Data we collect

Identifying information: We do not currently collect any personally identifying information (“personal data” as described by the Data Protection Act). We may do so in future (e.g. making it possible for users to register for online user accounts) in which case we will update this Privacy Policy.

Contributions: A “contribution” is a sound recording, plus associated metadata (including but not limited to time, date and location of the recording). This is the main data that we collect. We analyse it immediately to give you estimates of bird species, and we preserve it to be used as part of future analysis processes and bulk data releases for research and conservation.

Usage information: We also monitor how people use our website, and aggregate general statistics about users and traffic patterns as well as data about how users respond to various site features. This includes, among other things, recording:

• Pages you request.

• Other contributions, such as posts on Talk pages.

We may use software that collects statistics from IP address data. This software can determine what times of day people access our site, which country they access the websites from, how long they visit for, what browser they are using, etc.

What we do with the information we gather

Your contributions are collected to give you estimates of bird species, to improve our service, and to create public datasets for research and conservation. The data are stored securely on our cloud server, only accessible by staff and developers of Warblr Ltd.

When we publish collections of contributions, we will do so under an “open data” licence, meaning a licence which conforms to the Open Definition. This is so that third-party researchers and conservation organisations can use the data freely. You should be aware that an open data licence allows third parties a lot of freedom in what they do with the data.

To protect your privacy, when we make contributions public we will apply anonymisation techniques such as reducing the accuracy of time and geolocation measurements, and delayed data release.

We cannot guarantee what fraction of your contributions will be made public, nor how quickly this will happen. This is because we may need to filter out inappopriate contributions, apply anonymisation and data-cleaning procedures, and so forth.

Usage information is collected to help us improve our website in particular for the following reasons:

• Internal record keeping.

• We may use the information to customize the website.

• We may use the information to conduct experiments regarding the use of various site features.

We will never release e-mail addresses to third parties without your express permission.

How we use cookies

In some areas of our site, a cookie may be placed on your computer. A cookie is a small file that resides on your computer’s hard drive that allows us to improve the quality of your visit to our websites by responding to you as an individual.

We use traffic log cookies to identify which pages are being used and improve our website. We only use this information for statistical analysis purposes, they are not shared with other sites and are not used for advertisements.

You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. However, if you choose to decline cookies from Warblr then functionality, including your ability to log-in and participate, will be impaired.

Acceptance of cookies is implied if you continue to access our website without adjusting your browser settings.

Where we store your data

We use Amazon Web Services so we can quickly and reliably serve our website to an unpredictable number of people. This means that your data will be stored in multiple locations, including the United States of America (USA). Amazon is a participant in the Safe Harbor program developed by the USA Department of Commerce and the European Union (EU). Amazon has certified that it adheres to the Safe Harbor Privacy Principles agreed upon by the USA and the EU.

Removing your data

Due to the way in which we archive data, it is generally not possible to completely remove your data from our systems. However, if you have specific concerns, please contact us and we will see what we can do.

Further information and requests

If you have any questions about our use of data please contact us.