Privacy Policy

Last updated: October 11, 2026

This policy explains what SERE: Evade & Survive ("SERE", "we", "us") collects, why, and the choices you have. SERE is a choose-your-own-adventure game for iPhone and Android. Questions? support@playsere.com.

The short version. SERE has no accounts and doesn’t ask for your name, email or location. Your game progress stays on your device. When you search for a place, the place name you type is sent to open geographic services (Open-Meteo and Wikipedia) to build the mission. The game shows ads through Google AdMob, which may collect device identifiers to serve and measure ads. We don’t sell your data.

1. Information we collect

Information stored only on your device

Game data: your current mission (stats, items, decisions and journal), your service record (missions flown, recoveries, best score), and the locations the app has "learned" for you.
Settings and counters: a flag that you’ve seen the intro, and a counter used to space out interstitial ads.

This data lives in your device’s local app storage. We don’t receive it, and we can’t see or recover it. Uninstalling the app removes it.

Information sent when you search for a place

When you search for a place that isn’t built in, the text you type (e.g. "Kamchatka") is sent to Open-Meteo’s geocoding API and to Wikipedia / Wikimedia to find coordinates, elevation and a short description.
Those services receive standard connection information, such as your IP address and device user-agent, as any website or API would. We don’t send them an account, advertising ID or other identifier. We don’t operate these services and don’t receive these logs.
The results (place name, coordinates, a short description and inferred terrain) are saved on your device as a learned location.

Information collected by advertising

SERE shows ads using Google AdMob. AdMob may collect and use your device’s advertising identifier (Android Advertising ID / iOS IDFA, where permitted), IP address, device and OS information, app interaction and ad-performance data, to serve, limit the frequency of, measure and secure ads, and to prevent fraud.
Where required (for example in the EEA, UK and some US states), a Google consent message asks for your choices before ads are personalised. On iOS, your device’s tracking permission also applies.

What we do not collect

No account, name, email address, phone number or payment information.
No access to your device location, contacts, photos, camera or microphone.
No analytics or crash-reporting SDK of our own.

2. How we use information

To run the game and build missions for places you search.
To show ads (including the optional rewarded ad that lets you retry your last decision) and to keep the game free.
To answer support emails you send us, using only the information you choose to include.

For users in the EEA/UK, our legal bases are performance of a contract (providing the game), legitimate interests (keeping the game free through advertising, security and fraud prevention) and consent (personalised ads and use of advertising identifiers, requested through the consent message and your device settings).

3. Service providers and third parties

Provider	Purpose
Google AdMob / Google User Messaging Platform	Banner, interstitial and rewarded ads; consent messages. See how Google uses information from apps that use its services.
Open-Meteo (geocoding API)	Looking up coordinates and elevation for a place you search. See Open-Meteo terms.
Wikipedia / Wikimedia Foundation	Looking up a short public description of a place you search. See the Wikimedia privacy policy.
Apple App Store / Google Play	Distributing the app. They process your download and device data under their own policies.

These providers process data under their own terms and policies. We don’t sell your personal information. The only sharing for advertising purposes is the AdMob mechanism described above.

4. Your choices

Ads personalisation: reset or limit your advertising identifier in your device settings (Android: Settings → Privacy → Ads; iOS: Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking / Apple Advertising), or manage Google’s settings at adssettings.google.com.
Consent message: where it is shown, you can change your choices from the privacy options provided by Google’s consent message when it is available.
Learned locations: remove any learned location in the app (the close icon on the Missions tab, or "Forget this location" on its briefing).
Delete everything: clear the app’s storage in your device settings, or uninstall the app. Because we hold no account data, there is nothing for us to delete on our servers.

5. Data retention

Game data stays on your device until you delete it or uninstall the app. Data held by AdMob, Open-Meteo and Wikimedia is retained under their own policies. Support emails are kept only as long as needed to help you.

6. Your rights

Depending on where you live (for example under GDPR, UK GDPR, or the CCPA/CPRA), you may have rights to access, correct, delete, restrict or object to the processing of personal information, to withdraw consent, and to lodge a complaint with a data protection authority. We don’t hold personal information that identifies you; to exercise rights regarding data processed by Google for advertising, use Google’s tools above. You can also contact us at support@playsere.com. We do not sell personal information and do not knowingly share it for cross-context behavioural advertising other than via AdMob as described.

7. Children

SERE is intended for teens and adults and is not directed to children under 13 (or the minimum age of digital consent in your country). We don’t knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided information, contact us and we’ll help.

8. Security

Network requests use HTTPS. Game data is kept in your device’s app-private storage and is protected by your device’s own security. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure.

9. International transfers

We are based in the United States. Third-party providers (Google, Open-Meteo, Wikimedia) may process data in the U.S. and other countries, relying on appropriate safeguards where required.

10. Changes to this policy

We’ll update this page and the "Last updated" date when this policy changes. Material changes will also be noted in the app or on this site.

11. Contact

SERE: Evade & Survive — support@playsere.com

This document is provided for transparency and is not legal advice.