Privacy Policy

Effective Date: June 14, 2025

This Privacy Policy explains how railfanninglocations.com (the “Site”) collects, uses, and protects your information. By using this site, you agree to the terms below.

1. What We Collect

We collect only the minimum personal information needed to operate this site:

• Your name and profile picture from Google Sign-In
• A username you choose when signing in
• Temporary IP address data for session security (see below)

We do not collect your email address, GPS location, or any other Google profile details.

2. How We Use Your Information

• To authenticate your login and save your session
• To let you submit train-watching locations and photos
• To protect against session hijacking by comparing IP addresses during login

We do not sell or share your personal data with any third parties.

3. IP Address & Session Data

When you sign in, your IP address is stored securely in a private session table. This is used to prevent session hijacking and unauthorized access.

All session data is automatically deleted after 24 hours of inactivity.

4. Cookies

We use a single session cookie to keep you logged in. This cookie is not used for tracking or advertising.

5. Public Content

Any locations or photos you submit are publicly visible to other users. Please do not upload content you do not have the rights to share.

6. User Control & Data Deletion

If you want your account or content removed, email alex@railfanninglocations.com. Deletion requests will be honored as soon as possible.

7. HOW DO WE KEEP YOUR INFORMATION SAFE?

In Short: We aim to protect your personal information through a system of organizational and technical security measures.

We have implemented appropriate and reasonable technical and organizational security measures designed to protect the security of any personal information we process. These include:

• Use of prepared statements throughout the site to prevent SQL injection attacks.
• Minimizing the collection and storage of personal data to reduce exposure.
• Encrypting data in transit using HTTPS.
• Restricting access to sensitive data such as IP addresses and session information to authorized personnel, currently only the site owner.
• Regularly reviewing and updating our security practices to address emerging threats.

However, despite our safeguards and efforts to secure your information, no electronic transmission over the Internet or information storage technology can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. Therefore, we cannot promise or guarantee that hackers, cybercriminals, or other unauthorized third parties will not be able to defeat our security and improperly collect, access, steal, or modify your information. Although we will do our best to protect your personal information, transmission of personal information to and from our Services is at your own risk. You should only access the Services within a secure environment.

8. Children’s Privacy

This site is not intended for children under 13. We do not knowingly collect data from minors.

9. U.S. Audience Only

This site is intended for users in the United States. We do not target users in the European Union or other regions with privacy laws like GDPR.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy if our data practices change. We will post the updated policy here with a new effective date.

11. Contact

For privacy questions or concerns, contact alex@railfanninglocations.com.