Zone Tag is a game you play outside, with your phone in your hand. That means we handle your location and the photos you take. This page explains exactly what we collect, why, who can see it, and how to get rid of it.
Zone Tag is made and operated by Zone Tag V.O.F., registered in the Netherlands under Chamber of Commerce (KvK) number 98283863, with its registered address at Hobbemalaan 194, 1816 GH Alkmaar, Netherlands.
We are the controller for the personal data described on this page, in the sense of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR / AVG). You can reach us at support@playzonetag.com.
One thing worth knowing up front: a Zone Tag game usually has a game master: the person who set the game up, often a colleague, a friend, a teacher or an event organiser, not us. Within their own game the game master decides who plays and reviews the proof that is submitted. If you have questions about a specific game, they are usually the fastest route.
You do not create an account and we never ask for your email address or password to play. While a game is running, the app shares your live position with the other people in that same game, and the photos and videos you submit as proof are visible to your game master and to the players in that game. When the game ends, the location sharing stops. We do not build a location history, we do not sell anything to anybody, and there are no advertising or tracking SDKs in the app.
Here is everything the app stores about you, why it needs it, and the legal basis under the GDPR.
| What | Why, and legal basis |
|---|---|
| Your name First and last name, as you type them when you join a game. |
So teammates can recognise you on the map and in the team list. There is no verification: a nickname works fine. Basis: needed to provide the game, since a team game does not work if teammates cannot tell each other apart. |
| Your live location Latitude and longitude, plus a timestamp of when you were last active. |
The whole game runs on it: the map, the tagging, and the check that you are actually standing inside a zone when you submit proof. Only while a game is running. See section 4. Basis: consent, given through your device's location permission, which you can withdraw at any time in your phone's settings. |
| Your team Which team you are on, whether you are its captain, whether you are marked ready, and whether you are a game master. |
Game logic: who can tag whom, who may submit proof, who sees which players. Basis: contract. |
| Photos and videos The proof you submit for a zone challenge. |
The game master reviews them to decide whether your team captures the zone. See section 5. Basis: contract. |
| Text and number answers For challenges that ask for a word, a count or a measurement instead of a photo. |
Same as above. Basis: contract. |
| Game events A log line each time a team becomes "it", a tag is requested, accepted or denied, or a submission is made, with a timestamp and the team, player and zone involved. |
It drives the live game feed, the end-of-game recap, and lets us work out what went wrong when a game misbehaves. Basis: needed to run the game, and our interest in a working product. |
| Device and app details Device model, operating system version, app version and build, your app language, and your time zone if you create a game. |
Compatibility and debugging, for example working out whether a bug only happens on older Android versions. It also tells the app which language to show. Basis: our interest in keeping the app working on the devices people actually own. |
| A push notification token A Firebase Cloud Messaging token that identifies your app installation. |
To send you game notifications, for example that your team became "it" or that your submission was approved. See section 8. Basis: consent, given through your device's notification permission. |
| An anonymous player ID A random identifier generated by Firebase Authentication the first time you open the app. |
It is how your device is recognised as the same player across a game. It is not linked to a Google, Apple or email account, and it tells us nothing about who you are. Basis: contract. |
| Feedback you send us Your rating, category, message, plus your name, the game code, device model, OS and app version. |
Only when you actively fill in the feedback form in the app. We use it to fix and improve things. Basis: our interest in fixing and improving the product. |
| Game master email address Only if you create a game and enter one. |
So we can reach you about that game: booking, support, the results. Players who simply join a game are never asked for an email address. Basis: contract. |
| Reports you file What you reported, who submitted it, and any note you added. |
To review and act on reports of content or behaviour that breaks our rules. See section 7. Basis: our interest in keeping the game and the people playing it safe. |
What we do not do. There is no advertising in Zone Tag and no advertising SDK. We do not use third-party analytics or tracking libraries beyond the Firebase services listed in section 9. We do not sell, rent or trade personal data. We do not profile you and there is no automated decision-making with legal or similarly significant effects.
