Terms of use

Scout: Old Ways Explorer · Last updated 6 November 2026

These terms are an agreement between you and RWD Industries LLC (“RWD”, “we”), a Texas company, for the Scout: Old Ways Explorer app (“Scout”) and this website. By using Scout you agree to them. They’re written to be read; please do.

1. The field code

Scout shows history; you're responsible for where you dig and what the law says there.

• Protected places are look-only. Scout shows them as blurred areas and never routes you inside. Don’t dig, detect or take anything there.
• Private land needs a yes. Get the landowner’s permission before you go on, and before you dig or detect.
• On Texas public land, historic objects belong to the State: look, photograph, report.
• Graves and human remains are never disturbed. If you think you’ve found remains, stop, leave them where they are, and call local law enforcement.
• You’re in charge of your safety. Check tides, weather and footing, and tell someone where you’re going.

2. Information, not legal advice

Scout shows history, maps and the rules it knows for an area, with the date they were last checked. That’s general information, not legal advice, and it isn’t permission to do anything. Rules change, boundaries on the ground can differ from the map, and an area’s rules may not be in Scout at all. Scout never tells you that digging or detecting is allowed in general; whether you can depends on the land, the landowner and the law where you are.

3. Your responsibility for permission and the law

You alone are responsible for where you go and what you do there, including getting permission and following every law that applies. For example:

• Trespass. Entering or staying on private land without the owner’s permission can be a crime. Permission reminders in Scout are on by default; switching them off doesn’t change what the law requires.
• Texas. The Texas Antiquities Code (Natural Resources Code chapter 191) protects historic and archeological sites and objects on land owned or controlled by the State of Texas and its political subdivisions, including the State’s Gulf waters and submerged lands. Investigating or removing anything there needs a permit from the Texas Historical Commission. State Antiquities Landmarks and state parks have their own rules.
• Federal land and waters. Federal law, including the Archaeological Resources Protection Act, protects archeological resources on federal and tribal land and bans trafficking in them. Metal detectors aren’t allowed in national parks, and federal law also protects certain shipwrecks and marine sanctuaries.
• Burial laws. State and federal laws protect graves, cemeteries and human remains.

4. Accuracy

Scout’s information comes from public-domain and licensed archives, official sources and moderated field reports. Every place shows how sure Scout is; hand-checked places carry a Verified stamp; and every place has “Suggest a correction”. Even so, old records are often wrong, incomplete or imprecise, and we can’t guarantee that any information is accurate, complete or current. Scout doesn’t promise that you’ll find anything.

5. Field tools and AI results

• Relic ID, the translation lens, Terrain Reveal, Ghosting, Strike Analyzer and Waypoint Projector give estimates and second opinions, with a confidence level. They can be wrong. Use “Report this result” if one looks off.
• Relic ID is an estimate, not an appraisal. It doesn’t give prices or values, and it isn’t an expert identification or authentication.
• Ghosting models are reconstructions, labelled with their sources, not exact records of what stood there.
• Don’t use a field tool while driving, or in a way that takes your attention off where you’re walking.

6. Assumption of risk

Exploring outdoors carries real risks, including water, tides, weather, heat, uneven or unstable ground, old structures, wildlife, and being far from help. You take on those risks when you go. Scout isn’t a safety or navigation device and doesn’t replace preparation, local knowledge or common sense. A Beacon Check In can tell your circle if you’re late, but it isn’t an emergency service; in an emergency, call 911.

7. Purchases

• Regions ($9.99 each) and the USA Pass ($49.99, all regions) are one-time purchases. There’s no subscription.
• Expert scans are consumable: 3 are free, then 10 for $4.99. They don’t expire, and a scan is used only when Scout returns a result.
• All purchases go through Apple’s App Store or Google Play and follow that store’s terms. Refunds are handled by the store under its own refund policy. Use Restore Purchases to get region unlocks back on a new phone; sign in if you want your Expert scan balance to follow you.
• Prices may change for future purchases; what you’ve already bought stays yours.

8. Acceptable use

Don’t use Scout to:

• disturb, dig in, damage or remove anything from protected sites, graves, cemeteries or human remains;
• trespass, or help anyone else to;
• buy, sell or trade objects taken from protected land;
• post false, misleading or harmful field reports, or anyone else’s personal information;
• copy, scrape or resell Scout’s content, or get around its protections, such as blurred areas or purchase checks.

We may suspend accounts or remove content that breaks these terms.

9. Your reports

When you send a field report, correction or photo, you give RWD permission to use, edit and show it in Scout to improve its information. Reports are moderated, and we may decline or remove any of them. Don’t send anything you don’t have the right to share.

10. Disclaimers and limits

To the extent the law allows, Scout is provided “as is”, without warranties of any kind, and RWD isn’t liable for indirect or consequential losses, fines or penalties, or injury or damage arising from your use of Scout or from the places you visit. Our total liability to you is limited to what you paid for Scout in the 12 months before the claim. Some places don’t allow these limits, so they may not all apply to you.

11. Age

Scout is for people aged 13 and over. If you’re under 18, use Scout with a parent or guardian’s permission, and explore with an adult.

12. General

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Texas and applicable federal law. If we change them, we’ll update the date above and tell you in the app if the change is significant. Questions: contact@rwd-industries.com. How we handle your data is in the privacy policy.