Privacy Policy

1. Who is responsible

The controller responsible for your data is the operator of Faunary. For any privacy question or request, write to contact@faunary.app. Full provider identification is in our Legal Notice (Impressum).

2. What we collect

Account information. When you sign in with Google, we receive your name, email address, and profile image if Google provides one.

Your archive content. The records you create: notes, stories, encounter and observation records, species selections, and location information at the precision you choose.

Cover images, not your originals.When you add a photo, your browser creates a small compressed cover image and reads the photo’s metadata. Only the cover and the metadata reach us. We never receive or store your original photo files; they stay on your device.

Photo metadata. From the photos you add, we may read standard embedded metadata: capture date and time, camera and lens, and exposure details. We may also read geographic coordinates, where present in the photo and where enabled by your chosen import settings. Photo location is one of the more sensitive categories of data we process, and you control the precision at which it is stored.

Technical information. Limited operational data such as log data, error reports, authentication events, and performance information.

3. Why we use it, and the legal basis

• To operate the service, authenticate you, and store and organize your archive: to perform our contract with you (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR).
• To generate timelines, discoveries, search, and other archive features you ask for: to perform our contract with you, and our legitimate interest in providing and improving these features (Art. 6(1)(b) and (f)).
• To keep the service secure and prevent abuse: our legitimate interest in a safe, reliable service (Art. 6(1)(f)).
• To meet legal obligations where they apply (Art. 6(1)(c)).

4. AI processing

Some features use third-party AI providers. When you use one, only the data needed for that feature is sent to the provider:

• Semantic search composes a short text description of an encounter and sends it to OpenAI to create a search embedding.
• Narrative and era summaries send a small set of derived facts, not your archive.
• Image-based species suggestions, when enabled, send the cover image of a candidate to the AI provider.

We send the minimum needed and use only providers necessary to deliver the feature you requested.

5. Providers we rely on

Faunary runs on a small set of trusted providers that process data on our behalf:

• Vercel (application hosting, and privacy-friendly cookieless traffic and performance analytics)
• Neon (database)
• Cloudflare R2 (cover-image storage)
• Google (sign-in)
• Sentry (error monitoring, to diagnose and fix crashes)
• OpenAI and other AI providers used to power optional archive features

6. International transfers

Some of these providers are based in, or process data in, the United States. Where data leaves the European Economic Area, we rely on the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses and, where applicable, the EU–US Data Privacy Framework, to keep your data protected.

7. Cookies and local storage

Faunary uses only what it needs to work: a sign-in session cookie, a cookie that remembers when you are viewing the public demo, and browser local storage for interface state such as your last view. To understand traffic and performance we use privacy-friendly, cookieless analytics that set no cookies and do not track you across sites. We do not use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies. If we ever add analytics that rely on cookies, we will ask for your consent first.

8. How long we keep data

We keep your archive for as long as your account exists. When you delete your account, we delete your archive content and cover images. Backups may persist for a limited period before being automatically removed. Operational logs are kept for a limited period for security and troubleshooting. Exports you generate are short-lived and expire automatically.

9. Your rights

Depending on where you live, you have the right to access your data, correct it, delete it, export it, restrict or object to certain processing, and withdraw any consent you gave. To exercise these, write to privacy@faunary.app. You may also request a copy of the personal data we hold about you. You have the right to lodge a complaint with your data-protection supervisory authority.

10. Automated decisions

Faunary’s AI features are assistive. They do not make automated decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects about you.

11. Security

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your information. No online service can guarantee absolute security.

12. Children

Faunary is not directed at children. You must be at least 16, or older where your country requires it, to use it.

13. Changes

We may update this policy from time to time. When changes are material, we will let you know through the service where practical.

14. Contact

Privacy questions or data requests: privacy@faunary.app.