Privacy Policy

SnowWind app & snowwind.org

Operator: YUKIKAZE, K.K.

Effective date: July 8, 2026

SnowWind is a backcountry planning and safety tool. We built it to collect as little as possible: there are no user accounts, no ads, no analytics SDKs, and we never sell data. This policy explains exactly what data the app and website touch, why, where it lives, and what your choices are.

The short version

• Your recorded ski tracks stay on your device only. We never upload them to our servers. (If you explicitly request an AI debrief, only summary statistics derived from a track are sent — see "AI features" below.)
• Live buddy sharing is opt-in and anonymous. Position data is shared only through a realtime channel and is never stored. The only server-side record is a minimal group entry (the group name you enter plus a random invite code), which expires 24 hours after creation.
• No accounts, no ads, no tracking SDKs, no sale of data.

Location data

The app asks for location permission for three purposes:

• Showing your position on the map while you use the app.
• Recording ski descents you start. When you start a recording, a foreground service keeps logging your position even while the screen is off, so your descent track is complete. Recording only happens when you explicitly start it and stops when you stop it.
• Optional live sharing with a buddy group. If you explicitly join a buddy group, your current position is shared with the other members of that group in real time. While you are in a group, sharing continues even when the app is in the background — using the foreground service on Android (with a visible notification) or background location on iOS — so your buddies don't lose you when your screen is off. Sharing stops as soon as you leave the group or stop sharing.

Where this data goes:

• Recorded tracks (GPX-style descent logs) are stored only locally on your device, in the app's local storage. They are never uploaded to our servers or anyone else's.
• Buddy positions exist only in a realtime presence channel (Supabase Realtime). Position data is never written to a database. Your position disappears from the channel when you leave the group or close the app.
• Buddy group records: creating a group stores one minimal record in our database (hosted on Supabase): the group name you enter, a random invite code, and an expiry time. It contains no location data and no contact information. Groups expire 24 hours after creation and can no longer be joined or used after that; you can also email us to request deletion of a group record sooner.
• Connecting to the buddy service uses a temporary anonymous identifier (Supabase anonymous authentication) with no name, email, or profile attached. The display name you type when joining is shown to your group members in real time and is not stored together with any position data.

If you deny location permission, the map, planning, weather, and safety features still work — you just won't see your own position, and recording and buddy sharing won't be available.

No accounts

SnowWind has no user accounts and no sign-up. The buddy feature uses only the temporary, random anonymous identity described above — no name, email, or profile is ever attached to it.

AI features (app and website)

Both the app and the website include optional AI text features. They run only when you explicitly request them, and they use a large-language-model API (DeepSeek):

• In the app, the pre-tour AI briefing sends the area name, the avalanche danger rating and conditions you yourself transcribed from the official bulletin, weather numbers, and the aspects/elevations you flagged.
• On the website, the AI briefing and debrief features send the area name, weather numbers, and statistics derived from a GPX track (e.g., distance, vertical drop, times) — never the raw track itself.

No name, email, device ID, or account information is sent — we don't have any. As with any direct internet request, the AI provider's servers receive your device's IP address when processing a request you trigger; those requests are handled under DeepSeek's own privacy policy.

Third-party services

We rely on a small number of service providers, each for a narrow purpose:

• Supabase — realtime presence channel for buddy sharing (positions are ephemeral and never stored), plus the minimal group records and anonymous connection identifiers described above.
• Cloudflare — hosting for snowwind.org and app-served content.
• Public weather, terrain, and avalanche-bulletin sources — e.g. JMA (Japan Meteorological Agency), GSI (Geospatial Information Authority of Japan), Open-Meteo, and the Japan Avalanche Network. The app fetches this public data directly from your device to power forecasts, maps, and bulletin displays; like any web request, these providers receive standard technical data such as your IP address, but we send them nothing else.
• DeepSeek API — generates the AI briefing/debrief text described above, only when you request it.

We do not sell, rent, or trade any data with anyone.

Security

All communication between the app or website and any server is encrypted in transit (HTTPS/TLS).

Retention

• Recorded tracks: kept on your device until you delete them or uninstall the app. We have no copy.
• Buddy positions: ephemeral — gone when you leave the group or close the app. Position data is never stored.
• Buddy group records: expire 24 hours after creation, after which the group can no longer be joined or used. You can email us to request deletion of a group record before it expires.
• Anonymous connection identifiers: temporary and contain no personal information.
• AI requests: the facts sent to generate a summary are not stored by us.

Your choices and data deletion

• Deny or revoke location permission at any time in your device settings.
• Leave a buddy group at any time; your position immediately disappears from the presence channel.
• Delete your local data by deleting recordings in the app or by uninstalling the app, which removes all locally stored tracks and settings.
• Request server-side deletion by emailing info@snowwind.org — for example, to delete a buddy group record before its 24-hour expiry. Because we hold no accounts and no personal profiles, there is nothing else server-side that identifies you.

Children

SnowWind is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. Backcountry travel carries serious risks and the app is intended for adult users.

Changes to this policy

If we change this policy, we will update this page and the effective date above. Material changes (for example, if a future feature stores data on a server) will be clearly announced in the app or on the website before they take effect.

Contact

Questions about this policy or your data: info@snowwind.org

Operator: YUKIKAZE, K.K.