Privacy Policy

Information we collect

We collect information you provide when you use the Services, including:

• Account information, such as your email address, account identifier, preferred language, and authentication and agreement records.
• Scout contributions, such as titles, written observations, tags, photographs, captions, and related submission and review history.
• Communications, including information you send when contacting us for support, privacy requests, or feedback.

We also collect limited technical and operational information needed to secure and run the Services, such as IP address, user-agent information, request and authentication timestamps, device and application information, and security and audit events.

The Scout app does not passively record you or continuously track your location. Before upload, selected photographs are re-encoded to remove their original embedded metadata, including embedded GPS EXIF data. The visible content of a photograph may still reveal a place or other information, so please review every contribution before submitting it.

How we use information

We use information to:

• create and authenticate accounts and deliver requested one-time sign-in codes;
• receive, store, organize, review, moderate, and manage Scout contributions;
• create and improve culturally and spatially grounded world packs and services;
• provide support and communicate about accounts, submissions, and security;
• detect abuse, protect the Services, enforce our terms, and comply with law; and
• understand and improve the reliability and performance of the Services.

Rights in Scout contributions are governed by the contributor agreement presented in the Scout app. If a contribution is approved, we may use, publish, monetize, and license it as described in that agreement. This Privacy Policy does not expand those rights.

How we disclose information

We may disclose information in the following circumstances:

• Service providers. Vendors that provide hosting, authentication, email delivery, storage, security, and other infrastructure may process information on our behalf. Our principal infrastructure provider is Amazon Web Services.
• Review and production. Authorized reviewers may access submissions. Approved contributions may be included in world packs and made available to producers and licensees, subject to the contributor agreement and our review process.
• Legal and safety. We may disclose information when reasonably necessary to comply with law, respond to lawful requests, protect rights and safety, or prevent fraud or abuse.
• Business transactions. Information may be transferred as part of a merger, financing, acquisition, reorganization, or sale of assets, subject to appropriate confidentiality protections.
• With your direction. We may disclose information when you ask or authorize us to do so.

We do not sell Scout contact information, and we do not use third-party advertising trackers in the Scout app.

Retention and deletion

We retain account information and contributions for as long as reasonably necessary to provide and secure the Services, operate our review and licensing records, comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce agreements. Retention periods vary based on the type and status of the information.

You may ask us to access, correct, or delete your personal information by contacting us at the address below. We may need to verify your identity. Some information may be retained when required by law or where necessary to preserve transaction, security, licensing, or agreement records. Deleting an account may not revoke rights previously granted for an approved contribution; those rights are governed by the applicable contributor agreement.

Security and international processing

We use administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards designed to protect information, including access controls and encrypted transport and storage. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

WorldTexture is operated from the United States. If you use the Services from another country, your information may be processed in the United States and other places where our service providers operate, which may have different data-protection laws.

Children

The Services are not intended for children under 13, and Scout contributors must be at least 18 years old. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us personal information, please contact us.

Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy as the Services evolve. We will post the updated policy here and change the effective date above. If a change materially affects how we use information, we will provide additional notice where appropriate.