ViaCache privacy policy

Effective November 1, 2026 · Operator: NSF Labs

Who operates ViaCache

ViaCache is operated by NSF Labs. Contact [email protected] for privacy questions. This policy covers viacache.com and the ViaCache Android, iPhone, and iPad apps. Public reference datasets have their own source notices and attribution. Our Terms of Use describe adult account eligibility, supervision, lawful use, and outdoor risks.

Information we process

• Accounts: email address, display name, profile information, password hashes for email sign-in, and sign-in/session records. If you choose Apple or Google sign-in (and any other provider explicitly offered in the app), the provider supplies identity details such as an account identifier, name, email, and profile image where available. We also record the terms version and time of an adult account holder’s agreement. We do not receive your provider password.
• Your activity and content: saved places, journals, cache submissions, descriptions, questions, answers or answer checks, photos, reports, reviews, quest settings, participation, progress, timestamps, and find-verification results.
• Walking activity: only sessions you explicitly start are recorded. With foreground location and motion permission, the phone measures GPS distance and sensor steps. Recording pauses when the app goes into the background or the phone is locked. Unsaved summaries are kept in protected device storage; on save, session times, active duration, distance and available step totals are linked to your account. The walking route and raw GPS fixes are not uploaded. Walking summaries are private and can be deleted.
• Trackables: item names, missions, your optional serial labels, owner display name, sightings and cache pickup/drop history are public when you share the item or its link. Label codes identify physical items and are given to the owner for printing. Pickup/drop verification processes a fresh location, then stores the cache reference and action time, not a live carrier route. Public journeys do not show carrier identities or live locations. Owned item records are removed with account deletion; other item histories retain an anonymous action after the actor account is removed.
• Device and service information: network addresses, browser/device information, request information, errors, and security/rate-limit records needed to deliver and protect the service. Network and hosting providers also process connection metadata.
• Local storage: browser settings and guest saves/journals, session cookies, and phone preferences. Mobile credentials are stored in platform-protected storage; signed-in account records are stored on our servers.

Location and maps

You can scout a chosen map area without using your current location. “Near me,” on-site find recording, and field placement use foreground location with device permission. Search coordinates go to our service. When OpenCaching.US is enabled, our server sends the selected search area and cache-name query to Opencaching.US to retrieve public listings. This can be your chosen travel area or a foreground location you explicitly request. We do not send your ViaCache identity or password, and this read-only integration does not post finds to OpenCaching. You can turn off the OpenCaching source layer. Find submissions include coordinates, accuracy, and timing so we can check proximity and freshness; stored activity can identify the cache or checkpoint visited, the time, and the verification result. Published cache and quest-checkpoint coordinates are part of the content you choose to share.

The pilot does not run continuous background location tracking. Turning off location may prevent location-dependent features. Google Maps receives map and search requests and associated technical information. Its bundled SDK declares collection of device identifiers and other technical data linked to a device, and crash, performance, and product-interaction data for analytics and service operation; its manifest does not declare advertising tracking. These third-party SDK practices are included in our store privacy disclosures. Opening directions sends the chosen destination to Google Maps. Air-quality lookups send our server the requested coordinates; the server rounds them to one decimal place before querying AirNow. A map area may describe a planned trip rather than your current location.

Photos, documents, and optional AI

Photo uploads are processed on our server, resized and re-encoded without embedded EXIF metadata before storage. Sanitized images are sent to Cloudflare Workers AI for content screening and may be reviewed by authorized moderators. Approved photos may become public with an approved cache listing. Do not upload sensitive documents, faces or identifying details without appropriate permission.

Quest documents are uploaded for parsing into questions and settings. When you request AI-assisted drafting, submitted source text and drafting settings are sent to our Cloudflare AI service to generate proposed questions. Saved quests retain the content you choose to keep. AI output requires review; the feature is not a confidential document vault. Raw quest documents are parsed in memory for the request; saved drafts retain extracted questions and settings until you remove the draft or delete the account. Do not include children’s identifying information or confidential material. Third-party services may maintain operational records under their own policies.

Camera, photo selection and printing

Camera permission supports trackable QR/barcode scanning and taking a photo you choose to submit. Scanner camera frames are processed on your device and are not uploaded as a camera stream. A decoded tracking code is sent to our service when you look up the item. The system photo picker gives the app access to the images you select. Printing creates a label/PDF on your device and hands it to the operating system’s print/share services and the printer or destination you choose. We do not collect a directory of printers on your network.

How we use information

We use information to operate accounts, display maps and discoveries, run quests, verify field activity, deliver account emails, moderate content, prevent abuse, respond to support requests, and maintain backups and service reliability. ViaCache currently shows no ads, includes no advertising SDKs, and does not sell personal information to data brokers. We do not use walking totals or precise location for advertising. This statement does not mean that third-party maps, sign-in, hosting, or payment providers collect no information.

Who receives information

• Other users: approved public listings and their shared content are visible publicly. Private quests and participant information are available according to invitation and role permissions. People with access can copy information; keep invitation links private.
• Infrastructure: our primary hosting, DigitalOcean standby/backup server, and Cloudflare networking, storage, email and AI services process data for the relevant functions. Data may be processed in the United States and other locations used by these providers.
• Sign-in, maps and air quality: Apple, Google and AirNow receive information relevant to the features you use. Disabled sign-in providers are not offered as active login options. Their own policies govern their independent services.
• Payments, when enabled: optional native tips use Apple or Google Play. Website support opens Buy Me a Coffee. The provider handles payment details and receipts. The app receives transaction status and product information; ViaCache does not ask for or store your full card number. Store/payment-provider records may remain even if a ViaCache account is deleted.
• Support and legal needs: authorized operators may access information to resolve requests, investigate abuse, or respond to applicable legal requirements.

