Privacy Policy

Where applicable under the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), we process personal information based on one or more of the following legal grounds:

• Performance of a contract
• User consent
• Compliance with legal obligations
• Legitimate interests related to operating, improving, securing, developing, and maintaining the Services

We use personal information to:

• Provide, operate, and maintain the Services
• Process species identification and related functionality
• Enable gameplay systems, progression, rewards, rankings, streaks, and challenges
• Personalize user experiences
• Improve app and website performance, stability, and reliability
• Monitor and analyze usage trends
• Develop new features and platform functionality
• Support community and social features
• Display discoveries and related gameplay activity
• Send notifications related to gameplay, discoveries, challenges, updates, and platform functionality
• Prevent fraud, abuse, spam, and unauthorized activity
• Moderate content and maintain platform integrity
• Respond to support requests and inquiries
• Comply with legal obligations

Speciefy uses artificial intelligence and automated systems to support functionality such as:

• Species identification
• Image analysis
• Audio analysis
• Discovery categorization
• Gameplay and recommendation systems
• Species-related analysis and optimization

Uploaded content, species discoveries, and related metadata may be processed using automated technologies in order to operate, improve, optimize, and develop the Services.

AI-generated identifications, classifications, and recommendations are provided for informational, educational, and entertainment purposes only and may not always be accurate.

Users should not rely solely on the Services for medical, scientific, safety-critical, survival-related, or professional decisions, including decisions related to edible, poisonous, dangerous, protected, or otherwise sensitive species.

Empathix AS does not guarantee the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or safety of species identifications or related information provided through the Services. Use of the Services and any actions taken based on species identifications or related content are solely at the user’s own risk.

Speciefy is designed around species discoveries, exploration, gameplay, and community-driven nature experiences.

Users acknowledge that certain activities and content within the Services may be visible to other users as part of gameplay, social, and community functionality. This may include:

• Usernames
• Avatar selections and profile-related information
• Species discoveries
• Species cards
• Uploaded discovery images
• Achievements, rankings, XP, streaks, and progression
• Challenge participation
• Special or notable discoveries
• Public activity within feeds, maps, leaderboards, rankings, or community sections

Users may choose to share discoveries, species cards, achievements, gameplay activity, or other content from the Services through social media platforms, messaging services, or other third-party channels. Content shared outside the Services becomes subject to the terms, privacy policies, and practices of those third-party platforms.

Species discoveries, species-related metadata, geolocation data associated with discoveries, gameplay activity, and related User Content may be processed, analyzed, displayed, aggregated, and used in connection with:

• Species identification and verification
• Gameplay systems and progression features
• Community feeds and social functionality
• Public profiles, rankings, achievements, and challenges
• Special discoveries and notable findings
• Maps, trends, statistics, and species-related insights
• Product development and platform improvement
• Environmental insights and research-related functionality
• AI training, optimization, and species-related analysis
• Safety, moderation, fraud prevention, and technical operations

Where reasonably possible, environmental insights, analytics, and species-related trends are generated using aggregated, anonymized, or de-identified data.

Speciefy may, where appropriate, use aggregated, anonymized, or de-identified species-related data and environmental insights to support biodiversity research, environmental initiatives, conservation efforts, species-related analysis, and collaborations with research institutions, environmental organizations, public agencies, or global biodiversity databases.

Certain discoveries, usernames, achievements, rankings, profile information, or species-related activity may be visible to other users as part of gameplay, leaderboard, challenge, community, or social functionality.

Certain location data related to sensitive, protected, or vulnerable species may be limited, generalized, delayed, or withheld in order to support environmental protection, biodiversity preservation, and species safety.

Users are responsible for ensuring that uploaded content does not violate the rights, privacy, or safety of others.

Speciefy encourages outdoor exploration and nature-related activities.

Users are responsible for their own safety, decisions, actions, surroundings, and conduct while using the Services.

Empathix AS is not responsible for injuries, accidents, wildlife encounters, allergic reactions, environmental hazards, terrain conditions, weather conditions, property damage, trespassing, or other incidents that may occur in connection with use of the Services or participation in outdoor activities.

