Privacy Policy
Effective: 5 September 2026
This policy explains what information Earth Embark collects, why we use it, and the choices available to you.
Information we collect and use
We collect account and profile information, wildlife and community content, preferences and activity, technical information, and messages you send us. We use this to provide the journal, identification, community and notification features, moderate content, prevent abuse, secure and improve the service, and respond to requests. We do not sell personal information or track you across other companies' apps and websites.
Camera, photographs and location
Camera and photo-library access happens only when you choose those features. Images remain on your device unless you upload or submit them. Foreground location may suggest a broad public place; we do not continuously track location, use background location, or store precise GPS coordinates with wildlife photographs. You can enter a broad place manually.
Public content and automated systems
Approved photographs, broad place labels, posts, comments and profile information may be public. Do not share precise locations or information you do not want others to see. Automated identification and moderation can be imperfect and are not professional wildlife, safety or medical advice.
Providers, cookies and international processing
Providers include Clerk, Replit and App Storage, Expo, Resend, and AI service providers. They process information as needed to operate the service, potentially in other countries with safeguards where required. Country spotlight requests use country-level iNaturalist records, not account details or precise location. Image hosts receive normal connection information. Necessary authentication cookies and local preferences are used, not advertising cookies or third-party advertising trackers.
Retention, security and your rights
Information is retained as needed to provide the service, meet legal obligations and maintain safety. We use reasonable safeguards but cannot guarantee absolute security. You control device permissions and may update your profile and remove eligible content. Signed-in users can permanently delete their account from My Field Journal on web or mobile, with destructive confirmation. Eligible content and private account data are removed; limited de-identified safety or legal records may be retained. Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, restrict or receive a copy of information, or object to processing.
Children
New accounts require a self-declared minimum age of 16. We check the date of birth on the server but save only the private age-check result with our authentication provider, not the date of birth. Public content remains moderated for all ages. We do not knowingly use children's information for advertising or tracking.
Changes and contact
Revised policies are posted here with an updated effective date. For privacy questions, rights requests or deletion help, use Help & Feedback and select “I need help with something.” Include “Privacy request” in your message. Do not send passwords or authentication codes.