Tikers
Privacy policy
Last updated 14 October 2026
This policy explains what Tikers collects about you, why, who sees it, and how long we keep it. It is written in English, Arabic and French. If the versions ever differ, the English version prevails.
The short version
- You sign in with your phone number. Other explorers never see it.
- We use your location to show quests near you and to check a proof was taken at the spot. We don't record your route.
- Your proof photos and videos are yours. We store them with no hidden details (no GPS, no device, no time).
- Posts show the quest's place, never where you were standing, and by default they wait 2 hours before anyone sees them.
- No ads, no purchases, no selling your data, and no tracking you across other apps.
- You can delete your account at any time, in the app or on the web.
Who we are
Tikers is run by {{COMPANY_NAME}}, a company registered in {{COMPANY_COUNTRY}}, at {{COMPANY_ADDRESS}} ("we", "us"). We decide how your data is used, so we're responsible for it (the "data controller").
For anything about your data, or about Tikers in general, write to [email protected].
What we collect
Your account
- Phone number. It's your account: we send your sign-in code to it by WhatsApp. It's shown only to you, in Settings.
- Sign-in code records. Each time you ask for a code we keep the code (scrambled, never readable), your IP address and your device's browser or app details, to keep accounts safe and stop people abusing the codes.
- Date of birth. Only to check you're 16 or older. Nobody else sees it.
- First name, short bio and profile photo. These make your public profile. Profile photos are resized and stripped of hidden details before anyone sees them.
- Your preferences: your interests, how you get around, who you explore with, your budget, and your language. We use them to suggest quests that suit you. Nobody else sees them.
Playing
- Location. See "Location data" below.
- Proofs. The photo, selfie or video you take with the in-app camera, with the GPS point and its accuracy, the time, and some security signals from your phone (see "Keeping the game fair").
- Your activity: the quests you start, arrive at and complete, your progress, your postcards, the posts you like, the explorers you block and the reports you send.
Your phone
- Device details: platform (iPhone or Android), phone model, system and app version, and a token so we can send you notifications. We use them for notifications, support and making sure the app works on your phone.
Server logs
- When the app or your browser talks to our server, our server and Cloudflare log the request: your IP address, your device or browser details, and what was asked for. We use these logs to keep Tikers secure and running, and delete them after 14 days.
Analytics and crash reports
- We use Firebase Analytics to see how the app is used (for example "quest started" or "postcard shared") and Firebase Crashlytics to find and fix crashes. These use an ID for the app on your phone, not your name or number.
When you write to us
- If you email [email protected], we keep your message so we can answer it.
What we don't collect
- Your contacts.
- Your photo gallery. The app only opens it if you choose a profile photo from it. Proofs always come from the in-app camera.
- Your advertising ID. Tikers doesn't track you across other apps or websites, which is why your iPhone never asks about tracking. Google signals and Analytics data sharing with Google are turned off.
Location data
Tikers is a game about real places, so location matters. Here is exactly how we use it.
While you use the app
When Tikers is open, it uses your location to show quests near you and how far they are, to order the feed by distance, and to open the camera only when you're at a quest's spot. Your location is sent with these requests and not stored.
When you take a proof
The GPS point and its accuracy are saved with the proof, so our server can check you were at the spot. After 30 days we erase the point and keep only how far you were from the spot.
In the background (only if you allow "Always", or "Allow all the time" on Android)
If you start a quest and allow location "Always", your phone watches the area around that quest (this is called geofencing) and shows a "You've arrived" notification when you get there. It only watches the spots of quests you've started, and Tikers never records your route.
When you arrive, the app tells our server that you've arrived, so the quest can show "Camera ready". If you chose "post when I leave" for a proof, the app also tells the server when you leave the area, so your post can go up. Neither message holds your location: the server only learns the moment, and keeps the time you arrived.
You can turn background location off at any time in your phone's settings. Everything else still works; you just won't get arrival notifications.
