Legal

Privacy Policy

Effective October 8, 2026

RetroSeeker is an app for identifying, pricing and collecting retro video games. This policy explains what information the RetroSeeker app and this website handle, why, and what you can do about it. The short version: we only collect what the app's features need to work, and we don't sell your data. The free version of the Android app shows ads from Google, which uses some device information to show them (see Ads); RetroSeeker Pro has no ads.

What we collect and why

Your account

When you first open RetroSeeker, the app creates an account for you automatically so your progress can be saved. If you sign up, you choose a username and password. We don't ask for your real name, email address or phone number. Your username, avatar, level and RetroSeeker progress make up your public seeker profile, which other players can see.

Your collection and progress

Your collection, wishlist, ByteDex entries, scan history, XP, quests, badges, saved places, check-ins, event RSVPs and app settings are stored on our servers so they sync across your devices and aren't lost if you reinstall.

Photos you scan

When you scan a game, the photo is sent to our server and to Anthropic's Claude AI to read the title, platform, region and product codes. We don't store your photos. We keep the result (for example, which game was identified) in your scan history.

Location

RetroSeeker asks for location access only while you use the app. It uses your location to show nearby stores, events and sightings on the map, to confirm you're at a place when you check in, and to set your hunting area. We don't track your location in the background.

• Check-ins: your position is used to confirm you're within range of the place; we record the place, not your coordinates.
• Sightings you share: the location is rounded before it's saved (to roughly a city block), and sightings stop being shown to others after a few days.
• "Seekers nearby" (optional, off by default): if you turn it on, other players who have also turned it on can see your approximate position, snapped to a grid of about 200 meters. It disappears within a few minutes after you close the map or turn it off.
• Hunting area: the center and radius you set are saved with your settings.

Microphone and motion sensors (one minigame, optional)

RetroSeeker includes a minigame. If you allow it, one of its games listens to your phone's microphone while you blow into it, and two others read your phone's motion sensors (accelerometer and gyroscope) while you shake or tilt it. The app only measures how loud the sound is and how the phone moves, only while that game is on screen, and only on your phone: nothing is recorded, stored or sent. You can play with taps instead, and turn either off in the game or in your phone's settings.

Ads (free version, Android)

The free version of the RetroSeeker Android app shows ads served by Google AdMob: now and then a short ad when you leave a scan result, and ads you can choose to watch for extra scans. RetroSeeker Pro has no ads, and neither do this website and the web app.

To show ads, measure them and prevent ad fraud, Google's ad software in the app collects your device's advertising ID, your IP address (and the approximate location it suggests), information about your device and the app, and how you interact with ads (for example, whether one was shown or tapped). Depending on your choices and where you live, Google may use this to show you personalized ads. We don't give Google your username, collection, scans, location or messages. Ads in RetroSeeker are limited to content rated for teens.

We keep our own record of the ads shown to your account (when an ad was shown, tapped or watched to the end, and what it earned) so we can apply daily limits, give you the scans you earned, and see how well ads pay for free scans. When you watch an ad for extra scans, Google confirms it to our server along with your account's ID, so we can add the scans. This record doesn't include your advertising ID.

Where the law requires it (for example, in the EEA, the UK, Switzerland and some US states), the app asks for your choice through Google's consent form before showing ads, and you can change it any time in Profile → Privacy choices.

Social features

If you use them, we store your friends list, posts in your friends' feed and reactions, trade listings, trade offers, messages you exchange about a trade, blocks, and reports you file. Trading and messaging are for players 18 and over; we record that you confirmed your age. Reports and messages may be reviewed by us to enforce our rules and keep players safe.

Purchases

RetroSeeker Pro and scan packs are purchased through Google Play (or the App Store). We never see your payment details. RevenueCat, our subscription provider, tells us which purchases are active on your account.

Notifications

If you turn on push notifications, we store your device's push token so we can send you alerts you asked for, such as friend requests, trade offers and wishlist games spotted nearby. You can turn notifications off at any time.

Preventing abuse of free scans

Free scans are limited per account, per device and per network. To enforce this we store a salted hash of your device identifier and IP address, which can't be turned back into the original values.

Technical data

Like any online service, our servers and providers receive your IP address and basic request information when the app connects to them. This is used to deliver the service and keep it secure.

This website

If you join the launch email list on this site, we store your email address and use it only to tell you when RetroSeeker launches. You can ask us to remove it at any time.

What we don't do

• We don't sell or rent your personal information.
• We don't share your collection, scans, location or messages with advertisers, and we don't build advertising profiles ourselves.
• Apart from the ads described above, we don't use third-party analytics, tracking or crash-reporting tools.

Who processes your data

We rely on a small number of service providers, who handle data only to provide their service to us:

• Supabase: hosts our database, accounts and server functions (United States).
• Anthropic: analyzes scan photos to identify games. Under Anthropic's commercial terms, data sent through its API isn't used to train its models.
• RevenueCat, Google Play and Apple: purchases and subscriptions.
• Google AdMob: shows and measures ads in the free Android app. How Google uses information from apps that use its services: policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.
• Expo and Google Firebase Cloud Messaging: delivering push notifications.
• OpenFreeMap: map tiles, which your device downloads directly (the tile server sees your IP address and the map area you view).
• Netlify: hosts this website and its email sign-up form.

The app also downloads game cover images and currency exchange rates from public services; those requests don't include your account information.

We may disclose information if required by law, or to protect the safety of our players or the service.

How long we keep it

We keep your account data for as long as your account exists. Shared sightings stop being shown after a few days, "seekers nearby" positions are deleted after a few minutes, and friends-feed posts are shown for 60 days. When your account is deleted, your data is deleted with it, except where we must keep limited records (for example, purchase records required for tax or accounting, or reports needed to resolve a safety issue).

Your choices and rights

• Location, camera, microphone and notifications can be turned off anytime in your phone's settings. The app still works for searching the catalog and managing your collection.
• Ads: where the law gives you a choice, change it in Profile → Privacy choices. On Android you can also reset or delete your advertising ID in your phone's settings (Settings → Privacy → Ads, or Google → Ads on some phones). To get rid of ads entirely, RetroSeeker Pro has none.
• Delete your account and data: in the app, go to Profile → Delete account; your account and its data are deleted right away. You can also email hello@drewkkennedy.com from any address with your ByteDex username, and we'll delete your account and its data within 30 days and confirm when it's done. Deleting your account doesn't cancel a RetroSeeker Pro subscription; cancel it in Google Play or the App Store.
• Access or correct your data: contact us and we'll help. Depending on where you live (for example, the EU, UK or California), you may have additional rights, such as receiving a copy of your data or objecting to certain processing. We honor these requests for everyone, wherever you live.

Children

RetroSeeker isn't directed at children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect personal information from them. Trading and messaging are limited to players who confirm they're 18 or older. If you believe a child has given us personal information, contact us and we'll delete it.

Security

Data is encrypted in transit, and access to each player's data is restricted by database security rules. No service is perfectly secure, but we work to protect your information and collect as little as we can.

Changes to this policy

If we change this policy, we'll update the date at the top of this page, and for significant changes we'll let you know in the app.

Contact

Questions or requests about your privacy: hello@drewkkennedy.com