This is the part that matters most, so here it is precisely.
Only while you are in a game that is actually running. The app does not collect, upload or store your location when no game is active, when you have left a game, or when the game has ended. There is no background collection outside of games.
Your device reads its position continuously while the game runs, but it only uploads a new position every 3 seconds in proximity mode (where tags happen automatically when players get close) or every 10 seconds in manual mode. On top of that, the app sends a small "still here" heartbeat every 30 seconds so teammates can tell an idle player from a player whose phone has died.
Only your most recent position. Each upload overwrites the previous one. The app does not keep a trail, a route or a history of where you have been. If you stop the game, the last position stays on the game record until the game data is deleted (section 11); it is not updated any further.
On Android, location sharing runs in a foreground service. That means that for as long as your location is being shared, Android shows an ongoing notification in your status bar telling you that Zone Tag is live and sharing your location with your game. It cannot be swiped away while the service is running, and that is the point: you should always be able to see at a glance that the app is sharing your position. When the game ends, or you leave the game, or you close the app's game session, the service stops and the notification disappears. If you see that notification and you are not in a game, close the app fully and please tell us.
On iOS the equivalent signal is the system location indicator (the arrow in the status bar) and iOS's own "Zone Tag has been using your location in the background" prompts.
To keep the multiplayer game in sync, participating devices receive the latest player records for that game. The app only displays positions according to these game rules:
Your position is never shown to anyone outside your game, and never published anywhere public.
You can revoke the location permission at any time in your phone's settings (Android: Settings → Apps → Zone Tag → Permissions; iOS: Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services → Zone Tag). Zone Tag cannot be meaningfully played without it: the map goes blank and you cannot submit proof. But nothing stops you.
Most zone challenges ask for a photo or a short video. To take one, the app needs access to your camera, and for video also to your microphone. Both are only used at the moment you actively record something for a submission. The app does not access your camera or microphone in the background, and it does not read your photo library other than the specific item you pick.
What happens to a submission:
Submissions are not public, are not indexed by search engines, and are not shared with anyone outside your game. We do not use your photos or videos for marketing without asking you first, in writing, per photo.
Zone Tag is played in public space, so a photo you take may include people who are not playing. That matters, and the responsibility is shared:
Zone Tag lets you report a submission and the player responsible for it from inside supported versions of the app, without leaving the game. A report records what you flagged, who submitted it, and any note you add. We review reports and can remove content, remove a player from a game, or block an installation from Zone Tag entirely. The full rules and what happens when they are broken are in the Terms of Use.
You can also block an individual player. Blocking is applied on your own device: their submissions no longer appear in your submissions list. It does not remove them from the game for other players. For that, report them, or ask your game master to remove them.
If you prefer not to use the in-app route, email support@playzonetag.com and we will look into it.
Zone Tag sends push notifications about your game: your team has become "it", someone tagged you, your submission was approved or rejected, the game has started or ended. These go through Firebase Cloud Messaging, which needs a token identifying your app installation. That token is stored on your player record and is refreshed by the operating system from time to time.
You can turn notifications off in your phone's settings. The game still works; you just find out about things by looking at your screen. Note that on Android the ongoing location notification described in section 4 is a separate, system-level thing. It stays as long as location sharing runs, because Android requires it.