Your photos and videos
- The original of every proof is kept private. Only our staff can open it, and only when handling a report. The app adds no GPS to it, and our server removes its hidden details when it stores it.
- The copies other explorers see (in the feed and on postcards) have all hidden details removed: no GPS, no device, no time.
- Proofs are kept until you delete them with your account, or until our staff remove them.
- We never use your photos or videos in our marketing without asking you first (see our Terms).
Posting delay and visibility
Every proof has a posting choice. You pick it each time, and you can set your default in Settings.
- After 2 hours (the default): your post appears 2 hours after your proof is verified.
- When I leave: your post appears when you leave the quest's area, or after 6 hours at the latest.
- Now: your post appears straight away.
- Private: your proof is never posted. You still get the stamp and the postcard.
The delay is there so nobody can use the feed to find where you are right now. Your postcards follow the same choice: other explorers see a postcard only once its post would appear, and never if the proof is private.
Where a post seems to be. A post shows the quest's place (for example "Batroun"), never your own GPS point. Other explorers see how far the quest is from them, not from you.
What other explorers see
- Public account: your first name, profile photo, bio, your progress and your postcards, your posts, and your place on the leaderboards. Likes are shown as counts.
- Private account: only your first name and profile photo. Your posts never reach the feed. Your quests still count on the leaderboards.
- If you're 16 or 17, your account starts private. You can make it public in Settings.
- Never: your phone number, your date of birth, your preferences or your exact location.
- Blocking: if you block someone, neither of you sees the other's posts or passport, and on the leaderboard you appear to each other as "Blocked explorer".
- Shared postcards: if your account is public and the proof wasn't private, a postcard you share has a link (
tikers.app/p/…) that anyone with the link can open, once your post's time has come (2 hours later by default). It shows the postcard image, the place, the quest and your % of Lebanon. Once you share a postcard image yourself (on Instagram or WhatsApp, for example), it's out there and we can't take it back.
Keeping the game fair
When you send a proof, the app also sends some security signals: whether the location is faked, whether the phone looks rooted, jailbroken, tampered with or an emulator (from the freeRASP library), and whether the app is a genuine copy (Firebase App Check, which uses Apple App Attest and Google Play Integrity). These are stored with the proof. Our staff can see them when handling a report.
A faked location is rejected automatically. The other signals never reject or flag you on their own.
Reports
If you report a post, a quest or an explorer, we keep the report (the reason you chose, your optional note, and who sent it) so our staff can handle it. The person you report never learns who reported them. Reports and the record of what our staff did about them are kept for 12 months after the report is closed, then deleted.
Why we use your data
| What we do | Why we're allowed to (for explorers in the EU) |
|---|---|
| Run your account and the game: sign-in, quests, proofs, postcards, the feed, leaderboards, notifications | It's needed to give you the service you signed up for (contract) |
| Check you're 16 or older | Needed to give you the service (contract), and our legitimate interest in keeping younger children off the app |
| Suggest quests from your preferences | Needed to give you the service (contract) |
| Keep accounts safe, stop cheating and abuse, handle reports, keep server logs | Our legitimate interest in a safe, fair game and a working service |
| Analytics and crash reports | Our legitimate interest in improving the app and fixing bugs |
| Background location and notifications | Your consent, which you give through your phone's permission prompts and can take back at any time in your phone's settings |
| Processing your data outside Lebanon | Your consent, given at sign-up (see "Where your data goes") |
Who we share it with
We don't sell your data and we don't share it with advertisers. We use these companies to run Tikers. They handle your data only to do their job for us:
| Company | What they do for us | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Hostinger | Our server and database | France (EU) |
| Cloudflare | Storing photos and videos (and our backups), delivering the app's images and web pages, protecting us from attacks, and the anti-bot check on the web deletion form (Turnstile) | Storage in the EU; delivery worldwide |
| Google Firebase | Notifications, checking the app is genuine, analytics and crash reports | United States and worldwide |
| Meta (WhatsApp Business Platform) | Sending your sign-in code by WhatsApp | United States and EU |
| Apple (App Attest) and Google (Play Integrity) | Confirming the app on your phone is genuine | United States |
| Talsec (freeRASP) | Spotting tampered or rooted phones. It always receives anonymous security diagnostics: the app's and the phone's security state, and anonymous app and device IDs | United States |
We may also share data if the law requires it, for example a valid order from a court or authority, or to protect someone's safety.
