Privacy Policy
Last updated: November 8, 2026
Zone Chase ("the app") is a real-world chase game you play outdoors with friends. It is provided by Derek Lian (Horizon Office) ("we", "us"). This policy explains what the app collects, why, who helps us process it, how long we keep it and how you can delete it.
The short version
- Your location is shared only while a game you joined is running, only with the players in your room, and it is deleted after the game.
- You can play without an account (an anonymous ID). Signing in with Apple or Google is optional.
- No ads. We don't sell your data, share it for advertising, or track you across other apps or websites.
- Settings → Privacy → Delete my data removes your data at any time.
What we collect and why
| Data | When | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Precise location (GPS) | Only while a game you joined is running: from the start of the game until it ends, you leave or the room closes. During a game this includes when the app is in the background or the screen is off, so you can keep the phone in your pocket (iPhone shows the location indicator, Android a notification). | To play: to show you to the players in your room according to the game rules (teammates live, the other team only at timed "pings") and to check Beacons, tool spots, catches and the play area. |
| Anonymous player ID | When you first open the app | A random ID from Firebase Authentication, so the game knows which entries are yours. No name, email or phone number is needed. |
| Nickname | When you type it | Shown to the players in your room. |
| Game data | In rooms and games | The room code and settings, the play area, your role, catches, rescues, Beacon charges, tools and the game's event list, shared with the players in your room. |
| Team chat | If you write in the team chat | Shown only to your team in that game. |
| Chat reports | If someone reports a message | The reported message, the room code, the time, and the anonymous IDs and nicknames of the reporter and the sender, so we can review abuse. Blocking a player is saved only on your phone. |
| Sign-in details (optional) | If you sign in with Apple or Google | Firebase Authentication stores your Apple or Google account ID and email address (Apple lets you hide your email); for Google also your name and profile picture link. We save your nickname with your account so it comes back on a new phone. We never receive your password. |
| Purchases | When the app starts, and if you buy a plan | RevenueCat receives your anonymous player ID to check whether you have a plan. If you buy one, Apple or Google send RevenueCat the purchase details (product, price, dates, transaction ID). We never see your card or bank details. |
| Crash and error reports | If the app crashes or hits an error | Sent to Sentry to fix bugs: technical details such as the phone model, system version, app version and what the app was doing. We turned off personal data, screenshots and log lines in these reports. |
| Android map service data | When the Android app uses Google Maps | Google's Maps SDK receives device and SDK metadata, IP address, a Maps-specific pseudonymous identifier, and SDK crash traces and metrics to operate and improve Google services. Depending on map features used, it may also receive map interaction events, such as panning and zooming. These are separate from the game positions that Zone Chase shares with your private room. Google's Maps SDK data disclosure explains this collection. |
| Camera | Only while you scan a QR code | The image is read on your phone to find the code. Pictures are never saved or sent. |
| Notifications and battery | During games | Game alerts are made on your phone (no push tokens are sent). The battery level is read only on your phone to warn you when it's low. |
We don't collect your contacts, photos, microphone or advertising ID.
Who can see it
- The players in your room, as described above. Database security rules make sure only the players in a room can read its players, positions, events and chat, only your team can read your team chat, and only you can read your own secret catch and rescue codes. A room's basic settings can be seen by anyone who has the room code, so they can join.
-
Service providers that run the app for us, only for that purpose:
- Google Firebase (database, sign-in, Cloud Functions, these web pages), servers in the United States.
- RevenueCat (subscriptions).
- Sentry (crash and error reports), servers in the United States.
- Apple and Google (app stores, payments and optional sign-in).
- Google Maps on Android also processes map service data for the purposes described above, under Google's Privacy Policy. Map service data has its own provider retention and controls; ending a Zone Chase game does not delete Google's SDK telemetry.
- Others only if the law requires it, or to protect someone's safety.
How long we keep it
- Positions: deleted when the game ends. When you leave a game, your own position is removed at once.
- Team chat: deleted when the game ends.
- Catch and rescue codes: replaced after every game.
- Rooms (players, nicknames, settings, events): deleted automatically about a day after the room was created, together with anything a game left behind (for example if the phones lost their connection).
- Chat reports: deleted automatically after 90 days.
- Your account (if you signed in): until you delete it.
- Purchase records at RevenueCat: as long as needed for billing, accounting and legal reasons. Crash reports at Sentry: at most 90 days.
Your choices and rights
- Location: shared only during games you join. Leave a game at any time to stop sharing immediately. You can also turn off location for Zone Chase in your phone's settings (then you can't play games).
- Delete my data (Settings → Privacy): leaves your current room, deletes your codes and position, deletes your anonymous ID and clears the app on your phone. If you are signed in it's called Delete account and also deletes your account and saved nickname (for Apple it also removes the app's access to your Apple ID).
- Your nickname in other rooms' event lists is deleted with those rooms, within about a day.
- To ask for a copy of your data, a correction, or the deletion of anything else (for example your purchase records at RevenueCat), email us. Depending on where you live (for example the EU, the UK or California) you may have more rights, and we will respect them. You can also complain to your local data protection authority.
- For users in the EU and UK: we use your data to provide the game you ask for (contract), to keep the app safe, review reports and fix crashes (legitimate interests), and where the law requires it.
Children
Zone Chase is for players 13 and older. We don't knowingly collect data from children under 13. If you think a child under 13 is using the app, contact us and we will delete their data.
Security and international transfers
Data is sent encrypted (HTTPS), and the database security rules above limit who can read each piece of it. No system is perfectly secure, but we work to protect your data. Our service providers process data in the United States and other countries.
Changes
We will update this policy when the app changes. The date at the top shows the latest version, and we will tell you in the app about important changes.
Contact
Derek Lian (Horizon Office) · horizonoffice.app@gmail.com