Privacy policy
Effective October 9, 2026. This applies to the Ottawa game for Android and to this website.
Ottawa is a game in development, run by a single developer in Canada. We collect as little as we can, we don't show ads, and we never sell or share your information for advertising.
What we collect
- Your email address, only if you sign in. It's how we send your sign-in codes and how you get back into your account.
- Your display name and friend code. You choose the name; the friend code is generated for you.
- A random device ID that the app creates when it's first installed, the app version, and your device's model name (for example "SM-N986W"), used to tell you which of your devices is playing and to list your sign-ins.
- Your browser type (for example "Chrome on Android"), if you sign in to your account page on this website, so you can see where you're signed in.
- The rough city of each sign-in, only if you turn on sign-in locations on your account page (it's off unless you do). It's worked out from your IP address when you sign in, using DB-IP's database on our own server. We keep the city, not the address, and only you can see it. Turning it off erases them.
- Which days you played, so we can count how many people play each day.
- Distances you travel and walk each day, if you turn on location: the phone adds them up and sends only totals, never where you went.
- Steps you take each day, only if you turn on step counting (it uses Android's "Physical activity" permission): the game reads your phone's step counter while it's open and sends only daily step totals.
- Your Home and Outpost, only if you set them: two precise places you choose, set from where you stand. They're stored encrypted on our server, with the key kept apart from the database and its backups. Nobody but you ever sees them: not other players, and not us in our admin tools, which show only the date each was set. Each can be changed once every 6 months, and the two must be at least 1.5 km apart.
- Your friends and messages, if you add friends: who your friends are, friend requests, players you've blocked, and the short messages you send each other.
- Messages from us: notes we send you in the game (shown as Ottadminly), for example about a report.
- Reports, if you report a player: your reason and note, and a copy of that player's recent messages to you, so we can look into it.
- Problem reports, only if you choose Settings › Send a problem report in the game: the game's recent log from your phone (what the game did and any errors, the game version, your phone's model and Android version) and your note, so we can fix what went wrong. Never your location: positions aren't written to the log, and anything that looks like one, or like an email or IP address, is removed before it's stored.
- Sign-in codes. We store only a scrambled (hashed) version of each code, never the code itself.
- Your IP address, to stop abuse such as someone requesting codes for many email addresses.
The game reads your device's location (GPS) only after you turn it on, and only while it's open. Your location stays on your phone, and only daily distances are sent, except for your Home and Outpost, which are sent (and stored encrypted) only when you choose to set them. To draw the map, the game downloads map squares about 7 km across: the squares around you, so the server sees roughly which area you're in when it sends them. That isn't recorded or logged. We don't collect your contacts, photos or payment details.
How we use it
- To run the game: your account, your sign-ins, your friends and messages, and keeping one device playing at a time.
- To keep players safe: reports are read by us, and blocking stops another player from adding or messaging you.
- To keep the game safe: limits on how often codes and accounts can be requested.
- To understand how much the game is used, as totals per day.
Where it's kept and who handles it
- Game data is stored on our own server in Canada.
- Sign-in emails are sent through Google's Gmail service, so Google handles the email address and the message.
- Nightly copies of the database are kept for backups, encrypted when stored off the server.
How long we keep it
- Sign-in codes: 10 minutes to use, then deleted within 2 days.
- Signed-in sessions: up to 90 days after you last used them. Account page sign-ins on this website: 7 days. Ended sign-ins, which your account page lists, are deleted 30 days after they end.
- Guest accounts that haven't been used for 30 days are deleted.
- IP addresses: kept in memory for up to an hour for abuse limits, with sign-in codes for up to 2 days, and in server logs that are rotated and kept only briefly.
- Days played and daily totals: about 13 months.
- Daily distances and steps: about 13 months. Lifetime totals: until you delete your account.
- Home and Outpost: until you remove them or delete your account.
- Messages from us (Ottadminly): 365 days.
- Problem reports: 30 days, then deleted, or sooner with your account.
- Friend requests: until they're answered or cancelled. Blocks: until you unblock.
- Messages: 90 days, then deleted. Unfriending stops new messages; deleting your account deletes the messages you sent and received.
- Reports, including their copy of messages: kept while open, then 365 days after we close them, even if either player deletes their account, so we can deal with repeated problems.
- When you delete your account, it's erased at once. Copies in our backups are gone within 30 days.
Deleting your account
In the game, go to Settings › Profile › Delete account. Or use the account deletion page: we'll email you a code to confirm it's you. Deleting removes your account, friend code, sessions and everything linked to them, problem reports included.
Your account page
On your account page you can sign in with a code sent to your email to see your profile and statistics, your friends and messages, reply to friends, report or block players, and see and sign out the devices signed in to your account. Only you can see it.
Map data
Maps are made from OpenStreetMap data (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), built with Protomaps, and served from our own server. Map squares you've downloaded stay on your phone and are deleted when you turn location off.
Friend pages
Your friend code has a public page (/f/your-code) showing your display name and code, so friends can add you.
Only people you give the code or QR code to can find it.
Children
Ottawa is meant for people aged 13 and older.
Changes
If this policy changes, we'll update the date at the top and, for important changes, tell players in the game.