fathom

Privacy Policy

Last updated: October 2026

Who is responsible

Fathom is made by Nicolay Kjærnet, an independent developer in Norway, who is responsible for your personal data (the data controller). You'll find the contact address at the end of this page.

What we collect, and why

We collect as little as the game needs. After each item is the legal basis under the GDPR.

• Account — Your email address and password if you sign up with email (the password is only stored as a hash), or your name, email address and picture from Google or Apple if you sign in with them. Sign-ins are logged with their IP address for security. Used to sign you in and keep your progress. (basis: contract)
• Profile — Your display name, picture, and the country and region looked up from your connection (see Country). (basis: contract)
• Progress and games — Scores, finished games, streaks and spaced-repetition data. Without an account they stay on your device; with one they are also stored in our database so they follow you between devices. (basis: contract)
• What other players see — Unless you switch off "Show me to other players" in your account: your name, picture, country and results in the activity feed, on leaderboards and on your profile page, where other players can also follow you. Your profile also shows your progress in each region. Challenge links you share show the name you gave them. With the switch off, you appear as an anonymous player and your profile is private. (basis: contract)
• Playing without an account — Your progress stays on your device. Finished games appear in the activity feed under a random animal alias that changes with each browser tab, together with your country; nothing links them to you. (basis: legitimate interest)
• Country — Your country is looked up from the connection, without storing your IP address or using GPS. It picks the country a continent opens on in the menu. With an account, your country and region are saved in your profile, shown on it and used for the country and regional leaderboards. Without an account, it is only saved with finished games in the activity feed. (basis: legitimate interest)
• Usage statistics — Which screens you open and which buttons you use, which quizzes you start and finish, scores and time spent, whether ads load and how long they're on screen, and once per visit the platform, type of device, language, time zone, the site that sent you and your country. It is used only to understand how the game is played — what players start with, what they do next and where they stop — so we can make it better over time. It is never sold or used to target ads. Nothing is stored on your device for this, and we don't use Google Analytics or other tracking tools. If you're signed in, it's linked to your account. You can object. (basis: legitimate interest)
• Error reports — When something goes wrong, Sentry receives the error together with your browser and operating system, so we can fix it. It is set up not to store your IP address. (basis: legitimate interest)
• Emails — Emails about your account, such as confirming it or resetting your password. Emails when someone follows you or beats your record, which you can turn off in your account. News about Fathom only if you turn it on. Every email can be unsubscribed from. (basis: contract; consent for news)
• Payments — Premium is paid through Stripe on the website, and through Apple or Google in the apps. We never see your card details, only that you have paid. (basis: contract)
• Ads — The free version of the iOS and Android apps shows ads from Google AdMob. In the EEA, the UK and Switzerland, Google asks for your consent before showing personalised ads, and on iPhone, Apple asks whether apps may track you. Without consent, ads aren't personalised. The website has no ads. (basis: consent)
• Feedback — What you write in the feedback form, the page and quiz you were on, and your browser and screen size, so we can find the problem. If you're signed in, your account too, so we can follow up. (basis: legitimate interest)

What we don't do

• We don't sell your data
• We don't track you across other websites or apps
• We don't use cookies for analytics, and the website sets no ad cookies
• We don't use fingerprinting

Storage on your device

Fathom keeps your progress, settings and daily-challenge streak in your browser's local storage, because the game needs them. They stay on your device unless you create an account, and you can delete them in your browser settings.

Who processes data for us

These services process data on our behalf, under data processing agreements. Some are based in the United States; those transfers are covered by the EU–U.S. Data Privacy Framework or the EU's standard contractual clauses.

• Supabase — sign-in and database
• Cloudflare — hosting, content delivery and looking up your country
• Sentry — error reports
• Resend — sending emails
• Stripe — payments on the website
• RevenueCat — purchases in the apps
• Google — sign-in with Google, purchases in the Android app and ads in the apps (AdMob)
• Apple — sign-in with Apple and purchases in the iOS app

How long we keep it

• Your account, profile, progress and games: until you delete your account
• Usage statistics: 13 months
• Anonymous games in the activity feed: 90 days
• Notifications and the record of emails sent: 1 year
• Feedback: 2 years
• Error reports: up to 90 days
• Payment records: as long as accounting law requires (5 years in Norway)

Your rights

You can:

• Play without creating an account
• Delete your account and all associated data, in the app under Account
• Get a copy of your data, also in a machine-readable format
• Have incorrect data corrected
• Object to processing based on legitimate interest, such as usage statistics, or ask us to restrict it
• Withdraw your consent at any time

Write to the address below and we'll answer within a month. You can also complain to the Norwegian Data Protection Authority (Datatilsynet) or the authority where you live.

Children

You must be at least 13 to create an account. Younger children can play without one.

Changes

When this policy changes, the date at the top changes too.

Contact

Questions about privacy? Reach us at [email protected]