CitySoul

Privacy Policy · Политика конфиденциальности · updated 15 September 2026

What CitySoul is

CitySoul is a city-walk app: tap a building on the map or point the camera at it to read its story, collect badges hidden in buildings and follow walking routes by guides. The app is operated by Maxim Motin (sole developer). Contact: mm@cicada-mm.com.

Your guest profile

The server creates a guest profile with a random player ID. Your nickname, contributions, guide application contact details, game progress and route access are linked to this profile. The website uses a necessary HttpOnly session cookie, valid for up to 90 days. The iPhone app stores its session credential in Keychain; it may survive app deletion and reinstallation. A private recovery code lets you restore the profile on another device. Keep this code secret. Restoring rotates the code and signs out previous sessions; it does not automatically link your profile to an Apple ID.

Data we process

  • Location. When you open a building story or use the camera mode, the app sends your coordinates (which may be precise), reported accuracy and, where available, heading or speed to our server together with the player ID. This is used only to check that you are near the building (badges, hints, route progress) and to detect GPS spoofing. The camera location session stops when its tab is closed or the app enters the background. Nearby catalogue requests include the map viewport or the area around your position. If you enable Google Geospatial, Google also processes precise location as described below.
  • Camera. The app can identify buildings using on-device geometry, GPS and compass. Google ARCore Geospatial is optional: before enabling it, the app asks for your choice and explains that Google processes camera video and precise location for localisation. Declining keeps GPS and compass available. You can change this choice using the camera location button. CitySoul does not upload the live camera feed to its own story server; photos you choose to submit are uploaded separately.
  • Content you submit. Stories, photos and route texts you send for publication are stored on our server, screened automatically (when AI moderation is enabled, submitted text and context are sent to Anthropic) and reviewed by moderators; published content is visible to other users under the nickname you choose.
  • Purchases. Guide routes are sold through Apple In-App Purchase. We receive the signed transaction from Apple to unlock the route; we never see your payment details.
  • Game data. Points, levels, badges, streaks, referral codes and moderation votes are stored on our server against the player ID.
  • Technical logs. The application server uses operational and error messages; hosting and reverse-proxy services may also process IP addresses and request metadata. Their logging and retention depend on deployment settings. The application does not enforce a universal 30-day access-log retention period.

Third parties

Map tiles are loaded from OpenFreeMap / OpenStreetMap; walking paths between route stops are requested from the public OSRM routing service at routing.openstreetmap.de using the stops' own coordinates, never yours; if Google Maps is configured, map requests go to Google. With your Geospatial choice enabled, Google processes camera video and precise location. These providers also receive the network metadata needed to serve requests. See Google’s privacy policy and Anthropic’s privacy policy. Audio narration files are static and are served from our server. We do not use advertising SDKs or analytics trackers.

Retention and deletion

Server data tied to your player ID is kept while you use the app. You can delete your profile at any time inside the app: My collection → Profile and data → Delete profile. Deletion takes effect immediately and erases your nickname, game progress, points, badges and stored positions, referral code, the text, links and photos of stories you submitted, guide application details (name, bio, contact, licence), the recovery code and all sessions. Apple purchase records we must keep for accounting stay on the server without your nickname; routes you published as a guide stay available to their buyers without your contact details; anonymous counters (for example, how many people opened a building) are not linked to you. Encrypted server backups rotate out within 48 hours. If you cannot open the app, e-mail mm@cicada-mm.com with your player ID. Never send your recovery code.

Reports and blocking. Any reader can report a published story; a story reported by several readers is hidden until a moderator reviews it. You can also hide all stories by an author on your device.

Children

CitySoul is not directed at children under 13 and does not knowingly collect their data.

Changes

Updates to this policy are published at this address with a new date.