Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains what information WaterfallsNearYou.com ("we", "us") collects when you use the site, how it is used, and the choices you have.

Information we do not collect

We do not offer accounts, we do not ask for your name, and we do not sell personal information. The site has no forms that store data on our servers.

Location

To show "Waterfalls Near You" on the homepage, the site may estimate your general area from your IP address using our hosting provider's geolocation service. This estimate is calculated per request, returned only to your browser and not stored by us.

If you click "Use my location", your browser asks permission to share your device location. The coordinates are used only inside your browser to sort waterfalls by distance and are saved in your browser's local storage (rounded to about 100 meters) for up to seven days so the homepage remembers your area. They are never sent to our servers. You can clear them at any time by clearing site data in your browser.

Server logs

Like most websites, our hosting provider automatically records technical information such as IP address, browser type, referring page and the time of each request in order to deliver the site, prevent abuse and diagnose problems. These logs are retained for a limited period under the provider's policies.

Analytics

We use Google Analytics 4 to understand how visitors use the site, such as which pages are viewed and how people arrive. Google Analytics sets cookies and collects information like your approximate location, device and browser type, and pages visited. We do not use it to identify you personally. Learn more at How Google uses information from sites that use its services, or opt out with the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on.

Advertising and cookies

We use Google AdSense to show ads. Google and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this and other websites.

• Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads to you based on your visits to this site and/or other sites on the internet.
• You may opt out of personalized advertising by visiting Google Ads Settings. You can also opt out of some third-party vendors' use of cookies for personalized advertising at www.aboutads.info.
• Learn how Google uses information from sites that use its services at policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.

Visitors in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland are shown a consent message before personalized ads are served, as required by Google's EU user consent policy.

Weather and conditions data

Waterfall pages request forecasts and alerts from the National Weather Service, elevation from the USGS Elevation Point Query Service, and stream gauge readings from the USGS Water Data API. These requests are made from your browser and contain only the waterfall's coordinates, not your location. Like any website, those government services receive your IP address when your browser contacts them.

Embedded maps and external links

Waterfall pages embed an OpenStreetMap map, which loads map tiles from OpenStreetMap servers and is subject to the OpenStreetMap Foundation privacy policy. Some listing photos are loaded from Google servers. Links to Google Maps, Apple Maps and other sites take you to services with their own privacy policies.

Your rights

Depending on where you live, including California (CCPA/CPRA) and the EU/UK (GDPR), you may have rights to access, delete or correct personal information and to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information for targeted advertising. Because we do not keep personal profiles, most requests are best directed to Google using the links above. You can also contact us and we will help.

Children

This site is intended for a general audience and is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

Changes

We may update this policy from time to time. The date at the top of this page shows when it last changed.

Contact

Questions about privacy: contact@waterfallsnearyou.com.