Pilot privacy notice
Privacy for the Hinterland Guide pilot.
The Hinterland Guide is a field app for curious explorers of all ages. People can photograph plants, animals, fungi, and other living things they find outdoors, build a personal Dex, complete nature expeditions, and watch their own Sanctuary grow from real observations.
Accounts and adult management
A parent, guardian, teacher, or group leader manages kid access during the pilot. Kids do not create public accounts, do not sign up with their own email address, and do not use public chat or direct messages inside The Hinterland Guide.
What kid accounts may provide
- Organism photos, such as plants, insects, birds, mushrooms, or other living things. Once uploaded and saved, server-hosted W1 private-pilot photo bytes are purged after seven days. Unsynced work stays on the original device until it syncs or an adult discards it.
- An optional four-character coarse-area geohash computed on the device. No location is valid, and precise coordinates are not stored.
- Species selection, taxon, or a kid-entered description of what they found.
- Observation timestamp.
- Kid display name or nickname selected for the supervised group.
- Family, classroom, or group membership.
- App progress such as Dex entries, expedition progress, rewards, and Sanctuary state.
What adult accounts may provide
- Email address for account access and pilot communication.
- Display name.
- Group information, such as family or classroom group setup.
- Consent and account-management records needed to run a supervised pilot.
- Consent setup keeps a random proof in the submitting browser tab through adult sign-in. The API stores only its SHA-256 digest; it is not used for tracking.
- Basic service logs used for debugging, safety, and security.
How observations may be used
The Hinterland Guide uses observations to make the app work: showing a kid's observation list, filling the Dex, advancing expeditions, unlocking reward moments, supporting adult review, and growing the private Sanctuary scene from real outdoor finds.
Photo bytes are not intended for logs. Operational logs may be used to diagnose failures, protect the service, and understand whether the pilot is working safely.
What The Hinterland Guide does not do
- No ads.
- No selling or renting personal data.
- No public chat.
- No direct messages.
- No public kid profiles.
- No third-party ad SDKs, tracking pixels, or marketing chat widgets on this public site.
iNaturalist status
iNaturalist public submission and photo-identification suggestions are disabled for the W1 Android Internal Testing pilot. W1 photos are not sent to iNaturalist. Any future contribution or photo-helper flow requires a separate reviewed disclosure, consent, accuracy, and geoprivacy decision.
Photo review and moderation status
W1 uses a NoOp moderation provider. That records the photo as private pilot data; it is not a safety approval and no photo bytes are shown to kids. Real Azure Content Safety remains disabled until the closed-beta safety, review, retention, and recovery gates pass.
Privacy contact
For privacy questions or requests, email privacy@thehinterlandguide.app. For general help, email support@thehinterlandguide.app.
Last updated: July 11, 2026.