MEGAFAUNA Privacy Policy

Last updated: 10/8/2026

Who we are

MEGAFAUNA (“the game,” “we,” “us”) is operated by James Donovan. This policy explains what information we collect when you use MEGAFAUNA, why we collect it, and what we do with it.

Information we collect

Account information. When you sign in with Google, we receive your email address and the display name/profile info Google provides. We use this to create and identify your account. We do not receive your Google password.

Gameplay data. We store what you log in the game — species, dates, and any notes you enter — along with your in-game progress: score, collection, battle history, and Outpost membership. This is core to how the game works and is visible to other members of your Outpost (your friend group within the game) as leaderboards, stats comparisons, and activity feeds.

Anonymized location research data. Separately from your visible gameplay data, we record aggregate counts of species sightings by general location (town/state) and month — for example, “3 Bear sightings in Stowe, VT in August 2026.” This data:

• Contains no player identity, username, or account ID
• Is never displayed anywhere in the app
• Is used only for our own internal research into regional wildlife patterns, to inform game design (for example, adjusting how rare an animal is treated based on real reported sightings)
• May, in the future, be used to power features like population-density heatmaps for a paid tier, or to refine regional game content — if so, this policy will be updated before that happens

Because this data is aggregated by town, and the game currently has a small number of active players, it is technically possible in principle for someone to infer which real player's activity contributed to a given town's numbers, especially in a town with only one active player. We do not use this data that way, and it carries no account identifier — but we want to be upfront about the limits of anonymity at small scale.

Push notification data, if you opt in: a subscription token identifying your browser/device, used only to deliver notifications you've enabled (battle invites, activity reminders). You can disable this at any time in Settings.

Feedback and bug reports, if you submit one: your description, the screen you were on, and basic technical context (browser, screen size) to help us diagnose issues.

Error reports. Basic technical error reports (the error, the page, the browser and the app version) are sent so I can fix bugs; they don't include your email or username.

What we don't do

• We do not sell your data to anyone.
• We do not share your data with third parties for advertising or marketing purposes.
• We do not use your gameplay data to identify or track you outside the game.

Who can see what

• Your username, stats, and battle history are visible to members of your own Outpost — that's the point of the game.
• Nobody outside your Outpost, and no other player, can see your real email address.
• The anonymized research data described above is visible only to us.

Third-party services

MEGAFAUNA is built on Google Firebase, which provides authentication, database, and hosting infrastructure. Firebase's own privacy practices govern how it handles data on our behalf; see Google's Privacy Policy.

Data retention and deletion

We retain your account and gameplay data for as long as your account is active. If you'd like your account and associated data deleted, contact us via our submission tool in settings and we'll process the request within a reasonable time. Note that anonymized research data (which carries no identifier) cannot be selectively deleted per-account, since it isn't linked back to any individual in the first place.

Children's privacy

MEGAFAUNA is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect data from children under 13. If you believe a child has created an account, contact us and we will remove it.

Security

We take reasonable measures to protect your data, but no online service can guarantee perfect security. Don't reuse a sensitive password anywhere, and use Google's own account security features (two-factor authentication, etc.) to protect your sign-in.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the game evolves — particularly if the anonymized research data is ever used in a new way (like the heatmap feature mentioned above). We'll update the “last updated” date when we do, and for any significant change in how we use your data, we'll make a reasonable effort to notify active players.

Contact

Questions about this policy or your data please use our suggestion tool in settings.