Privacy Policy – Landmark Hunt

Effective Date: 16 April 2025

Landmark Hunt is a research-based mobile application developed to support scientific investigations into human spatial memory and navigation behaviour. This Privacy Policy explains what data the app collects, how it is used, and how it is protected.

This app is used exclusively in ethically approved research studies. Only participants who have provided informed consent and been added to a secure access whitelist are permitted to use the app. The study has been approved by the Bond University Human Research Ethics Committee under protocol number VS3002.

1. Data We Collect

The app collects the following categories of data to support its research and core functionality:

Email address – Collected via Sign in with Apple and used solely to authenticate access through a secure Supabase-based whitelist system. This is not linked to any research data.
User ID – A pseudonymous, automatically generated ID used to store task data and session logs. It is distinct from your email and used only for research purposes.
Photos and labels – Users may take photos of real-world landmarks and optionally assign labels. These photos are saved locally on your device and are never uploaded to any server. They remain fully under your control.
Location data – If permission is granted, the app records the geographic coordinates associated with saved landmarks. These coordinates are used to support tasks such as pointing, mapping, and distance estimation.
Gameplay and task performance – Includes data from navigation tasks such as pointing angles, estimated distances, and icon placements on maps.
Usage metadata – Includes timestamps, task completion events, landmark creation or deletion, session duration, and frequency of app use.

2. How We Use Your Data

The data collected through Landmark Hunt is used for the following purposes:

App functionality – To enable core features such as landmark capture, map reconstruction, task progression, and personalised reminders.
Scientific research – To analyse anonymised behavioural patterns related to spatial navigation and memory. All research data is de-identified before analysis.
Authentication – Your email is used solely to control access via Apple Sign-In and the whitelist system. It is never uploaded with session data and is stored separately from research information.

Data is not used for advertising, profiling, or commercial analytics. It is never sold or shared with third parties outside the authorised research team.

3. Data Storage and Upload

All data is stored locally on your device in structured JSON format.
Task performance and metadata may be uploaded periodically (every three days) to a secure research server hosted on Supabase.
Uploads occur only when the app is opened and when upload is enabled. The size of each upload is typically between 10–200 KB.
Photos and image data are never included in uploads and remain on your device at all times.
Email addresses and research data are stored separately to preserve confidentiality.
All uploaded data is encrypted in transit and linked only to a pseudonymous research ID.

4. Permissions

Landmark Hunt may request access to the following device features:

Camera – To allow users to capture landmark photos.
Location – To store coordinates associated with landmarks and enable location-based tasks.
Notifications – To deliver personalised, context-aware task reminders.

All permissions are optional and can be managed through your device’s settings.

5. Your Rights and Control

Users have full control over their data and participation. You may:

Disable periodic uploads in the app settings.
Reset or delete all app data through the admin panel.
Withdraw from the study at any time, after which your access to the app will be revoked.
Uninstall the app to permanently remove all stored data from your device.

6. Contact

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or the Landmark Hunt research project, please contact:

Landmark Hunt Research Team
Email: landmarkhunt@gmail.com