Privacy Policy — Backcountry Beta for Android

Last updated: July 12, 2026

Delete your account — how to delete your Backcountry Beta account and what happens to your data.

This policy describes how Backcountry Beta ("we", "us") collects and uses personal data in the Backcountry Beta app for Android. Separate policies cover the iOS app and the web map.

Contact (data controller): Backcountry Beta — david@backcountry-beta.app

Summary

• We collect account information (email, name, username) when you create an account, and precise location when you use location features such as tour recording and field observations.
• We use Mixpanel for product analytics.
• Our backend runs on Back4App (Parse) and Cloudflare; photos you upload are stored on Cloudflare R2.
• Content you choose to share — observations, trip reports, photos, public profile — is visible to other users.
• We do not sell your personal data, and we do not show ads.
• You can delete your account (and the data linked to it) from within the app.

Data we collect

Account data. When you sign up we collect your email address, a username and password (stored hashed), and optionally your name, profile photo, bio, link, and home state. If you sign in with Google or Facebook, we receive your name, email address, and account identifier from that provider.

Precise location. With your permission, the app uses your device's precise location to: center the map, determine your avalanche forecast zone, attach a location to field observations you submit, and record ski tours (a GPS track of your route, recorded only while you are actively recording a tour, including in the background if you keep recording with the screen off). Recorded tours, observation coordinates, and photo locations are uploaded to and stored on our backend when you save them to your account.

Photos and camera. With your permission, we access your camera and/or photo library so you can add photos to trip reports and observations and set a profile photo. Photo metadata (capture date and GPS location embedded in the photo) may be read and stored with the photo so it can be placed on the map. Uploaded photos are stored on Cloudflare R2 at unlisted public URLs.

Content you create. Field observations, trip reports and notes, saved tours and GPX files you import, saved forecast points, custom zones, Condition Check questions and answers, and feedback you submit.

Usage data and identifiers. We collect analytics events about how features are used (see Analytics below). The app also uses a randomly generated installation identifier for sync and abuse prevention, your device's push notification token if you enable notifications, and standard technical data such as IP address, device type, and timestamps in server logs.

Payment data. Subscriptions are purchased through Google Play and managed with RevenueCat. Google processes the payment; we never see your card number. We receive subscription status (for example: trial, active, expired) linked to your account.

Analytics (Mixpanel)

We use Mixpanel, Inc. as our analytics provider. Mixpanel receives usage events (for example: app launched, tour recorded, forecast viewed, subscription started) together with related properties such as the avalanche zone or state a feature was used for, feature counts, and your subscription status and home state. For signed-in users, the app currently also associates your name and email address with your Mixpanel analytics profile so we can understand usage and follow up on feedback. Mixpanel processes this data on our behalf in the United States. See Mixpanel's privacy policy at https://mixpanel.com/legal/privacy-policy/. You can request that we disconnect your identity from analytics or delete your analytics profile by emailing us.

Third-party services we use

• Back4App (Parse Server) — hosts our database and backend (accounts, tours, observations, saved content). United States.
• Cloudflare — photo storage (R2), map-tile workers, and related infrastructure.
• Mixpanel — product analytics. See above.
• RevenueCat — subscription management. RevenueCat receives an account identifier and purchase/subscription state, not your card details.
• Google Play — payment processing for in-app subscriptions.
• Google Sign-In, Facebook Login — optional sign-in providers; each shares your name, email, and account identifier with us when you choose to use it. Facebook is used only to sign you in: the app uses Facebook's Limited Login mode, which limits the data Meta receives about your use of the app, and we do not send usage or analytics information to Facebook.
• OpenAI — powers AI features (Condition Check answers and zone summaries). Your question text and the relevant forecast/weather context are sent to OpenAI to generate the answer; we do not send your name or account details with these requests.
• Map, weather, and avalanche data providers — the app requests data from third-party services such as OpenStreetMap, USGS/The National Map, Esri, Mapbox, the National Weather Service (weather.gov), USDA SNOTEL, CoCoRaHS, and avalanche centers (avalanche.org, Avalanche Canada, CAIC, and others). These requests can include your IP address and the map coordinates being viewed or searched.

We share personal data with these processors only as needed to run the app. We do not sell personal data and do not share it with data brokers or advertising networks.

Content you share publicly

If you mark an observation or trip report as shared, it — including its location, photos, and text — is visible to other users, attributed to your public display name. Your public profile (display name, username, home state) is visible to other users. Uploaded photos are served from unlisted public URLs, which anyone with the link can open. You can unshare or delete your content at any time.

How we use data

To provide and sync the app across your devices; to show your content on the map; to answer your Condition Check questions; to operate subscriptions and Pro features; to understand feature usage and improve the product (analytics); to respond to feedback and provide support; to prevent abuse and enforce our terms; and to comply with legal obligations.

Legal bases (GDPR): performance of our contract with you (providing the app), your consent (location, camera/photos, notifications, analytics where required), our legitimate interests (product improvement, abuse prevention, security), and compliance with legal obligations.

Where data is processed

Our backend providers process data in the United States. If you use the app from outside the United States, your data is transferred to and processed in the United States.

Retention

Account data and content you save are kept until you delete them or delete your account. Server logs and analytics data are retained for shorter operational periods. When you delete your account, your tours, observations, photos, saved content, sessions, and profile are deleted from our backend; residual copies in backups and logs are purged on their normal cycle.

Your rights and choices

• Permissions. Location, camera, photo, and notification access are optional and can be revoked at any time in Android Settings; related features will stop working.
• Access, correction, deletion, portability. You can access and edit your profile and content in the app. You can delete your account and its data in the app (Profile → account settings). You may also request a copy of your data. See Delete your account for step-by-step instructions.
• Analytics. You can ask us to disassociate your identity from analytics or delete your analytics profile.
• EU/UK users have the rights provided by the GDPR, including objection, restriction, withdrawal of consent, and complaint to your data protection authority. California residents have the rights provided by the CCPA/CPRA; we do not sell or share personal information as defined by that law.

Requests: email david@backcountry-beta.app. We respond within the time required by applicable law (at most one month for GDPR requests).

Children

The app is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us personal data, contact us and we will delete it.

Changes to this policy

We will post any changes on this page and update the date above. For significant changes we will also notify you in the app or by email. Where required, we will ask for your consent again.

(This policy supersedes the previous iubenda-hosted policy dated January 13, 2020.)