Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

EarthTrek (“EarthTrek,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) operates earthtrek.xyz, a website offering hiking and trekking calculators and planning tools (the “Site”). This Privacy Policy describes what information may be collected from visitors, how that information may be used, and the choices available to you.

By using the Site, you agree to the practices described in this policy. If you do not agree with this policy, please do not use the Site.

2. Information users may provide

Most of EarthTrek’s tools — including the Trail Pace Calculator, Hiking Time Calculator, Hiking Difficulty Calculator, and Hiking Checklist Generator — are designed to work without requiring you to create an account or submit personal information.

You may choose to provide information directly to us in the following situations:

• Contact form: if you use our contact page, we may receive the name, email address, subject, and message you enter.
• Direct email: if you email us directly, we receive your email address and the contents of your message.

We do not require you to provide this information to use EarthTrek’s calculators, and you should avoid including sensitive personal information in any message you send us.

3. Automatically collected information

Like most websites, EarthTrek and its hosting or infrastructure providers may automatically collect certain technical information when you visit the Site, which can include:

• IP address
• Browser type and version
• Device type and operating system
• Pages visited and time spent on pages
• Referring website or search terms
• Date and time of access

This information is typically collected in aggregate or log form and is used to operate, secure, and improve the Site rather than to identify individual visitors.

4. Cookies and similar technologies

EarthTrek may use cookies, local storage, or similar technologies for a small number of purposes:

• Functionality: for example, the Hiking Checklist Generator may use your browser’s local storage to remember which items you’ve checked and any custom items you’ve added, so your progress is available if you return to the page. This information is stored on your own device and is not transmitted to us.
• Analytics (if enabled): cookies or similar identifiers may be used by analytics tools to understand how visitors use the Site in aggregate. See Section 6, “Analytics,” below.

Most browsers allow you to refuse or delete cookies through their settings. Doing so may affect certain features, such as saved checklist progress, but should not prevent you from using EarthTrek’s calculators.

5. How information may be used

Information collected through the Site may be used to:

• Operate, maintain, and provide the calculators and tools on the Site
• Respond to questions, feedback, or support requests submitted through the contact page or email
• Understand aggregate usage patterns and improve the Site’s tools and content
• Maintain the security and proper functioning of the Site
• Comply with applicable legal obligations

We do not use the limited information we collect to build detailed personal profiles of visitors, and we do not sell personal information.

6. Analytics

EarthTrek may use third-party analytics services to help us understand how visitors use the Site, such as which pages and tools are most used. If used, these services typically rely on cookies or similar technologies to collect information such as pages viewed, general location (for example, country or city level), device type, and time spent on the Site.

Example only: a service such as Google Analytics is a common example of this type of tool. This is included as an illustrative placeholder; it does not confirm that this specific service is in use. If and when a specific analytics provider is adopted, this policy should be updated to name it and link to its own privacy policy.

Analytics data is generally reviewed in aggregate form and is not used by us to identify individual visitors by name.

7. Advertising, if applicable

EarthTrek does not currently display third-party advertising. If this changes in the future, this section will be updated to describe the advertising partners involved, the type of data they may collect (which can include cookie-based identifiers used for ad measurement or personalization), and the choices available to you, such as opt-out mechanisms offered by those partners.

Until this section is updated to state otherwise, you should assume no advertising cookies or advertising partners are active on the Site.

8. Third-party services

To operate the Site, we may rely on third-party service providers for functions such as web hosting, content delivery, email handling, or analytics. These providers may process certain technical or contact information on our behalf, subject to their own privacy policies and security practices.

We do not control the privacy practices of third-party services and encourage you to review their respective policies if you would like more detail. This policy will be updated to name specific providers where it is useful and accurate to do so, rather than listing services that may not reflect the Site’s actual setup.

9. Data security

We take reasonable steps intended to protect information collected through the Site from loss, misuse, or unauthorized access. However, no method of transmission over the internet or method of electronic storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security of any information you provide.

You are responsible for keeping any account credentials or personal information you choose to share with us confidential, and for using the Site in a manner consistent with your own security practices.

10. Data retention

We retain information for only as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. As general guidance:

• Contact form or email messages are typically retained long enough to respond to your inquiry and for a reasonable period afterward for record-keeping, then deleted or anonymized.
• Automatically collected technical or log data is typically retained for a limited period for security and operational purposes before being deleted or aggregated.
• Information stored in your browser’s local storage (such as checklist progress) remains on your device until you clear it yourself or your browser removes it.

11. Children’s privacy

EarthTrek is not directed at children and is not intended for use by individuals under the age of 13 (or the minimum age required by applicable local law). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us so that we can review and, where appropriate, delete that information.

12. International visitors

EarthTrek is accessible to visitors around the world. If you access the Site from outside the country in which our servers or service providers are located, your information may be transferred to, stored, or processed in a different country, which may have data protection laws that differ from those of your home jurisdiction.

We aim to handle information responsibly for visitors regardless of location, including those in regions with specific data protection frameworks such as the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or California’s Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). This policy does not itself constitute a certification of compliance with any specific law; site operators serving these regions commercially should confirm compliance requirements with a qualified professional.

13. User rights

Depending on your location, you may have certain rights regarding personal information we hold about you, which can include the right to:

• Request access to the personal information we hold about you
• Request correction of inaccurate information
• Request deletion of your information, subject to certain exceptions
• Object to or request restriction of certain processing
• Request a copy of your information in a portable format
• Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details in Section 15. We will respond to legitimate requests within a reasonable timeframe and in accordance with applicable law. We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling certain requests.

14. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, the tools we offer, or legal requirements. When we make changes, we will revise the “Last Updated” date at the top of this page.

We encourage you to review this policy periodically. Material changes may be highlighted on the Site, but your continued use of EarthTrek after a revised policy is posted constitutes acceptance of the updated terms.

15. Contact

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how your information is handled, please contact us at:

hello@earthtrek.xyz

We aim to respond to privacy-related inquiries within a reasonable timeframe.