Help & FAQ
Contact
E-mail: support@triviaspot.app
The App is run by one individual developer. We are keen to improve it and to answer questions, but we cannot promise to meet every request. The service may end in the future (we will normally announce it in the App at least 30 days in advance).
I don't get notifications
First open Settings → "Not getting notifications? (check)" in the App. It shows your permissions and the recent reasons why no notification was sent. Then please check:
- In your phone settings, TriviaSpot has notifications on and location access set to "Always"
- In the App settings, "Send trivia automatically" is on and it is not during quiet hours
- You have not reached the daily limit (1 in the free version, 6 with Premium; counted by your phone's date, starting again at midnight). There is also a gap of at least 30 minutes between notifications (15 minutes while Premium "Travel mode" is on. Near a place you were notified about (within about 500 m), no new notification comes until 60 minutes after that notification, and when your position moves more than 500 m at once, for example by subway, the gap stays 30 minutes even in travel mode until the next notification, also where you walk on from there)
- The same place is not notified again for 7 days. Also check "Places without notifications"
- If you swipe the App away, automatic notifications stop. Open the App once to restart them
- On Android, battery optimisation may block the App. Open Settings → Apps → TriviaSpot → Battery and choose "Unrestricted" (or "Don't optimise")
- Some Android phone makers (such as Xiaomi, OPPO and Huawei) add their own power-saving features that stop apps. In the phone's Settings, allow TriviaSpot to "auto-start" or to "run in the background" (the names differ by maker)
- In power-saving modes (Low Power Mode on iPhone, Battery Saver on Android) notifications may arrive up to about 15 minutes late
- After restarting the phone, an iPhone delivers notifications only after you unlock it once
- While moving faster than walking, no notifications are sent. Stay in one place for about 5 minutes
- Right after travelling by subway or through an underground passage, you may not get a notification at the place you arrive at. Underground the phone cannot tell where you are, so the App cannot tell a real move from a position error, and it holds back rather than risk trivia for the wrong place. It may also hold back in other places where the position is unclear, such as inside buildings
- Some places and regions have fewer trivia (or none yet). When the AI found nothing new to tell about a place, no new trivia is created there for about 30 days (trivia you have not received yet still arrives). New trivia can be created only a set number of times a day (once in the free version, 6 times with Premium). When that is used up, places that have no trivia yet, or whose trivia you have all received, get no notification until the count starts again (see "What is “New trivia left today”?" below). Also, while creating new trivia is paused because of heavy use, places that have no trivia yet get no notification (a notice appears on the home screen)
- In countries and regions our AI provider (Anthropic) does not support, no trivia arrives, even while you are travelling (see "No trivia in some countries and regions" below)
Even where no notification came, you can open the App and tap "Show trivia for where I am" to look for trivia for that place.
No trivia in some countries and regions
In countries and regions that our AI provider (Anthropic) does not support (such as mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao, Russia and Ukraine, and also some islands and territories with a code of their own, such as Puerto Rico and Guam), no trivia arrives because of Anthropic's rules, even while you are travelling. No automatic notification comes (and no error notification either). When you tap "Show trivia for where I am" or Premium "See new trivia", the App shows "Trivia isn't available in this country or region (our AI provider doesn't support it here)." You can still look at your history and change settings.
This is decided by the two-letter country or region code. Anthropic excludes some regions of Ukraine, which the code cannot tell apart from the rest of the country, so trivia is not available anywhere in Ukraine.
When Premium "See new trivia" looks for trivia about a place saved in your history (a place where you received trivia before), it is judged by that place and also by the country or region you are in now (for example, tapping it on the screen of trivia about Tokyo shows the same message while you are in one of these countries or regions). So in that case the App uses your location to check where you are (location access is needed, as for "Show trivia for where I am"). Only the two-letter code of the country or region (e.g. JP for Japan) is sent to our server, never your latitude and longitude.
On Android, a "Looking for trivia nearby" notification stays on
On Android, while automatic notifications are on, a "Looking for trivia nearby (battery saving)" notification stays on screen. Android requires it so that the App can check, even when it is closed, whether you have stayed in one place for about 5 minutes. Location is checked in a way that saves battery. To remove it, turn off "Send trivia automatically" in the App's Settings ("Show trivia for where I am" still works).
I don't want notifications at a certain place
Use the "Don't notify me here" button on the notification or on the trivia screen. You can undo it in Settings → Places without notifications.
