How Does This Site Collect and Use Visitor Data?
A plain-language explanation of what MapVenture records when you visit, why we record it, and the controls you have over your own data.
Introduction
Last updated: 12 June 2024
MapVenture publishes open research on wildfire data, climate impacts, and subsistence access across northern landscapes. We are a small research group, not an advertising business, and the data we handle reflects that. This policy describes the personal information we collect, the reasons we process it, and the rights you can exercise at any time.
We wrote it to be read, not skimmed past. If something here is unclear, the Contact Us page is the fastest way to reach a human who can answer.
Purposes of Processing
We process visitor data for three reasons, and we try not to stray beyond them.
The first is keeping the site working. Server logs tell us when a map fails to load or when a page returns an error, and that record is often the only way we notice a problem before a reader emails us about it.
The second is understanding how the site performs. Aggregate analytics show us which datasets people actually open and which sit untouched, which helps us decide where to put limited time. We look at patterns, not at individuals.
The third is communication. When you send a message or subscribe to updates, we use what you provide to reply or to deliver what you asked for. Nothing more.
External Services
Running a website means handing some functions to third parties, and each one sees a slice of visitor data in the course of its work.
Hosting and content delivery
Our hosting provider and content delivery network store and serve the pages you request. To do that, they necessarily process your IP address and the timestamp of each request, the same technical minimum any web host requires.
Analytics
We use a privacy-conscious analytics platform to measure traffic in aggregate. Should we adopt an additional analytics tool in future, we will name it here before it goes live.
Advertising
The site currently carries no advertising. We mention ad networks only because a future integration is possible, and if that day comes this section will describe exactly which network and what it receives.
Information Collected
Most of what we hold is technical and automatic. A smaller part you give us deliberately.
Technical logs
IP address, browser type and version, operating system, the pages you visit, and referring links. Collected automatically on every request.
Contact submissions
Your name, email address, and message — but only when you choose to write to us through the contact form.
Subscription inputs
The email address you enter if you sign up for updates. We do not ask for anything else.
Cookies and Similar Technologies
Cookies are small files a site stores in your browser. We group ours by what they do, because the category matters more than the mechanism.
Strictly necessary
These keep the site usable. They remember your consent choice and maintain your session while you move between pages. The site cannot function correctly without them, so they are not optional.
Analytics
These help us see visit patterns and page performance over time. They are set only after you agree.
Advertising
We set no advertising cookies today. The category exists in this policy so that any future use for ad personalisation is disclosed in advance rather than after the fact.
Managing cookies
Every major browser lets you view, block, or delete cookies through its settings. Blocking the strictly necessary ones may break parts of the site, but the choice is entirely yours.
Clearing your browser data resets your stored consent. The next time you visit, the site will ask again.
Data Subject Rights
The law gives you control over your personal data, and we honour these rights without charge.
- Access: you can ask what personal data we hold about you and receive a copy.
- Deletion: you can ask us to erase your data, and we will do so unless a legal obligation requires us to keep it.
- Opt-out: you can decline analytics tracking through the cookie controls or your browser at any time.
To exercise any of these, write to us via the Contact Us page. We aim to respond within a reasonable period and will confirm once a request is complete.
Storage and Deletion
We keep data only as long as it serves the purpose we collected it for. Technical logs are retained for a limited operational window and then discarded, since their value lies in spotting recent faults, not in building a long history. Contact messages stay only as long as the conversation needs them. Subscription details remain until you unsubscribe.
When a retention period ends, or when you ask us to remove your data, we delete the relevant records from our active systems. Routine backups may hold a copy briefly before they cycle out, which is the one place full erasure is not instant.
Policy Updates
Practices change as the site grows, and this document changes with them. When we make a meaningful revision, we update the date at the top of the page. Significant changes that affect how we use your data will be flagged more prominently, so a return visit is enough to stay current. For the legal terms governing use of the site itself, see the Terms of Use.