Free core features and optional support

ViaCache’s core features are currently free to use. Our goal is to sustain that experience without ads through optional tips and future sales of physical store items. This is an intention, not a guarantee of future pricing, availability or business model. Tips unlock no core feature, XP, badge, reward or competitive advantage. Native tipping is available only in builds and storefronts where it has been enabled. The physical-goods store is not yet open and ViaCache is not collecting shipping addresses or order payments for it. Before introducing a checkout or a materially different use of information, we will update the relevant disclosures and obtain consent where required.

Storage, retention and security

We use HTTPS, access controls, protected credentials, and encrypted database backups. No system can guarantee absolute security. Account and content records remain while the account or content exists, unless removed sooner for moderation, security, or legal reasons. Browser and mobile sessions last at most seven days; expired handoffs and mobile credentials are cleaned during connection requests. Verification and recovery email links expire after 30 minutes, and expired queued emails are removed by the delivery worker. Authentication secrets are not included in account exports.

Confirmed account deletion removes live account records and associated content in a database transaction and invalidates browser and app sessions. Apple sign-in authorization is revoked before deletion completes. Uploaded photo objects are removed by a durable cleanup queue, which retries storage outages; they stop being served by ViaCache as soon as their content records are removed. Shared copies already downloaded by others and records independently held by external providers are outside our control.

Nightly encrypted recovery snapshots are retained locally for approximately 30 days; the off-site job keeps the newest 30 completed snapshots. Manually retained recovery copies can last longer and are restricted to recovery and security use. Deleted data can remain in those encrypted copies until they are removed; it is not used for normal account operation. Recovery operators must reapply later deletion requests before restored data is returned to service. Operational and security logs, support correspondence, and records required to investigate abuse or comply with legal duties are retained only as needed for those purposes and under applicable provider retention settings; they are not kept to recreate deleted profiles. Contact us for the retention information relevant to a specific request.

To prevent reuse of printed trackable numbers, we retain an irreversible hash of each issued tracking number after an item or account is deleted. This reservation record contains no account or item identifier.

Basecamp card order is saved to your account and synced between devices. Trackable photos are sanitized to remove embedded metadata and screened before storage; they are private to the owner and authorized reviewers until approved for public display. Removing a photo or deleting its owning account removes the stored photo record.

Explorer XP records eligible awards and times without storing GPS coordinates in its ledger. Leaderboards are optional and show a chosen public codename, avatar and score. Members explicitly select competition leagues independently of home, current or activity location; these locations are not published in standings or public bios. Public bios contain only the avatar, codename, optional bio and interests that members choose to share. Bio visibility and leaderboard participation have separate controls. Opting out removes the member from standings. Account deletion removes XP, public profile, competition preferences and dashboard order.

Public bio text and interests are supplied by the member and can reveal information the member chooses to include. Public cache locations, item journeys and owner attribution are separate user-published content; they are not live member tracking. Do not add private location information to public text or photos. Saved walks, private find history and account contact details are not part of public bios or leaderboards.

Your choices and requests

You can change location and notification permissions in device settings, sign out, edit supported profile/content fields, and clear browser-local data. In browser Basecamp → Settings, choose Download my account data for a JSON export. In the app, open Basecamp → My profile → Delete my account, or use browser Settings. Read the consequences, type DELETE, and confirm. Deletion removes your account, sessions, private profile/backgrounds, saved places, journals, finds, visits, coins, saved walking summaries, owned trackables, uploaded photos, owned caches and quests, participation and progress; it also removes owned shared activities that other users could access. It cannot be undone.

For a web deletion pathway without reinstalling the app, visit Delete your ViaCache account. If you cannot sign in or want access, correction, export, or deletion of specific information, email [email protected] from your account email and identify the request. Identity verification may be required. Do not send a password, payment card number, or private key. We respond to applicable privacy-rights requests within the deadlines required by law. You may have rights to object, restrict processing, withdraw consent, or complain to a relevant authority depending on your location. Withdrawing a device permission stops future permission-dependent activity; it does not erase earlier account records.

Adults and supervised family activities

Account holders must be at least 18. People under 18 may participate only with a parent or legal guardian’s authorization and a responsible adult physically present and supervising, using the adult’s account and device. Minors may not create independent accounts. Do not submit children’s names, contact details, identifying photos, or other personal information. We do not provide a verified child-account or parental-consent system, and an adult’s ordinary authorization does not replace legally required verifiable consent. If you believe we received a child’s personal information, contact [email protected] so we can investigate, restrict processing, and remove it as appropriate.

Changes and external services

We display this policy’s effective date. Material changes will be announced in the app or website, with additional notice or consent where required. Links to other sites open services with their own policies. The current policy is available from app Settings and the website footer.

External service policies

Read the Google privacy policy, Apple privacy policy, Cloudflare privacy policy, and the privacy information shown by any optional external service you open. These links explain those providers’ practices; they do not replace NSF Labs’ responsibilities described here.

Contact

NSF Labs · [email protected]
Subject: ViaCache privacy