Where your data goes
Your data leaves Lebanon. Our server and storage are in the European Union, and some of the companies above work from the United States. When you sign up, you agree to your data being processed in the EU and the US.
For explorers in the EU: when your data goes to the United States, we rely on the safeguards the GDPR allows, such as the EU's standard contractual clauses or the company's certification under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework.
How long we keep it
| Data | How long |
|---|---|
| Phone number, date of birth, preferences | Until you delete your account |
| A sign-up that was stopped (under 16) or never finished | 30 days, then deleted |
| First name, bio, profile photo | Until you change them or delete your account |
| Sign-in code records (scrambled code, IP address, device details) | 7 days |
| Server and Cloudflare logs (IP address, device or browser details, the request) | 14 days |
| GPS point of a proof | 30 days; after that only the distance from the spot |
| Proof photos and videos, postcards, activity | Until you delete your account (or our staff remove a proof) |
| Device details and notification token | Until you sign out on that phone or delete your account |
| Reports and staff actions | 12 months after the report is closed |
| Analytics events | 2 months |
| Crash reports | 90 days |
| Emails to support | As long as we need them to answer you |
| An account nobody has used for 2 years | Deleted; we send a notification 30 days before |
Deleting your data
You can delete your account at any time:
- In the app: Settings → About → Delete account.
- On the web, without the app: tikers.app/delete-account.
Your account closes at once, your phone number is taken off it and your posts disappear. Within 30 days we erase your name, bio, date of birth, profile photo, proofs, photos and videos, postcards and preferences. We keep anonymous counts that can't be linked to you (like how many times a quest was completed), and moderation records for 12 months after the report is closed, holding only the reason, the action taken and the dates. Deleting your account can't be undone.
If you don't use Tikers for 2 years, we delete your account the same way. We let you know with a notification 30 days before, if your notifications are on.
You can also change your name, bio, photo and preferences in Settings at any time.
Your rights
You can ask us to:
- see the data we hold about you, and get a copy
- correct data that's wrong
- delete your data
- stop using it for a purpose, or limit how we use it, where the law gives you that right
- send your data to you in a format you can reuse (for explorers in the EU)
Where we rely on your consent, you can withdraw it at any time. That doesn't affect what we did before.
To use any of these rights, write to [email protected] and include your account's phone number, so we can find your account. We may ask you to confirm it's really you. We answer within one month.
These rights come from Lebanon's Law 81/2018 and, if you live in the EU, from the GDPR. If you live in the EU and think we've misused your data, you can also complain to the data protection authority in your country.
Age
Tikers is for people aged 16 and over. We ask your date of birth at sign-up and stop anyone younger. If we learn that someone under 16 has an account, we delete it. A sign-up that's stopped, or never finished, is deleted after 30 days.
If you're 16 or 17, your account starts private (see "What other explorers see"). You can make it public in Settings.
Keeping your data safe
Your data travels encrypted. Our database is never open to the internet, our backups are private, sign-in codes are never stored in a readable form, and only the staff who need it can see private data. No system is perfect, but we work hard to protect yours, and if a breach puts you at risk we'll tell you and the authorities as the law requires.
Changes to this policy
If we change how we use your data, we'll update this page and the date at the top. If the change is important, we'll tell you in the app before it applies. Tikers has no prizes, purchases or ads today; if any of them ever comes, this policy is updated before it does.
Contact
{{COMPANY_NAME}} {{COMPANY_ADDRESS}}, {{COMPANY_COUNTRY}} [email protected]