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Locatour FAQ

Common questions about playing Locatour. Can’t find what you need? Reach us at support@hatchet.com.au.

Locatour is a real-world exploration game. You physically visit public, non-commercial places — parks, lookouts, beaches, trails — check in with your phone’s location and a photo, and earn experience that unlocks more of the map, including hidden places. See What is Locatour?.

Yes. Locatour is free to play, and every location is a public, non-commercial place that’s free to visit.

You have to physically be at a place to check in. When you arrive, the app uses your phone’s GPS to confirm you’re there, and you take a live photo in the app. That earns you experience and saves the moment to your history. More in Photo check-ins.

Why do I have to take a photo to check in?

Section titled “Why do I have to take a photo to check in?”

The photo is your memento of the visit, saved to your personal history, and it’s part of marking that you were genuinely present. It also helps keep the game fair, so levels and achievements mean something.

Keep exploring and levelling up. Fragile, unpublicised places are gated behind progression and appear on your map as you reach higher levels. Visiting a wide variety of places is the surest way to climb. See Hidden locations.

Does Locatour track my location in the background?

Section titled “Does Locatour track my location in the background?”

Not by default. Out of the box, Locatour uses your location only at the moment you check in. Background location is used only if you choose to turn on Nearby alerts — and even then your position is matched against nearby spots on your device, never recorded as a trail or shared.

An optional, opt-in feature that gives you a gentle notification when you wander near a Locatour spot — even with the app closed — and earns you a permanent +20% points bonus on every check-in. It’s off by default, sips battery, is strictly throttled so it never spams you, and can be switched off any time. See Nearby alerts.

No. Locatour does not sell your personal data, and it does not send you to businesses or sell your attention to advertisers. See Your data & security.

Yes. You can request deletion of your account and associated data — see the Privacy Policy for how.

A check-in won’t go through — what do I do?

Section titled “A check-in won’t go through — what do I do?”

It’s almost always something simple: get closer to the exact spot, step into the open for a better GPS signal, make sure location is enabled, or wait until you’re back online. See the tips in Photo check-ins.