Privacy Policy

Spotter Species ID ("Spotter", "we", "us") is operated by Simon Forster, a sole trader based in South Shields, England. This policy explains what personal data we collect, why we collect it, and your rights under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018.

Who we are

Simon Forster (trading as Spotter Species ID)
16 Prince of Wales Close, South Shields, NE34 6QT, United Kingdom
Contact: spotterspeciesid@gmail.com

What data we collect

• Account information — when you sign in with Google or Facebook we receive your email address and display name from that provider.
• Usage data — your best streak, best score, last played date, and which species sets you have unlocked.
• Purchase records — if you purchase a species set, we store the set ID, amount paid, date, and Stripe payment reference.
• Analytics — we use Google Analytics 4 to collect anonymised usage data including pages visited, events triggered, and approximate location (country/region level). No personally identifiable information is included in analytics.

How we use your data

• To create and manage your account
• To save your progress and unlocked sets across devices
• To process and verify purchases
• To improve the app based on aggregated usage patterns

We do not sell your data. We do not use your data for advertising. We do not share your data with third parties except as described below.

Third parties

• Google Firebase (Google LLC, USA) — authentication, database storage, and app hosting. Data may be processed in the United States under Google's standard contractual clauses. Firebase Privacy Policy.
• Google Analytics 4 (Google LLC, USA) — anonymised usage analytics.
• Stripe (Stripe Inc, USA) — payment processing. Spotter does not store your card details. Stripe Privacy Policy.
• Google / Facebook — social sign-in providers. Their privacy policies apply to the sign-in process.

Legal basis for processing

• Contract — processing your account and purchase data is necessary to provide the service.
• Legitimate interests — analytics to improve the app.
• Consent — where required, for example analytics cookies.

Data retention

We keep your account and progress data for as long as your account is active. Purchase records are kept for seven years for legal and accounting purposes. You may request deletion of your account at any time — see below.

Your rights

Under UK GDPR you have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you
• Correct inaccurate data
• Request deletion of your data
• Object to or restrict processing
• Data portability
• Lodge a complaint with the ICO (ico.org.uk)

To delete your account and all associated data, use the Delete account option in the app's Account tab, or visit spotterspeciesid.com/delete.

Cookies

We use cookies and similar technologies for authentication (keeping you signed in) and analytics (Google Analytics 4). Analytics cookies are only set with your consent.

Children

Spotter is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect data from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes via the app. The date at the top of this page shows when it was last updated.

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