Privacy Policy

The Service is operated by an individual (“we,” “us,” or “the operator”), not a company. For any privacy question or request, contact us at privacy@shinypokes.com. For users in the European Economic Area (EEA) and the United Kingdom, the operator is the “data controller” for your personal data.

We collect only what the Service needs to function. We do not ask for your phone number, mailing address, or payment card details.

a. Account information (from your sign-in provider)

You sign in with Discord, Google, or Sign in with Apple. We do not store passwords. We receive and store your email address (with Apple, this may be a private relay address you can disable), your display name, your profile image, and a provider account identifier used to keep you signed in.

b. Profile information (provided by you)

A chosen username and display name; an optional bio, favorite game, and banner Pokémon; and an optional custom avatar you upload.

c. Activity data you create

Your hunts (Pokémon, game, method, encounter and chain counts, timer duration, status), your catches (including nickname, nature, and public/private status), your settings, community chat messages, support messages and any image attachments you send, and feature ideas you submit.

d. Technical and log data

Like virtually all websites, our web server automatically records standard request logs that may include your IP address, browser type, and timestamps, used for security and debugging. The application itself does not store your IP address against your account.

To create and maintain your account; provide core features (tracking hunts, recording catches, showing stats and badges); power community features according to your sharing settings; respond to support requests; operate the optional Professor Oak AI assistant; maintain security and prevent abuse; and improve the Service.

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. We run no ad networks and no third-party analytics or tracking. We share information only:

a. Public features (controlled by you)

Information you choose to make public — public catches, your public hunter page, and leaderboard standings — is visible to anyone and may appear in social-media preview images. See Section 6 for your controls.

b. Service providers

Sign-in providers (Discord, Google, Apple) authenticate you. If you are a Pro user and use the Professor Oak AI chat, the text of your chat messages and Pokémon/game context are sent to OpenAI to generate a response; we do not send your email, account ID, or other identifying profile data. We fetch public Pokémon information and images from PokéAPI, Bulbapedia, and a public sprite repository — no personal data about you is sent to them. Our hosting provider stores all account and activity data.

c. Legal reasons

We may disclose information if required by law, to protect our rights or user safety, or in response to a valid legal request.

We use a single essential cookie: the authentication session cookie that keeps you signed in. It is strictly necessary, so no consent banner is required. We do not use advertising cookies, analytics cookies, tracking pixels, or third-party trackers.

Do Not Track: because we do not track you across other websites, our behavior is the same whether or not your browser sends a DNT signal.

Shiny Pokes is built to be private by default:

• Your public hunter page is off by default — it is only listed at /h/{username} if you opt in.
• You can share publicly while hiding your display name (“Anonymous Hunter”).
• Each catch can be marked public or private; private catches never appear on leaderboards, the feed, or share pages.
• You can change your username, display name, bio, avatar, and settings at any time.
• Images you send to support are visible only to you and an administrator.

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, delete, object to or restrict processing, and obtain a portable copy of your personal data, and to withdraw consent.

• Download your data: use the “Download my data” button in Settings → Account to get a complete JSON export.
• Delete your account: you can permanently delete your account and all associated data yourself from Settings → Danger Zone. This is irreversible.
• Correct your data: most data is directly editable in Settings.

To exercise any other right, email privacy@shinypokes.com. We will respond within the timeframe required by applicable law and will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights.

If you are a California resident:

• Categories collected: identifiers (email, username, provider account ID), internet activity (your hunts, catches, and in-app actions), and user-generated content (chat, support messages, uploaded images).
• Sale/sharing: we do not sell your personal information and do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising, so no “Do Not Sell or Share” action is required.
• Your rights: to know/access, delete, correct, and not be discriminated against. Submit requests to privacy@shinypokes.com.
• Shine the Light: we do not share personal information with third parties for their own direct marketing.

Where the GDPR or UK GDPR applies, we process your data to perform our contract with you (providing the account and features), with your consent (optional features such as making your profile public or using the AI assistant — you can withdraw consent anytime), and for our legitimate interests (keeping the Service secure, preventing abuse, and improving it).

We keep your account data for as long as your account exists. When you delete your account, your associated data is removed promptly. Server request logs are retained only briefly for security and troubleshooting. We may retain limited information where required by law.

The Service is hosted on servers located in the United States. If you access the Service from outside the United States — including from the EEA or United Kingdom — your information will be transferred to and processed in the United States, which may have different data protection laws than your country. Where required for such transfers, we rely on appropriate safeguards such as the Standard Contractual Clauses.

We protect your information with: no password storage (sign-in is handled entirely by Discord, Google, and Apple); encryption in transit (HTTPS/TLS); validation of uploaded images by type, size, and file signature; access controls restricting support attachments and private catches to authorized viewers; and access-controlled server credentials. No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure. If we become aware of a breach affecting your personal data, we will notify affected users and any required authorities as the law requires.

The Service is not intended for children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, contact privacy@shinypokes.com and we will delete it. Users between 13 and the age of digital consent in their country should use the Service only with parental involvement where local law requires it.

The Service integrates with third-party services (Discord, Google, Apple, OpenAI, PokéAPI, Bulbapedia). Their handling of your data is governed by their own privacy policies, which we encourage you to review.

We may update this Policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will update the “Last updated” date above and, where appropriate, provide a more prominent notice. Continued use of the Service after changes take effect means you accept the revised Policy.

Questions, requests, or concerns about your privacy: privacy@shinypokes.com.