Privacy Policy

ScratchMap · Effective date: October 30, 2026

1. About us

Oleksandr Shymanskyi, Carrer de Barcelona 4, 03560 El Campello, Alicante, Spain ("we", "us", "our") is the data controller for the ScratchMap app (the "App") with respect to the information described in this policy. Questions and requests about your data can be sent to [email protected].

The supervisory authority responsible for us is the Spanish Data Protection Agency (Agencia Española de Protección de Datos, AEPD), aepd.es.

2. What information we process

Stored only on your device

• Your map: the countries you have marked as want to visit, visited or lived here, and when you last changed each one.
• Searches and profile: your recent country searches and the name you choose to show on your statistics. Your rank is worked out on your device from your map.
• Your choices: that you accepted our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy, whether you agreed to share usage and crash data, and whether you have seen the welcome screen.

This information stays on your device. We do not receive it, and it is removed when you delete the App. We do not ask for your email address, contacts, photos or health data. If you use Share my map, the App prepares a message that you choose where to send, for example with AirDrop or Messages. We do not receive it.

Your location

If you tap My location and allow location access in iOS, the App reads your device's location to centre the map on where you are and to show your position on it. It is used only while the App is open. We do not store it, and we do not receive it. You can turn location access off at any time in iOS Settings › Privacy & Security › Location Services.

The map (Google Maps)

The map is provided by the Google Maps SDK. To show it, your device connects to Google, which receives technical information such as your IP address, device and software details and how the map is used (for example, which map areas you load). Google handles this information under the Google Privacy Policy and the Google Maps/Google Earth Additional Terms of Service. We do not receive this information from Google.

Usage and crash data (only if you agree)

The welcome screen has an optional checkbox to share anonymous usage and crash data. It is unticked by default. Until you tick it, analytics and crash reporting are switched off and nothing is collected. The App works the same either way. You can change your choice at any time in Settings › Share usage and crash data.

If you agree, we use Google Analytics for Firebase and Firebase Crashlytics, both provided by Google, to understand how the App is used and why it sometimes crashes. They may collect:

• Random identifiers that Google creates for your installation of the App, such as an app-instance ID. We do not send your name or email address to analytics, and analytics does not use your advertising identifier (IDFA);
• Screens viewed and in-app events: opening the map, a country, search, statistics, settings or the rank list; marking or clearing a country (which country and which status); choosing a search result; finishing the welcome screen; and which Settings item you tapped;
• Session and engagement information, such as when the App is first opened, how often it is used and for how long;
• Device and software details (model, operating system, language, app version);
• Your approximate location (country and region), derived from your IP address. Google Analytics does not log or store IP addresses for this purpose;
• Crash reports, which Crashlytics collects when the App crashes: the technical state of the App and device at the time of the crash (such as the stack trace, device model, operating system version, free memory and disk space), and a random installation identifier. They do not include your map, your name or your email address.

Messages you send us

If you email us, we receive your email address and whatever you include in your message.

3. Why we use information, and our legal basis

4. Analytics, consent and tracking

When you first open the App, a welcome card asks you to accept our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy, and offers an optional, unticked checkbox to allow usage and crash data. Accepting the Terms does not require you to tick the checkbox. You can change the choice at any time in Settings › Share usage and crash data. If you turn it off, we stop collecting from that point on.

ScratchMap contains no advertising. It does not track you across other companies' apps and websites and does not use your advertising identifier, so iOS does not ask you for tracking permission.

5. How long we keep information

• On your device: until you delete the App or clear its data.
• Analytics data: for up to 14 months, then it is deleted or aggregated so that it no longer identifies you.
• Crash reports: for 90 days.
• Emails you send us: for up to 1 year after your request is resolved, unless the law requires longer.
• Google (map): Google keeps information under its own policies and retention periods.

6. Who has access to your information

We do not sell your personal information. We may share information only with:

• Google (Google Analytics for Firebase and Firebase Crashlytics), which processes usage and crash data for us under our instructions, and only if you agreed to share it. See Firebase privacy information and Google's Privacy Policy;
• Google (Google Maps), which provides the map and handles the information described in section 2 under its own policy;
• Authorities or other parties where required by law or to protect rights, safety and security.

Google may be located outside your country, including outside the EEA and UK. Where required, transfers rely on safeguards such as the European Commission's standard contractual clauses.

7. Your privacy rights

If the GDPR or UK GDPR applies to you, you have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you and receive a copy;
• Have inaccurate data corrected, or data erased;
• Restrict or object to the processing of your data;
• Receive your data in a portable format;
• Withdraw your consent at any time, without affecting processing done before you withdrew it;
• Complain to your local data protection authority.

If you live in a US state with a privacy law, such as California, you may have similar rights to know, delete and correct your personal information. We do not sell personal information, and we do not share it for targeted advertising.

To make a request, email [email protected]. We reply within one month, which may be extended by up to two further months for complex requests, and we will tell you if so. Because we cannot identify you from analytics data alone, we may ask you to turn off sharing in Settings, or to tell us your installation identifier, so we can find and delete it. Data stored only on your device can be removed by deleting the App.

8. Children

The App is intended for a general audience. You must be at least 13 years old (16 in the EEA, unless your country sets a lower age) to consent to share usage and crash data. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children below these ages. If you believe a child has provided us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

9. Security

We take reasonable measures to protect the information we hold, such as encryption in transit, restricted access and vetted service providers, but no method of storage or transmission is completely secure.

10. Third-party links

The App may link to websites and services operated by others. We are not responsible for their content or privacy practices, so please read their policies.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will update the effective date above and, where required, ask you to accept the updated policy in the App. Continuing to use the App after changes take effect means you accept them.

12. Contact us

Oleksandr Shymanskyi
Carrer de Barcelona 4, 03560 El Campello, Alicante, Spain
[email protected]