Wildcard Dex

Privacy Policy

Wildcard Dex uses your camera to identify wildlife and stores the dex you build. We don't sell your data.

Who we are

Wildcard Dex is built and operated by Play Outside Games (a Cool-S Technologies studio), the independent software studio of Cameron Severn. This policy explains what data Wildcard Dex collects, why, and the choices you have. Questions? Email cameron@cool-s.com.

What we collect

• Account identifiers (an anonymous ID by default; an email, name, or avatar only if you sign in with Google or Apple). Your dex lives on your device by default. Signing in lets you back it up, recover it on a new device, and let friends find you for trading.
• Photos you capture or upload for identification. To run species identification. Photos stay on your device unless you trade a card or turn on signed-in backup.
• Sightings and collection data (species, XP, rarity, badges, trades). To power the game — your dex, progress, and trades with friends.
• Approximate location (only if you enable it). To tag where a sighting was made and to power an optional community map, which only ever shows coarse, anonymized regional aggregates — never your exact coordinates.
• Basic device and usage diagnostics, plus advertising identifiers (free version). To fix crashes, understand which features are used, and serve ads in the free version. The premium (dex++) version is ad-free.

Device permissions

• Camera. To photograph wildlife for identification. Images are only captured when you take a photo.
• Location (optional). To tag sightings and suggest nearby species. The app works without it.
• Photo library (optional). Only if you choose to identify an existing photo from your library.

How we use your data

We use the data above to provide and improve Wildcard Dex: to run its core features, keep your account secure, fix bugs, and understand how the app is used. We do not sell your personal data, and we don't use it for third-party advertising.

Services we rely on

To run Wildcard Dex we use a small number of trusted third-party services. They process data only to provide their service to us:

• Google Gemini. Photos you submit for identification are sent to Google's Gemini model (via our server) to recognize the species and generate facts.
• Google Firebase. Hosting, database, and storage for accounts, social features, trades, and signed-in backups.
• Mapbox & OpenStreetMap. To render maps of your sightings and the community map.
• Google AdMob (free version only). To serve ads in the free version. The dex++ version is ad-free.
• Analytics & crash reporting. To diagnose crashes and improve the app.

Data retention

Your dex lives on your device. If you sign in, your backed-up data is kept for as long as your account is active. You can delete individual sightings at any time, or delete your account to remove your backed-up data.

Your rights and choices

You can request access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal data at any time by emailing cameron@cool-s.com. Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights under laws such as the GDPR or CCPA — we honor those requests regardless of location.

Security

We take reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your data. No method of transmission or storage is perfectly secure, but we work to keep your information safe and limit access to it.

Children

Wildcard Dex is not directed to children under 13 (or the minimum age of digital consent in your country), and we do not knowingly collect their personal data. If you believe a child has provided us data, contact us and we will delete it.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as Wildcard Dexevolves. When we do, we'll revise the effective date above and, for material changes, provide a more prominent notice.

Contact

Play Outside Games (a Cool-S Technologies studio)
cameron@cool-s.com