Privacy & cookies
Updated 15 October 2026
Atlantic Observatory is an independent, UK-based educational project run by James. This page explains how information is handled when you explore our maps, save preferences or make an optional support payment.
For privacy questions, contact hello@atlanticobservatory.com.
Exploring the maps
You do not need an account. We do not use advertising or analytics cookies, and the maps do not embed a Stripe checkout. We use Cloudflare Web Analytics for aggregate audience and performance reports on public content pages, as explained below. Selecting a map location does not request your device’s GPS location. Ordinary website delivery still involves technical information being processed by our hosting provider.
Map preferences
Optional: save your selected layer, location and available dates for up to 180 days. Off by default. Turning this off clears saved choices.
Privacy & cookiesAudience and performance measurement
Cloudflare Web Analytics helps us understand overall use of the Observatory. Reports include visits, page views, page paths, referrer information, browser and device information, approximate country and browser performance timings. Visits and page views do not identify or count unique people, and automated activity may still be included.
The measurement beacon does not use cookies, browser storage or fingerprinting to recognise visitors. It removes usernames, passwords, query strings and fragments from page and referrer URLs before sending them. We do not send map selections, form contents or private Photography records to analytics. Private review and submission pages, this privacy page, APIs, embedded maps and local previews are excluded.
Cloudflare provides dashboard access to up to six months of data. Cloudflare retains unsampled beacon data for seven days; dashboard reports may use sampling, and older data use sampled aggregates. This is a reporting window, not a promise about every provider technical log. Read Cloudflare Web Analytics documentation and Cloudflare’s privacy policy.
This optional choice saves only ao-analytics-excluded-v1 with the value “1” on this browser until you turn it off or clear site data. It is separate from map and appearance preferences. It applies to future page loads; already open pages may finish their existing measurement until reloaded. We also respect Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control when a page loads.
Loading this browser’s choice…
Display preference
The Light / Dark control remembers your chosen appearance on this browser using ao-appearance-v1 in local storage. It stores only “light” or “dark”, is not sent to our server by this feature, and is separate from the optional map preferences below. Your choice remains until you switch it or clear this site’s browser data. Without a saved choice, the site opens in light mode.
Optional browser storage
Remembering your map choices is off by default. If you enable it, this browser stores your selected map layer, field, coordinates and available dates using local storage. These preferences are not sent to our server by the preference feature.
Your choice lasts up to 180 days. When you return after it expires, we clear the stored choice and map preferences. You can turn remembering off here or at the bottom of the maps page; this deletes both stored items. You can also clear this site’s data in your browser. Old preferences saved before this optional setting was introduced are cleared unless you have made a new opt-in.
The storage keys are atlantic-preferences-v1 (your choice and expiry) and atlantic-view-v1 (map settings). Browsers may retain expired items while you are not visiting; we check expiry when you use the site. Normal browser caching may also keep copies of public map files to load them efficiently.
Hosting and technical information
Render hosts this website. Serving requests and maintaining security may involve processing IP addresses, requested URLs, request times and browser information in technical logs. We use hosting information to operate, secure and troubleshoot the site, rather than to build advertising profiles. Our basis for this processing is our legitimate interest in providing a reliable and secure service.
Hosting records are subject to Render’s retention and service settings. We view aggregate audience and performance reports in Cloudflare Web Analytics; we do not maintain a separate visitor-tracking database. See Render’s privacy policy for its handling of information.
Optional videos
The Antarctic page includes an ESA video hosted on YouTube. The player is not loaded until you choose to load the video. This choice applies to that page visit and is not saved. Once loaded, YouTube receives technical information such as your IP address and browser details and may use cookies or similar technologies. Read Google’s privacy policy. You can instead follow the link to watch on ESA, which has its own privacy practices.
Support payments through Stripe
The support button is a link to a payment page hosted by Stripe. Opening it takes you to Stripe, which processes payment and fraud-prevention information and may use its own cookies or similar technologies. We do not collect full card numbers or card security codes on this website.
Stripe may make your name, email address, contribution amount, payment status and limited payment-method details available to us. We use these details to administer contributions, answer payment questions, handle refunds or disputes and meet record-keeping obligations. We do not use support payments to subscribe you to marketing emails.
We rely on our legitimate interests in administering voluntary support and on legal obligations where financial records must be retained. Records are kept only as long as needed for those purposes and applicable legal requirements. Read Stripe’s privacy policy and cookie policy.
Photograph submissions
If you submit a photograph, we store your image, public display name, location, description, any caption and profile links, contact email and the permissions you select. Your contact email, original upload and consent record remain private to authorised reviewers. Your public name, location, image description, caption and credit links appear only after a separate publication decision. Do not include a sensitive location; “Location withheld” is accepted.
You retain copyright. Website display uses the non-exclusive permission you grant when submitting. Sharing on AO’s own social accounts requires a separate optional permission, credit and a tag to your supplied profile. Declining social permission does not affect consideration for the website. Contact hello@atlanticobservatory.com to request a correction, removal or withdrawal of permission.
Supabase stores submission records and private images in our Ireland project. Render processes form requests. Resend sends AO’s reviewer an alert containing a submission reference and a private review link, without your photograph or contact details. Reviewer sign-in sets one essential first-party cookie, ao_review, only after a successful login. It authenticates private review requests and is not used for analytics or advertising. It is a browser-session cookie, protected with Secure, HttpOnly and SameSite settings; the server rejects sessions older than one hour. Signing out clears the cookie. Visitors browsing the maps or submitting a photograph do not need this login cookie. We use keyed hashes of technical connection addresses and submission references to limit abuse; these are not used for advertising.
We use your information to review, contact you about and administer your submission. Our basis for private review and security is our legitimate interest in operating a curated educational photography collection. Publication follows your explicit permission. We keep published photographs and permission records while the work remains published and as needed to resolve rights questions. Unpublished submissions are deleted after 90 days. You can request earlier deletion by emailing us. Published photographs and their permission records are kept while displayed. Any protected backup copies expire under our backup retention schedule.
These providers may process service information internationally under their applicable safeguards. Read Supabase’s privacy policy and Resend’s privacy policy.
When you contact us
If you email us, we receive your email address and anything you choose to include. Messages sent to our contact mailbox are handled by our email hosting provider. We use your message to respond and resolve your request, on the basis of our legitimate interest in providing support. We retain correspondence as needed to handle the enquiry and any related obligations. Please do not email card details or passwords.
Providers and international processing
Render, Stripe, Google and Cloudflare may process information outside the UK. Their applicable terms and privacy policies describe their international processing and safeguards. See also Google’s privacy policy. External source and map links take you to websites with their own privacy practices.
Your rights
Depending on the circumstances, you can request access to, correction or deletion of your personal information, ask us to restrict processing, object to processing based on legitimate interests, or request portability where it applies. You can withdraw your choice to remember map settings at any time using the control above.
Email hello@atlanticobservatory.com to make a request. You can also raise a concern with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office.