Privacy policy

Last updated November 7, 2026

Birding is run by Rec-Safe (RECSAFE), a Washington corporation ("we" and "us"). This policy says what Birding keeps about you, why, who else sees it, and what you can do about it. It covers Birding only; our other sites and apps have their own.

What we keep

When you use Birding, we keep:

• your email address, your name, your time zone and country, your reminder settings, and whether (and under what name) your photos are shared in the Birdpedia
• each sighting's details: what it is (its group, species, and common name), how sure its identification is, when it was seen and by whom, where (its locality, region, and country, and its exact place, encrypted), its habitat, how many, whether it was seen or heard, its age and sex, what it was doing, any breeding evidence, how it was identified, a checklist or observation link, whether it's kept off galleries and a note for gallery visitors, and its tags and notes
• your spots: their names, what and where they are, whose land they're on, their rules, the birds there and when, and their GPS, directions, and access notes (encrypted); and your outings: when, where, who went, the weather, how long and how far, a packing list, and notes
• your gear: what each piece is, its brand, model, and specs, its serial number (encrypted), when it was bought and for what, and its photos and receipts
• the photos, recordings, maps, GPS tracks, and papers you upload (encrypted), and the eBird, iNaturalist, or spreadsheet files you import (encrypted until the import, then deleted)
• your checklists, hoping-to-see list, dates to keep, and calendar events
• your galleries (what each shows and how much, and how many visits it has had), and the messages visitors send from them: the name and email address they give (the address encrypted) and their message (encrypted)
• the people you share your log with, and their invitations
• your Marketplace listings (what you write, the price, where you are, the name you give, who can see each, and the photos it shows), the messages people send about them (their name, email address, and words, encrypted), and reports of listings
• a sign-in log (the time, IP address, and browser), to keep accounts safe

You sign in with a one-time link emailed to you, or a passkey.

Photos, recordings, and papers are encrypted before they're stored, with a key for your log, and are sent only to you and the people you share it with, except a sighting's photos (never a nest's), which a gallery that shows that sighting also shows while it's on, and a sighting's main photo when you share it in the Birdpedia. Photos are re-saved first, which removes the location and other camera details saved in them. The photos you pick for a Marketplace listing are shown with it, to whoever the listing is for.

Like any website, our servers also keep a short log of the pages asked for (with the IP address, the browser, and the time), to keep the site running and safe. We don't use analytics, advertising, or tracking services.

Why we keep it

Only to run Birding for you: to keep your sightings' records and make your life and year lists, to fill in sightings from the Birdpedia, to import your eBird or iNaturalist records when you ask, to show the galleries you make, to pass on gallery visitors' messages to you, to send sign-in links, invitations, and the reminders you ask for, and to keep Birding working and secure. We don't sell or rent your information, we don't show ads, and we don't use it for anything else.

Who else sees it

Nothing in your log is public unless you make a gallery: a page anyone with its link can open, showing the sightings you choose with their photos, what each is, and as much of where it was seen as you pick (its locality, its region, its country, or none), and, if you choose, how many, what it was doing, its habitat, the month and year it was seen, and your name. A gallery never shows a sighting's exact place, your spots, your notes, tags, papers, or recordings, a nest's photos, or your email address, and it never shows anything of where a sensitive species (an owl, or a rare or endangered bird) or a nest was, not even the region. Search engines are asked not to list galleries, and you can turn one off or change its link at any time. If you let visitors message you from a gallery, their message is emailed to you with their address to reply to; they don't see yours unless you reply. The Marketplace is the other exception, and only for what you list: a listing shows the photos you pick, what you write, and the gear's own details (its kind, brand, model, and specs), never its serial number, what you paid, or your notes. You choose who sees each listing: members signed in to Birding, or anyone, including search engines. Your email address isn't shown: people ask through the listing, and their message is emailed to you with their address, so you can reply. Exact places, spot GPS, directions and access, gear serial numbers, gallery messages, and every photo, recording, and paper are encrypted where they're stored, with a key for each log. The Birdpedia is the same for everyone signed in, and isn't public. If you choose to share your photos there (it's off unless you turn it on, in Settings or on a sighting), the main photo of each shared sighting whose identification you're sure of is shown to everyone signed in on the entry for its species, credited to the name you choose, and nothing else about you or the sighting (never where or when); photos are saved without the location data a phone puts in them. Anyone signed in can report a shared photo, which hides it until the people who run Birding look at it. The people who run Birding don't look at logs. Reminder emails name dates, never sightings or spots. Everything is stored on servers in the United States.

We use these services to run Birding, and each sees only what it needs:

• Amazon Web Services, which hosts our servers in the United States, where everything the app keeps is stored
• Postmark, which sends our emails, so it handles your email address and the message

We'd share information if the law makes us (a court order, for example), or to protect someone's safety. If Rec-Safe ever handed Birding to someone else, this policy would go with it.

Cookies

Birding uses cookies to keep you signed in (for up to 60 days) and to remember how you like the list of sightings shown. They aren't used for advertising or tracking.

How long we keep it, and deleting it

We keep your information while you use Birding. You can delete any sighting, spot, outing, piece of gear, photo, recording, paper, gallery, message, or record, download your sightings and life list, and delete your account, which deletes your log with everything in it and turns off its galleries and we'll do it, apart from anything the law makes us keep (such as payment records). Server logs are kept only as long as they're needed to run and protect the site, and backups are overwritten in time.

Keeping it safe

Every page uses an encrypted connection (HTTPS). Sign-in links work once and expire, passkeys can't be guessed or phished, and exact places, spot GPS, directions and access, gear serial numbers, gallery messages, and every photo, recording, and paper are encrypted at rest with a key for each log. No website is perfectly secure, but if something ever goes wrong in a way that puts your information at real risk, we'll tell you, and the authorities when the law requires it.

Children

Birding isn't meant for children under 13, and we don't knowingly keep a child's information. If you think a child has given us theirs, email us and we'll delete it.

Your choices and rights

You can ask us what we keep about you, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it, by emailing info@rec-safe.com. We'll answer within 30 days. Depending on where you live (for example in Canada, a US state such as Washington or California, the UK, or the EU), the law may give you more rights, and we honour them for everyone.

Our servers are in the United States, so if you're elsewhere, your information is stored and handled there, under US law. In Canada, if you're not satisfied with our answer, you can complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

Changes and questions

If we change this policy, we'll change the date at the top, and if a change is big, we'll say so on Birding first. Questions? Email info@rec-safe.com.