, balances, XP, referral metadata and raw account records are not copied to this projection. Root account documents are owner-readable only. Certain quest/progress subcollections remain available to mutual friends under the feature-specific rules described below. Public league tables have their own ranking data. Avoid putting private information in your name or username. Earlier releases permitted broader root-document reads; previously downloaded copies cannot be remotely recalled.

Mutual followers can see friend-presence coordinates when sharing is enabled, supported photo and video stories, and certain active/completed quest records. Discovery-specific quest records have additional owner restrictions. Personal Moments and related social interactions are available to signed-in users according to the relevant feature; they are not a private friends-only diary. Published shared-Moment photos are readable by signed-in users through the relevant feature; they are not a private team-only diary. New photo and video posts, avatars, stories, comments and description edits are published without mandatory human pre-approval, subject to their normal audience and technical upload processing. Authorized operators investigate user reports and can remove content or restrict accounts. Limited text screening also rejects certain clearly defined spam/solicitation patterns; it is not a general-purpose AI content classifier. A story author can see viewer identities, viewing times and reactions. Blocking removes follow relationships in both directions, prevents new social interactions and access to friend location, and hides related posts on subsequent authorized feed requests. Open shared quests involving both accounts are cancelled; unblocking does not restore follows or cancelled quests. Existing screenshots, previously downloaded images and copies held outside the app cannot be recalled.

Content recipients may copy or redistribute information outside our control. Do not publish another person's location or image without an appropriate basis and permission where required. Access restrictions reduce exposure but cannot guarantee that recipients will keep information confidential.

6. Service providers and disclosures

We use Google Firebase services, including Authentication, Firestore, Cloud Storage, Cloud Functions, Google Analytics for Firebase and Crashlytics. Google Sign-In processes authentication information when selected. Cloudflare delivers this static website and processes technical connection and request information to serve and protect it. We do not send app uploads, account records or quest data to Cloudflare as part of website delivery. Our support/privacy/safety email addresses use Google Gmail; messages you send are processed by your email provider and Gmail. Apple provides Sign in with Apple, MapKit services and App Store payments where used. Location-based place lookups can be sent to Google Places through configured backend features. These providers may process information under their applicable terms and data-protection roles; not every provider acts solely as our processor for every service.

We may disclose information when legally required, to protect rights and safety, investigate abuse or fraud, or to professional advisers under appropriate confidentiality duties. A business transfer, if one occurs, must respect applicable data-protection obligations and provide required notice. We do not describe a prospective transfer as an existing transaction.

The Quest does not currently describe advertising SDK processing in this policy. Advertising or tracking features must be disclosed and assessed before activation; App Store privacy disclosures are provided separately.

7. International processing

Storage locations confirmed for the app, and other relevant processing locations: Cloud Firestore: europe-central2 (Warsaw, Poland); the app media Firebase Storage bucket: us-east1 (United States). Firebase Authentication processes data in the United States according to Google’s service documentation. Other Google services and Cloudflare website delivery may involve processing in other countries. A function running in Europe does not establish that every database, Storage bucket, SDK or provider processes data only in Europe.

The Firebase service terms relevant to international-transfer safeguards include: Where applicable, international transfers involving Firebase services are governed by Google's Firebase Data Processing and Security Terms, including applicable Standard Contractual Clauses and other valid transfer mechanisms. Users may request information about relevant safeguards through app.thequest@gmail.com. Contact app.thequest@gmail.com for information or a copy, subject to lawful redactions. EU GDPR representative: Hleb Charnavoki, S. Starzynskiego 2, apt. 136, 35-515 Rzeszow, Poland; email: thioxtoa@gmail.com. You may contact our EU representative about GDPR matters in addition to or instead of the controller.

8. Retention and deletion limits

Account, progress and content records are generally retained while needed to provide the account and features, subject to the deletion process and any justified retention required for security, disputes or legal obligations. A 24-hour story expiry limits visibility; it is not a promise that the file and every associated record are erased at that moment. Expired content and its stored copies may require further processing before they are removed.