We keep the list of third parties as short as we can.
| Who | What they do for us |
|---|---|
| Google Ireland Limited / Google LLC Firebase |
Our processor for essentially all app data: Firebase Authentication (your anonymous player ID), Cloud Firestore (game, player, team, submission and event records), Firebase Storage (your photos and videos), Cloud Functions (server-side game logic) and Cloud Messaging (push notifications). Google processes this on our instructions under Google's Data Processing Terms. |
| Google / Apple Maps and web fonts |
Google Maps renders the map in the Android app and Apple's MapKit does the same on iOS. Map requests go to the relevant provider. The website also downloads its fonts from Google; Google receives the technical information needed to serve those files, such as your IP address and browser details. |
| Apple / Google Play | Distribute the app and, where a store purchase is offered, process that purchase. They have their own privacy policies, and we do not receive your full payment details from them. |
| Replit, Inc. | Hosts the website, its database and the forms used for enquiries and Open Game registrations. |
| Resend | Sends confirmation and service emails for website enquiries, registrations and cancellations. The details needed for the email, such as your name and email address, are passed to Resend for that purpose. |
We do not share personal data with anyone else, unless we are legally required to, for example by a valid order from a Dutch authority. If that ever happens and we are allowed to tell you, we will.
Our data is processed and stored by Google (Firebase), which operates data centres in multiple regions, including the European Union. Google is a US-headquartered company, and some support and infrastructure operations may involve access from outside the EEA. Where that happens, the transfer is covered by the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses and Google's supplementary measures, as set out in Google's Data Processing Terms. You can ask us for a copy of the relevant safeguards.
You do not have to wait: ask us and we will delete your data sooner, unless we have a legal reason to keep it.
Zone Tag is intended for players aged 16 and over. A player under 16 may only take part with the explicit permission of a parent or legal guardian, and in a game run by a responsible adult game master.
We set the line at 16 for two reasons. First, the Netherlands applies the GDPR's maximum age of 16 for a child's own consent to online services, and Zone Tag's core function depends on consent to share live location. Second, the game is physically played on real streets and involves sharing your position with other players and taking photographs. That is not something we think a 12-year-old should agree to on their own.
Because Zone Tag has no accounts, we cannot technically verify anyone's age. What we do instead:
You can ask us to delete your Zone Tag data at any time. Email support@playzonetag.com with the game code and the name you played under. We will delete your player record, last position and submissions from that game unless we have a legal reason to keep a specific record.
Under the GDPR you can ask us to:
Because Zone Tag has no user accounts, we cannot look you up by email address. To find app data we need the game code and the name you played under. For a website registration or enquiry, tell us the email address you used.
We answer within one month. If we need longer because the request is complex, we will tell you why within that month.
If you are not happy with how we handle it, you can complain to the Dutch data protection authority, the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens, Hoge Nieuwstraat 8, 2514 EL Den Haag, autoriteitpersoonsgegevens.nl. If you live in another EU country, you can complain to your local supervisory authority instead. We would appreciate the chance to fix it first, but that is your call.
Data is encrypted in transit and at rest by our hosting providers. App access is tied to an anonymous Firebase identity and a joined game. As explained in section 4, devices in the same game synchronise the player records needed for live gameplay, while the interface limits which positions are displayed. Access to administrative tools is limited to people at Zone Tag who need it. No system is perfect; if a data breach occurs that is likely to put your rights at risk, we will notify the Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens within 72 hours and inform affected players where required.
playzonetag.com sets no advertising or tracking cookies. It stores your language choice locally in your browser so the site comes back in the right language. If you fill in a contact or quote form, we receive your name, email address and the details you enter and use them to answer you or arrange a game. If you register for an Open Game, we also store the game, number of players, optional phone number, whether you volunteered as game master and a random cancellation token. We use that information only to organise the event, contact you about it and process a cancellation. We currently run no website analytics; if that changes, this page will be updated before the tool goes live.
When we change something that matters, we update the date at the top of this page and, if the change is significant, we tell you in the app before the change takes effect. The current version always lives at playzonetag.com/privacy.html.
Zone Tag V.O.F.
Hobbemalaan 194, 1816 GH Alkmaar, Netherlands
KvK 98283863
support@playzonetag.com
Please also read our Terms of Use, which cover the rules for what you may post and how to play safely.
This policy is published in English. A Dutch translation may follow; in case of any difference, the English text is the one we work from.