Privacy

Scout: Old Ways Explorer · Last updated 6 November 2026

Scout is in beta. This page will be expanded before release. Here is how it works today.

• Your location stays on your phone. Scout uses it to show history near you. It isn't sent to us or anyone else, and there's no usage dataset.
• No ads, no tracking, no analytics.
• Photos: the lens and Relic ID work on your phone. If you choose an Expert scan, that one photo is sent to RWD's server to be read, then deleted.
• Optional account: if you sign in, your scan balance, unlocked regions and an end-to-end encrypted field log follow you. Saved find spots stay out of the backup unless you switch them in.
• Beacon: if you tell your circle where you're exploring, Scout opens Beacon with a rough area and a back-by time. You confirm it in Beacon.

The sections below explain each of these in more detail.

Who we are

Scout: Old Ways Explorer (“Scout”) is made by RWD Industries LLC (“RWD”, “we”), a software company in Texas, USA. Questions about this policy or your data go to contact@rwd-industries.com.

Your location

• Scout uses your location on the phone to show nearby stories, Lore Zone alerts, the rules for the area you’re in, and compass directions. That work happens on the phone, against region packs stored on the phone.
• Your location is never sent to RWD, and we don’t collect, sell, share or build any dataset of where people go.
• Background location is optional. It’s used only in Explore mode, which you turn on, and it ends when you close Scout. You can turn location off in your phone’s settings at any time; Scout still works as a map and reader.
• Downloading a region pack tells our server which pack you asked for, not where you are.

Photos and sound

• On the phone: the translation lens and Relic ID read photos on your phone. Those photos never leave the phone unless you save or share them yourself.
• Expert scans (optional): when you ask for an Expert scan, that one photo is sent once, encrypted in transit, to RWD’s server. Our server has it read by our AI provider, which processes it only to return the result to you, and then the photo is deleted. RWD doesn’t keep a copy and doesn’t use your photos to train anything. If you’re offline, the photo waits on your phone until you send it.
• Strike Analyzer: sound from the microphone is analysed live on the phone. It is never recorded, stored or uploaded, and the microphone stops when you leave that screen.
• Scout asks for camera and microphone access only when you open a tool that needs it, and explains why first.

Purchases

Region unlocks, the USA Pass and Expert scans are bought through Apple’s App Store or Google Play. Apple or Google handle your payment; we never see your card details. RWD’s server (our Firebase project, scout-rwd, hosted by Google Cloud) receives only the purchase receipt so it can unlock what you bought. It never receives your location.

Optional account

• You don’t need an account. If you want your purchases and field log on another phone, you can sign in with Apple or Google.
• If you sign in, we store an account identifier from Apple or Google, your Expert scan balance, your unlocked regions, and your field log backup.
• The field log backup is end-to-end encrypted on your phone before it’s uploaded, so RWD can’t read it.
• Saved find spots are left out of the backup by default. They’re included only if you switch them in.
• You can delete your account in Scout’s settings, or by emailing us. That deletes your account data from our server.

Beacon and other RWD apps

• Beacon Family Locator: if you choose “Tell my circle where I’m exploring”, Scout passes Beacon a rough trip area (about 1 km cells, never a site’s exact spot), your back-by time and any note you add. You see it and confirm it in Beacon before anything is shared. From then on Beacon’s own privacy policy applies: rwd-industries.com/beacon/privacy.
• Other RWD apps you connect in Settings › Connected RWD apps get only what you confirm at the moment you tap.

Ads, analytics and tracking

Scout has no ads, no analytics and no tracking, and includes no advertising or tracking code. We don’t sell or share personal information. If we ever add anything like gear suggestions, we’ll update this page first; it would be clearly labelled as an ad, would never use your location, and would never be shown to anyone under 18.

Age

Scout is for people aged 13 and over. On first launch it asks a neutral birth-year question; only an age band is kept, on your phone. Scout isn’t available to anyone under 13, and we don’t knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you think a child has given us information, email us and we’ll delete it.

Reports and corrections

If you send a field report, a “Suggest a correction” or a “Report this result”, we receive what you write and any photo you attach, and use it to check and improve Scout’s information. Reports are moderated. We don’t attach your location unless you choose to include a place in the report.

This website

scout.rwd-industries.com sets no cookies and uses no analytics, trackers or third-party fonts or scripts. Our host, Vercel, keeps standard server logs (such as IP address and browser type) for a short time for security and reliability.

Your choices and rights

You can ask us what information we hold about you, ask us to correct or delete it, or ask any other privacy question by emailing contact@rwd-industries.com. Depending on where you live, including Texas, you may have rights under state privacy law; we honour them for everyone. We’ll reply within 45 days.

Security and changes

Data sent to our server is encrypted in transit. We keep only what this page describes, for as long as it’s needed. If we change this policy we’ll update the date above, and tell you in the app if the change is significant.

Questions: contact@rwd-industries.com