The trivia is wrong or about the wrong place
Use "Report a mistake" on the trivia screen. Content reported by several users is hidden automatically and reviewed. Every trivia screen ends with: "This text was written by AI. It may include legends or rumours. If you spot a mistake, please let us know with “Report a mistake”."
Trivia is written by AI from the place names alone, using the AI's own knowledge. Nobody checks it before you see it, so it may contain mistakes. To make it fun for visitors, it also covers little-known stories, legends and rumours. We instruct the AI to word anything uncertain as such ("is said to", "legend has it", "rumour has it"). If something uncertain is still written as a fact, please tell us with "Report a mistake".
If an automatic notification came for a place you were not at, choose "I got this for a place I was not at (my position was off)" under "Report a mistake". We use it to make position mistakes rarer (it does not count as a mistake in the trivia itself).
Can the same trivia come again at the same place?
At the same place, you get trivia other than the ones you received there before (the App remembers which trivia you received at each place and tells our server). When you have received all the trivia of a place, a new one is created (within the daily limit for creating new trivia and the AI budget; when the AI finds nothing new to tell, none is created there for about 30 days). The same trivia can still come again:
- if you received it before the history the App keeps (up to 300 items, 180 days)
- after "Delete all history" or "Delete all data on this phone"
Tapping "Show trivia for where I am" again at the same place on the same day shows the trivia you saw there that day again, in the free version and with Premium alike (Premium "See new trivia" shows a different one).
Premium "See new trivia"
With Premium, the home screen and the trivia screen have a "See new trivia" button. It brings you trivia of the place that you have not received yet (including trivia first made for other users). The AI creates new trivia only when there is none left that you have not received.
What is "New trivia left today"?
The AI can create new trivia for each phone only a set number of times a day: once in the free version, 6 times with Premium. It is one count, whether the trivia is created for an automatic notification, for "Show trivia for where I am" or for "See new trivia". Bringing you trivia you have not received yet uses none of it, and neither does an attempt where the AI found nothing new or failed. With Premium, the number you can still create today is shown next to "See new trivia".
This count follows our server's day, which starts at 00:00 UTC (9:00 in Japan), so it starts again at that time rather than at your phone's midnight (once some of it is used, the App also shows when it starts again, for example "Back to 6 tomorrow at 9:00 AM", unless that time is midnight on your phone). The daily limit on automatic notifications (1 in the free version, 6 with Premium) is separate and follows your phone's date.
When the count is 0 and the place has no trivia you have not received yet, no new trivia can be brought (the App shows "You have seen all the trivia for this place, and no more new trivia can be made today."). Please try again after the count starts again. While creating new trivia is paused because of heavy use, it may not be possible even with some count left (a notice appears on the home screen).
Requests to remove content (also for non-users)
If you are a shop or facility owner, a person mentioned in trivia, or anyone else, you can ask us to remove content. Please e-mail us:
- The headline or text of the trivia (a screenshot too, if you have one)
- The place (the place name shown in the App)
- Why you want it removed (for example, it is wrong or harms someone's reputation)
We normally hide it within 3 business days and then review it. If it is wrong or harms someone's reputation, we also stop creating new trivia for that place. Hidden trivia is also marked "withdrawn" in the App of people who already received it, when they open the App, and it can no longer be shared (except on phones where the App is not opened within 30 days after it was hidden). We use your e-mail address and message only to handle your request.
How is my location handled?
Your latitude and longitude are never sent to our server or the AI (place names are looked up with the phone's built-in Apple / Google service). Only place names such as "Asakusa, Taito" are sent to our server to create trivia (when Premium "See new trivia" looks for trivia about a place saved in your history, the two-letter code of the country or region you are in now is sent too). Our server passes the place names only to the provider of the AI that writes the trivia (Anthropic). See the Privacy Policy for details.
How do I cancel Premium?
iPhone: Settings → [your name] → Subscriptions
Android: Google Play Store → Profile → Payments & subscriptions → Subscriptions
Deleting the App does not cancel the subscription.
How do I delete my data?
Settings → "Delete all data on this phone" removes everything the App stored on your phone and also deletes related records on our server, such as your subscription check result. Other server-side information does not identify you and is deleted automatically when its set period ends (see the Privacy Policy). If you have bought Premium and also want the purchase records at our billing service (RevenueCat) deleted, please e-mail us.