THE FINE PRINT

Privacy Policy

DRAFT — pending attorney review. Last updated October 26, 2026.

1. The short version

We collect what we need to run the game — your account details, your points, and your challenge activity — and nothing we don't. We do not sell your personal information. Your public identity on the site is your alias, never your real name or email.

2. Your account

When you create an account, we store:

• Your alias — the name other players see, including on the leaderboard. Never use your email address as your alias.
• Your first and last name — stored on your account and displayed nowhere on the site. Your public identity is your alias only.
• Your email address — used to sign you in and to contact you about your account. It is not shown publicly.
• Your password — stored only as a secure cryptographic hash. We never see or store it in plain text.

3. Optional information

Two things are entirely up to you:

• Home State — if you add it, we use it to personalize the map and your state standings.
• Birthday (month and day) — if you add it, checking in at a restaurant on your birthday earns the Birthday Egg. We never ask for your birth year.

4. Challengers Online

While you are signed in and browsing the map, the site keeps a lightweight "online" heartbeat so the game knows you're around. That record holds your account, your home state (if you set one), and when you were last seen. It is visible only to site administrators — other players never see it.

5. Points and donations

Every point you earn, spend, or donate is written to a points ledger tied to your account — that's how your balance and the leaderboard work. When you donate points, they become a real donation at 100 points = $1 to the food bank of your choice, and we keep records of every donation (see also the Terms of Use).

6. Photos you upload

Photo uploads are gated by your permission: signing up asks you to confirm it, and the upload form asks again each time you share a photo (Terms of Use, §3). Photos you upload may be displayed on the site and our social channels as part of running the challenge. Don't upload photos you don't own or don't have permission to share.

7. Restaurants and creators

Restaurant information on this site — names, addresses, phone numbers, and challenge details — is public business information, shown so players can find and visit them. Creators' private contact details are never displayed on any page.

8. Maps data

Our maps are our own, but the location data behind them — coordinates and address details for restaurant pins — comes from the Google Maps Platform (Geocoding and Places). When you use the map's location features, your browser may share your location with us to show what's near you; we don't store a history of where you've been.

9. What we don't do

• We do not sell your personal information.
• We do not display your real name or email address anywhere public.
• We do not ask for information the game doesn't use.

10. Your choices and contact

You can update your home state and profile details from your profile page at any time. To ask what we hold about you, correct it, or delete your account, contact us at bitemechallenge@gmail.com or call 1-800-BITEME1 (1-800-248-3631).