Privacy Policy

Last updated: January 2025

1. Who We Are

Urban Biome Sightings is a community tool for documenting green infrastructure in urban areas. This service is provided by Urban Biome for research and public benefit purposes.

Contact: support@urbanbiome.co.uk

2. What Data We Collect

When you use this service, we collect:

• Account Information: Email address for authentication (managed securely by our authentication provider)
• Photos: Images you upload of green infrastructure
• Location Data: GPS coordinates where sightings were captured
• Observations: Text descriptions, condition ratings, infrastructure types, and responsible parties you provide
• Metadata: Date/time of capture, submission timestamp
• Anonymous Username: A randomly generated friendly name (e.g., "Happy Fox") displayed publicly with your submissions. These names are automatically created from your account ID and cannot be linked back to your real identity by other users.

3. Managing Your Submissions

You have full control over your data:

• Edit: You can edit any of your submitted sightings at any time
• Delete: You can delete your own submissions whenever you wish
• Admins: Site administrators can also edit or remove content if needed for moderation purposes

4. What We Remove from Your Photos

Before storing your photos, we automatically strip sensitive metadata including:

• GPS location data embedded in photos
• Camera make and model
• Device information
• Original capture timestamps

We preserve only the orientation data to ensure photos display correctly.

5. How We Use Your Data

Your submissions are used to:

• Create a public map of urban green infrastructure
• Support research into urban biodiversity and green spaces
• Help city planners and communities understand green infrastructure distribution and condition
• Enable public access to information about local green spaces

6. Public Nature of Submissions

All sightings are publicly visible. When you submit a sighting:

• Your photo appears on the public map
• Your observations and ratings are visible to all users
• Your anonymous username is displayed with your submissions
• Data may be viewed, downloaded, or used by researchers, planners, and the public

7. Authentication & Cookies

We use secure authentication to manage your account:

• Authentication cookies/tokens in your browser to keep you logged in
• Your email address for account management and recovery
• Session information to maintain login state

These are essential cookies required for the service to function. By signing up, you consent to this authentication process.

8. Legal Basis for Processing (GDPR)

We process your data under:

• Consent: You voluntarily submit data knowing it will be made public
• Legitimate Interest: Public interest research for urban planning and environmental monitoring

9. Data Retention

Sightings are stored indefinitely to maintain a long-term dataset for research purposes. This allows tracking changes in green infrastructure over time.

10. Your Rights (GDPR)

You have the right to:

• Access: Request a copy of your data
• Deletion: Request deletion of your submissions (subject to research data retention needs)
• Correction: Update or correct your submissions using the edit feature
• Object: Object to processing of your data
• Portability: Receive your data in a machine-readable format

To exercise these rights, contact: support@urbanbiome.co.uk

11. Data Security

We implement appropriate security measures including:

• Secure authentication for account access
• HTTPS encryption for all data transmission
• Cloudflare infrastructure for hosting and storage
• Automatic removal of sensitive photo metadata
• Anonymous usernames that protect your identity from other users

12. Image Moderation

All uploaded images are automatically processed through Sightengine's content moderation API before being stored. This checks for:

• Inappropriate or explicit content
• Violence, weapons, or harmful material
• Other content that violates our acceptable use policy

Images that fail moderation are rejected and not stored. This process is automated and helps maintain a safe, appropriate platform for all users.

13. Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services:

• Authentication Provider: Secure account management and login
• Cloudflare: Hosting, storage (R2), and database (D1)
• MapTiler: Map tiles and geocoding
• Sightengine: Automated content moderation for uploaded images

These services have their own privacy policies and may process data according to their terms.

14. Children's Privacy

This service is not intended for children under 13. We do not knowingly collect data from children. If you believe a child has submitted data, please contact us.

15. Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy periodically. The "Last updated" date at the top indicates when changes were made. Continued use of the service after updates constitutes acceptance of the changes.

16. International Data Transfers

Data is stored on Cloudflare infrastructure which may involve transfers outside the UK/EU. Cloudflare provides appropriate safeguards for international data transfers.

17. Contact & Complaints

For privacy concerns, data requests, or complaints:

Email: support@urbanbiome.co.uk

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk

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