Version history

Updates to Banknote Tracker UK

Latest update

A clearer, more story-led Banknote Tracker

Version 2.3.0 refreshes the public website around the most interesting part of tracking a banknote: discovering and continuing its journey.

Faster Banknote Checking

  • A clearer homepage lookup focused on checking the note in your hand.
  • Quick denomination buttons for £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes.
  • An option to carry the entered serial number and value straight into the add-note form.
  • Clearer guidance about the supported Bank of England serial-number format.

Banknote Stories and Maps

  • Lookup results now present each banknote as a journey rather than a database record.
  • Larger banknote previews and clearer serial-number details.
  • Improved messages for both newly added notes and notes that have been seen before.
  • Map instructions now work for touchscreens as well as mouse users.

A Tidier Community Homepage

  • A new three-step explanation of how Banknote Tracker works.
  • Site totals have been simplified into one compact statistics strip.
  • Community leaderboards are grouped together instead of competing for space.
  • The latest banknote sightings are easier to browse.

Design and Usability Improvements

  • Redesigned add-note, login and registration pages.
  • Clearer explanation of guest tracking and account benefits.
  • Improved navigation, footer and calls to action.
  • More consistent spacing, typography, buttons and mobile layouts.
  • Improved headings, focus states and touchscreen-friendly controls.

Discord integration and automatic achievement roles

Version 2.2.0 introduces Discord integration, allowing users to connect their Banknote Tracker UK account to Discord and automatically receive roles based on their progress and achievements.

Discord Account Linking

You can now link your Discord account directly from your account settings page.

Once linked, your Banknote Tracker UK account can be associated with your Discord account on the official Discord server, making it easier to participate in the community.

Automatic Achievement Roles

Discord achievement roles are now awarded automatically based on your progress on the website.

Roles can be earned for milestones including:

  • Notes tracked.
  • Total value tracked.
  • Different denominations found.
  • Locations visited.
  • Note matches.

As you unlock achievements on the website, your Discord roles will update automatically.

Improved Role Management

Discord roles are now managed automatically when:

  • Linking a Discord account.
  • Unlocking new achievements.
  • Tracking notes.
  • Unlinking a Discord account.
  • Closing an account.

Users will always receive the highest achievement role they have earned within each achievement category.

Account Improvements

The account page has been updated with:

  • Discord account linking and unlinking controls.
  • Clearer information about Discord integration.
  • Improved account closure confirmation process.

Privacy & Data Updates

The privacy policy has been updated to reflect Discord account linking, including information about the Discord account details stored when users choose to connect their accounts.

Other Improvements

  • Improved reliability of achievement processing.
  • Better handling of Discord role updates.
  • Improved account management workflows.
  • Various bug fixes and performance improvements.

Achievements, profile improvements and privacy controls

We're excited to release Version 2.1.0, introducing a brand-new achievements system, an improved profile experience, and several quality-of-life improvements across the site.

Achievements

A new achievements system has been added to help users track their progress and milestones while using Banknote Tracker UK.

Achievements are now available across a range of categories, including:

  • Notes tracked.
  • Total value tracked.
  • Different denominations tracked.
  • Location discoveries.
  • Successful note matches.

Unlock achievements as you continue contributing to the tracker and building your statistics.

Profile Improvements

Profiles have received a significant refresh, making it easier to view your progress and activity.

Changes include:

  • New profile achievements section.
  • Improved profile layout and organisation.
  • Clearer navigation between profile-related pages.
  • Better achievement progress displays.
  • Enhanced achievement styling and presentation.

Privacy Controls

Users can now control the visibility of their achievements through new privacy settings, giving greater control over what is displayed publicly.

Dedicated Achievements Page

Achievements now have their own dedicated page, making it easier to browse unlocked milestones, view progress towards future achievements, and track overall completion.

Public Tracking Improvements

Usernames shown on public tracking entries now link directly to user profiles, making it easier to explore the community and view other users' statistics.

Other Improvements

  • Improved achievement progress calculations.
  • Expanded achievement collection with many new milestones.
  • Various interface refinements and bug fixes.
  • General performance and reliability improvements.

Bug Fixes and Improvements

A small update focused on improving reliability and polishing a few areas of the site.

  • Fixed an issue that could affect anonymous users in profile leaderboards.
  • Improved the reliability of site protections during periods of high activity.
  • Fixed a mobile display issue that could cause profile pages to appear incorrectly on some devices.
  • Improved the layout and readability of privacy settings.
  • Made a number of behind-the-scenes improvements to site stability and performance.

Minor improvements

  • Various minor fixes and technical improvements.

Small visual fixes

A short follow-up update to tidy the site's branding.

  • Improved branding and visual consistency across the site.
  • Fixed browser icons and bookmarks on devices and browsers where they were not showing properly.

Maps, profiles and a rebuilt location system

Version 2.0.0 is the biggest update so far. It adds interactive maps, county heat maps, improved profiles, stronger privacy controls and a rebuilt location system.

Interactive maps

Banknote maps

Tracked banknotes now include an interactive UK map showing every recorded tracking. You can follow where a note has been found using numbered markers and tracking details.

UK county heat map

The home page now includes a county heat map showing where tracked banknotes are being found across the UK. Counties get darker as more trackings are added.

Personal heat maps

Profiles can now show a personal county heat map based on that user's own tracked notes.

Improved profiles

Profiles have been redesigned to show more useful information and make sharing easier.

New profile features

  • Shareable public profile links.
  • Recent activity summaries.
  • Most banknotes tracked in statistics.
  • A clearer profile layout.

New privacy controls

Users can now:

  • Make their profile private.
  • Hide their personal heat map.
  • Hide recent activity.
  • Hide their most-used location.
  • Appear anonymously in public rankings and note histories.

Rebuilt location system

The town and city system has been rebuilt to make it quicker and more reliable.

  • Faster searchable town selection.
  • Improved location matching.
  • Better handling of older tracking records.
  • Support for trackings outside the UK.
  • More reliable location links across the site.

This also makes the new maps possible and gives us a better base for location features in future.

Easier tracking

  • A “Track this note” button after a lookup.
  • One-click undo after adding a tracking.
  • Direct links to note history pages.
  • Automatic form restoration if a submission needs correcting.
  • Improved duplicate checks.

Security and reliability

There have also been a number of behind-the-scenes fixes to keep the site safe and dependable.

  • Request rate limiting.
  • Stronger form validation and duplicate protection.
  • Improved account security.
  • Automated checks for the main site functions.
  • Better error handling and server logging.

General improvements

  • A county heat map on the home page.
  • Improved banknote lookup cards.
  • Clearer success and error messages.
  • Better page alignment and spacing.
  • Faster town searches.
  • Improved mobile navigation.
  • An improved admin dashboard.
  • A more consistent layout across the site.

Thank you to everyone using Banknote Tracker UK and adding notes to the map. There is more to come.

First public version

The first version of Banknote Tracker UK made it possible to add and look up tracked UK banknotes.