Users are responsible for complying with applicable laws, local regulations, land access rules, and safety recommendations while using the Services.

Users retain ownership of content submitted through the Services (“User Content”).

By uploading or submitting User Content through Speciefy, users grant Empathix AS a worldwide, non-exclusive, transferable, sublicensable, royalty-free license to host, store, process, analyze, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, display, distribute, and use User Content and related species data in connection with:

• Operating and maintaining the Services
• Species identification and AI-powered analysis
• Gameplay systems, progression, rewards, and challenges
• Community and social functionality
• Discovery tracking and species-related features
• Product development and platform improvement
• Analytics, research, environmental insights, and aggregated species-related trends
• Safety, moderation, fraud prevention, and technical operations

Users acknowledge that species discoveries, species-related metadata, anonymized usage data, and related content may be processed and used to improve the Services and support species-related functionality and environmental insights.

Users are responsible for ensuring they have the necessary rights to upload and share User Content through the Services.

We use trusted third-party service providers to support operation of the Services, including providers related to:

• Cloud infrastructure and hosting
• Authentication and account management
• Analytics and performance monitoring
• Payment processing and subscriptions
• Artificial intelligence and automated processing
• Security, fraud prevention, and platform operations

These third-party providers may process limited information necessary to perform services on our behalf and operate under their own privacy policies and security standards.

We do not sell personal information.

We may share information only in the following circumstances:

• With service providers supporting operation of the Services
• When required by applicable law or legal process
• To protect the rights, safety, security, or integrity of users, the Services, or third parties
• In connection with a merger, acquisition, financing, restructuring, or sale of assets
• With user consent or at the user’s direction

Aggregated, anonymized, or de-identified species-related data and environmental insights may also be shared with research institutions, environmental organizations, conservation initiatives, public agencies, or biodiversity-related platforms for purposes related to environmental research, biodiversity understanding, conservation, and species-related insights.

We may also use aggregated, anonymized, or de-identified information for analytics, environmental insights, research, species-related trends, AI optimization, and platform improvement purposes.

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary to:

• Provide and maintain the Services
• Fulfill the purposes described in this Privacy Policy
• Resolve disputes
• Enforce agreements
• Comply with legal obligations

Users may delete their account directly through the Services or by contacting us using the information provided below.

Certain information may be retained where required for legal obligations, security purposes, fraud prevention, dispute resolution, enforcement of agreements, or protection of platform integrity.

Certain aggregated, anonymized, or de-identified species-related data may be retained for analytics, environmental insights, conservation-related purposes, research, platform integrity, or historical trend analysis.

Empathix AS implements reasonable technical and organizational safeguards designed to protect personal information against unauthorized access, misuse, alteration, disclosure, or destruction.

However, no method of internet transmission or electronic storage can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

Empathix AS reserves the right to review, moderate, restrict, remove, or disable content, discoveries, accounts, or activity that violates applicable laws, platform rules, community standards, or the integrity of the Services.

This may include fraudulent discoveries, abusive behavior, spam, manipulation of gameplay systems, misleading content, or activity that may negatively impact users, species protection efforts, or platform integrity.

Speciefy is intended to be family-friendly, but the Services are not directed toward children under the age of 13 without parental involvement where required by applicable law.

Parents and guardians are responsible for supervising children’s use of the Services. If we become aware that personal information has been collected from a child in violation of applicable law, we may take steps to delete the information.

Information may be processed and stored in countries outside the user’s country of residence, including countries that may have different data protection laws.

Where required, Empathix AS will take reasonable measures intended to ensure appropriate safeguards for international data transfers.

Depending on applicable law, users may have rights regarding their personal information, including the right to:

• Access personal information
• Correct inaccurate information
• Request deletion
• Restrict or object to processing
• Request portability of information
• Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent

Requests may be submitted using the contact information below.

Empathix AS may update this Privacy Policy from time to time.

Updated versions will be made available through the Services or on our website together with an updated revision date.

Continued use of the Services after changes become effective constitutes acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy.

If you have questions regarding this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact: