1. Who We Are
Public Lands Log is operated by Terrain360 LLC ("we," "us," "our"), a company based in Richmond, Virginia. We provide visitor tracking and analytics tools for national parks, forests, heritage areas, and other public lands.
Contact: privacy@publiclandslog.org
2. What Data We Collect
We collect different types of data depending on how you interact with our platform:
Account holders (staff, administrators):
- Name, email address, and password (hashed)
- Organization and role information
- Login activity (timestamps, method used)
- If your organization subscribes: billing contact and subscription status. Card details are entered on and handled by Stripe; we never see or store full card numbers.
- If you order printed signs or forms: the delivery name, address, and phone number needed to ship them
Visitor data (collected on behalf of partner organizations):
- Names, home state/ZIP code, and party size from paper guest book scans
- Names, origins, and party size entered at electronic kiosks
- Visit counts from QR check-ins, plus a hometown (ZIP code or town) and whether the visitor is staying overnight (a day trip, paid lodging, or with friends or family, and how many nights), each only if the visitor chooses to answer after checking in
- Aggregate foot-traffic counts from trail counter imports
Automatically collected:
New photo uploads are stored with their embedded camera metadata (EXIF and XMP, including GPS location) removed; earlier uploads were stored as received. When a signed-in staff member uploads a photo, we may read its GPS location before it is removed. Photos sent through a shared upload link never have their GPS location read or kept. The person uploading can also choose to add their current device location, including its reported accuracy and timestamp. Otherwise the selected visitor center identifies the log site. These source-document locations are visible to authorized organization staff and are kept separate from visitors' recorded hometowns. Device location is optional; declining permission does not prevent an upload.
- IP addresses in security logs and hashed IP data associated with QR scans
- Session cookies (authentication only; no tracking cookies)
We do not use advertising cookies, third-party trackers, or analytics pixels. We do not sell or share personal data with advertisers.
3. How We Use Data
- Visitor data: Used to create counts, origin maps when origin data is available, and reports for the partner organization that collected it.
- Account data: To authenticate you, manage your organization membership, and communicate about the service.
- Email: We send service email (sign-in links, invitations, email confirmations, and monthly reports your organization turns on). Product news is sent only to people who opted in, and every news email has an unsubscribe link that takes effect immediately.
- Security data: IP addresses and request logs are used for rate limiting, abuse prevention, and security monitoring. CloudWatch security log groups are currently configured with 180-day retention.
4. How We Process Paper Guest Book Data
When a paper guest book page is uploaded, we use an automated handwriting-reading service provided by Anthropic to read the visitor information. It returns structured data (names, hometowns and dates) that organization staff review and correct before it counts in reports or maps. The original scanned images are stored in AWS S3 and accessible to authorized organization and platform personnel.
5. Data Sharing
We share data only in these circumstances:
- With the partner organization: The organization that collected the visitor data has full access to their own data through the dashboard.
- Service providers: We use AWS (hosting, database and file storage), Anthropic (handwriting reading), Resend (email delivery), Mapbox (map rendering), Google (geocoding and web fonts), and Stripe (payment processing, only if your organization subscribes). Each processes data only as needed to provide their service. Our former database host, Supabase, keeps a frozen copy of data from before October 16, 2026 until it is deleted at the end of October 2026; it receives no new data.
- Bot protection: The sign-up and request-access forms use Cloudflare Turnstile to tell people from automated sign-ups, and Cloudflare processes your IP address and browser signals for that purpose, as described in its Turnstile privacy addendum.
- Public maps: If an organization enables a public map, aggregated visitor-origin counts may be shown. Individual visitor names are not displayed on public maps.
- Legal requirements: We may disclose data if required by law, court order, or government regulation.
6. Data Retention
- Visitor entries: Retained as long as the partner organization's account is active. Organizations may request deletion at any time.
- Account data: Retained while your account is active. Upon deletion, personal data is removed within 30 days.
- Security logs: CloudWatch log groups are currently set to retain logs for 180 days.
- Scanned images: Retained in S3 for as long as the partner organization's account is active.
7. Data Security
We protect data with:
- HTTPS/TLS encryption for web traffic
- HSTS enforcement (browsers always connect securely)
- HTTP-only, Secure authentication cookies with SameSite=Lax, and a SameSite=Strict session cookie
- Content Security Policy headers restricting script/resource sources
- Role-based access control with center-level scoping, enforced in the application and by database-level access rules that keep each organization's records separate
- Rate limiting on selected authentication and public endpoints
- Geo-blocking of selected high-risk countries
- Key-only server access behind a host firewall, with automatic blocking of repeated failed login attempts
8. Your Rights
Account holders may:
- Access and update your profile information through the dashboard
- Request a copy of your personal data by emailing privacy@publiclandslog.org
- Request deletion of your account and associated personal data
Visitors whose data appears in guest books: If you believe your personal information has been recorded through a partner organization's guest book and you would like it removed, contact us at privacy@publiclandslog.org with the approximate date and location of your visit. We will work with the partner organization to locate and remove your entry.
9. Children's Privacy
Public Lands Log accounts are intended for use by organizational staff (18+). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. Visitor entries from paper guest books may incidentally include names of minors written by accompanying adults; these are processed solely for visitor counting purposes.
10. Breach Notification
In the event of a data breach affecting personal information, we will:
- Notify affected partner organizations within 72 hours of discovery
- Notify affected individual account holders via email
- Report to relevant authorities as required by applicable law
- Document the breach, its impact, and remediation steps taken
11. Changes to This Policy
Use of the service is also governed by our Terms of Service. We may update this policy from time to time. Material changes will be communicated via email to account holders. The "Last Updated" date at the top reflects the most recent revision.
12. Contact
For privacy questions, data requests, or concerns:
Terrain360 LLC
privacy@publiclandslog.org
Richmond, Virginia