Support and feedback retention: 12 months after the last support interaction, unless longer retention is legally required.
Safety cases: 24 months after case closure, subject to legal obligations and necessary exceptions.
Transaction and entitlement records are retained as needed to maintain balances and purchased access, handle disputes and meet applicable record-keeping obligations. Account erasure and lawful retention exceptions are assessed separately; the safety-case period is not a blanket retention period for all purchase records.
Analytics configuration and retention: Google Analytics event data: 2 months; user data: 14 months, with reset on new user activity enabled. Aggregated reporting data may be subject to different retention rules.
Diagnostics and server logs: Firebase Crashlytics retains crash reports and associated identifiers for 90 days before beginning removal from live and backup systems. Server logs are retained for operational security, investigation and troubleshooting, or mandatory audit requirements, under the retention policy of the relevant Google Cloud Logging bucket. A single Crashlytics retention period does not apply to all server logs; contact us for information about records relevant to your request.
Backup/restore retention and deletion cycle: Firestore scheduled backups and point-in-time recovery are not enabled. Firestore retains historical versions for approximately one hour. In the app media Storage bucket, soft-deleted objects are recoverable for seven days and Object Versioning is disabled. Provider-managed recovery copies and service-specific deletion cycles are separate from live-data deletion.
Adopted account-erasure completion period and residual-record process: Without undue delay. For requests subject to GDPR, we provide information on action taken within one month of receipt. If necessary because of complexity or the number of requests, this response period may be extended by up to two further months; we explain the extension and reasons within the initial month. This is not an automatic extension or a general permission to delay erasure. Lawful retention exceptions and provider recovery-copy cycles are explained separately.

Uploaded video files and their preview images are account content and are covered by the account-deletion process. Story expiry controls visibility, including for video; it is not a guaranteed deadline for deletion of the underlying media files. Deleting uploaded media does not delete originals in your device or iCloud library.

The account-deletion flow is designed to confirm the identity of the selected account using its enabled sign-in provider; Apple authorization is revoked through Firebase before submission. A durable server job cleans the Auth account, user subtree, own Storage objects, Personal Moments, likes/comments, league records, feedback and known social/cache references. It removes the deleted account’s contributions and identity from shared quests while preserving other users’ content and balances. Cleanup continues on the server, uses a second pass after at least two minutes and retries transient failures. A minimal server-only UID marker becomes eligible for TTL removal 24 hours after completion to prevent stale sessions from recreating data; actual TTL deletion is asynchronous. Actual completion depends on working server processes and provider availability; contact us if the request does not complete. See account deletion. Provider backups, soft-deleted storage objects and diagnostics follow separate retention processes; this is not a promise of instantaneous erasure from every copy.

Where information must be retained lawfully, access should be restricted and the reason explained in response to a valid request. Removing content may not remove screenshots or copies independently held by other users.

9. Your rights and controls

Depending on applicable law, you may request access, correction, erasure, restriction, portability, or object to processing, including processing based on legitimate interests. You may withdraw consent for processing that relies on consent without affecting prior lawful processing. You may complain to a competent data-protection authority, including in the EEA country where you live, work or believe a violation occurred.

Contact app.thequest@gmail.com with your account identifier and request. We may take proportionate steps to verify ownership; never send your password. GDPR requests are normally answered within one month, subject to its permitted extensions and conditions. Other local rules may differ. These legal response periods do not justify indefinite retention.

In iOS Settings, you can manage location, Motion & Fitness, camera, microphone, photos and notification permissions. In the app, review friend location sharing, content visibility and the separate optional analytics and diagnostics switches. Turning off a permission does not automatically erase information already stored. Account deletion is distinct from uninstalling the app and from cancelling an Apple subscription.

10. Children and safety

The adopted minimum age is 16. An App Store age rating is not an age-verification system or parental consent. The minimum age is a service rule; it is not a guarantee that every user's age has been independently verified. We do not intend the service for children below the adopted threshold; contact app.thequest@gmail.com if you believe such a child supplied information. Country-specific rules on children, contracts and digital consent may require a higher threshold or additional measures before service is offered there.

11. Widgets and this website

Widgets use locally shared app-group snapshots containing information such as steps, quest progress, map content and, where available, friend details and coordinates. Widgets may expose information on the Home Screen or other device surfaces. Manage widgets and device access accordingly. They are snapshots, not guaranteed real-time tracking.

This static website does not include an analytics SDK, advertising SDK, external fonts or a contact form. Email links open your mail provider. Cloudflare Pages receives technical request information, such as IP address and request metadata, to deliver the pages and protect the service. Website delivery uses Cloudflare’s distributed infrastructure and is subject to its applicable privacy and service terms. We do not enable optional website analytics or advertising tools as part of this static release. This is not a claim that hosting generates no operational records.

12. Changes and contact

We will publish an updated effective date when this policy changes and provide additional notice or obtain consent when required. Controller: Zakhar Pauliushchyk, Bogomolova 11, apt. 85, 223709 Soligorsk, Belarus. Privacy/deletion: app.thequest@gmail.com. General help: app.thequest@gmail.com.

13. Previous shared-adventure features

The previous nearby-adventure selection feature is no longer available. The app no longer requests new selections or displays their promotional markers. Previously accepted Shared Quests continue under the normal Shared Quest rules. Unaccepted experimental invitations are unavailable and are retired by the service. Earlier selection records can contain the account's selection center, place names, coordinates, identifiers and availability period; they remain covered by the account-data retention and deletion process above. Account deletion includes these private records. Friend live-location sharing remains a separate opt-in setting.