← Back to map

Privacy & Terms of Use

Last updated: October 2026

Epping Forest Finds ("the app", "we", "us") is a free map application for exploring Epping Forest. These terms explain how we collect and use data when you choose to share usage data with the app.

1. What data we collect

Turning on location lets the app centre the map on you; that position is used on your device and is not collected on its own. Only if you also agree to share usage data — a separate question the app asks, which you can answer "No thanks" — do we collect the following:

• GPS coordinates — your approximate position, updated approximately once per minute while the app is open
• Direction of travel — your compass bearing, where available from your device
• Navigation targets — which trees, landmarks, or features you navigate toward
• Interactions — which map features (trees, pubs, paths, etc.) you tap to view in more detail
• Timestamps — when each of the above events occurred

We also assign each device a randomly generated anonymous identifier (stored locally on your device) to link events into sessions. This identifier contains no personal information and cannot be used to identify you individually.

2. What we do NOT collect

• Your name or any account details, unless you choose to sign in to the Community features (section 13). The app works fully without signing in
• Device identifiers (IMEI, advertising ID, etc.)
• Contacts or any personal files. The only photo we receive is one you choose to attach to a report (section 13)
• Location data when the app is not open

If you choose to join our mailing list we hold your email address, and only then. That is covered separately in section 12 below, and it is never connected to the anonymous usage data described in section 1.

3. Why we collect this data

Usage data helps us improve Epping Forest Finds by:

• Understanding which areas of the forest are most visited, so we can add better coverage
• Identifying popular routes and walks
• Spotting areas with little activity where new features or data may be needed
• Improving map accuracy and performance

4. Advertising and future commercial use

We may in the future use anonymised, aggregated usage data to:

• Show relevant in-app suggestions, sponsored listings, or advertising content (for example, nearby pubs or events)
• Share aggregated (never individual) insights with forest management bodies, local businesses, or tourism organisations

Any advertising will be clearly labelled. Your individual location history will never be sold to third parties.

5. Data retention

Location and interaction data is retained for up to 24 months, after which it is either deleted or permanently anonymised (aggregated into heatmap statistics with no individual journey data preserved).

6. Data security

All data is transmitted over HTTPS and stored on secure servers. Access to raw tracking data is restricted to authorised administrators.

7. Your rights (GDPR)

If you are located in the UK or EU, you have the right to:

• Access — request a copy of the data we hold about your anonymous ID
• Erasure — request deletion of all data linked to your anonymous ID, including your Community reports and any account link (section 13)
• Withdraw consent — turn usage analytics off at any time via Settings → Privacy in the app; this stops all future data collection immediately and deletes the anonymous ID and analytics cookies from your device
• Portability — request your data in machine-readable format
• Objection — object to processing for direct marketing purposes

To exercise any of these rights, email us at the address below. Please include "Privacy request" in the subject line and, if possible, your anonymous ID (shown in Settings → Privacy while usage analytics is on — note it before turning analytics off).

8. Cookies and local storage

The app and website use browser localStorage to store your anonymous ID, filter preferences, consent status, and an offline queue of pending tracking events. This is not a cookie and is never shared with third-party cookie networks.

Separately, every page uses Google Analytics to understand how the site and app are used — which pages and screens are viewed, and in the app, which map items are selected (by type and name only; never your GPS coordinates). Google Analytics is not loaded at all, and sets no cookies (_ga, _ga_*), until you accept the cookie banner shown on first visit or agree to share usage data in the app; declining, or not responding, keeps it off. Google Signals and ad personalisation are always off. Declining or withdrawing later deletes any analytics cookies already set. Your choice is stored once and applied on every page — you are not asked again unless you clear your browser storage. You can review or change it at any time: use the "Manage cookie preferences" button below, or Settings → Privacy → Usage analytics in the app.

Manage cookie preferences

On the website this cookie choice is its own question. In the app, analytics cookies and the usage data in section 1 are asked about together, as one question ("Help improve the map?"), so a single answer covers both and a single switch in Settings → Privacy changes both. Neither is ever bundled with turning on location.

9. Children

The app is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect data from children. If you believe a child has enabled location sharing, please contact us to request deletion.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Significant changes will be notified in-app. Continued use of the location feature after notification constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

11. App usage terms

Epping Forest Finds is provided free of charge for personal, non-commercial use. The app is offered "as is" without warranty. Map data is sourced from OpenStreetMap contributors and the Epping Forest Veteran Tree Register. We make no guarantees about the accuracy or completeness of information shown.

You must not use the app in a way that infringes the rights of others, violates applicable law, or places undue load on our servers.

12. Mailing list

The website at eppingforestfinds.uk offers a mailing list you can join to receive an invite to the app's closed alpha and occasional news about the app. Joining is entirely optional and is not required to use the app.

• What we store — your email address, the date and time you signed up, and the exact wording of the consent you agreed to.
• Lawful basis — your consent, given by ticking the box on the sign-up form. You confirm it by clicking a link in an email we send you; until you do, you are not added to the list.
• What we send — alpha invites and occasional updates about Epping Forest Finds. Nothing else, and nothing from anyone else.
• Who processes it — EmailOctopus, our email provider, stores the list and sends the messages on our behalf.
• Withdrawing consent — every message carries an unsubscribe link, which takes effect immediately. You can also email us to be removed.
• Retention — we keep your address until you unsubscribe, or until the mailing list is discontinued, whichever comes first.

Your mailing list address is never linked to the anonymous usage data in section 1. Access to the alpha is a single shared link used by everyone who has it, so there is no per-person identifier on the app side that your address could be joined to.

13. Community checks and optional sign-in

The Community screen lets you check that trees and places on the map are right, add a tree or place that is missing, and send feedback. This is separate from the location and usage tracking in section 1, and does not depend on that consent: it only happens when you choose to send a report.

What a report contains

• What you reported (for example "verified this tree" or "this pub has closed"), the tree or place it is about, any note you typed, and the time.
• Your device's position at the moment you send a tree report, and its accuracy for a new tree. We use it only to check that you were standing next to the tree; reports sent from further away are kept but earn no points.
• For feedback and a new place, the position you send it from (if location is on) and any photo you attach.
• The app version, the address of the page you were on and a description of your browser and device, added to feedback and place reports.
• A random Community ID generated on your device (shown in the app as your recovery code). It is how your score and report history are kept together. Anyone who has the code can act as you, so keep it private. It is not linked to your name unless you sign in.

Where reports go and who can see them

• Tree checks are stored on our servers. Other people see only the combined result (for example "verified by 2 people" or "questioned by the community"), never an individual report or its position. The combined results are also published in a public report prepared for the City of London's tree team, to help correct the Veteran Tree Register.
• Place changes, missing places and feedback become issues in a public GitHub repository (hosted by GitHub), so a person can review them. Anyone on the internet can read them. An issue contains: the place name and what you reported; any note you typed; a position (for a place change, the place's; for feedback and a new place, the position you sent it from, to about 10 cm); a photo if you attach one (stored by us and linked from the issue); the app version; the address of the page you were on; your browser and device description (the "user agent"); a random request ID; and a one-way reference used to credit you with points. It never contains your Community ID, your name or your email address. Anything you type or photograph is public, so please don't include personal details. The app tells you this on each of these forms before you send.
• Edits and deletion on GitHub. When we remove a report at your request we edit the issue to remove its content and close it. GitHub keeps the earlier versions of an edited issue, so that history may remain visible until GitHub deletes it; we can ask GitHub to remove it, but we cannot promise they will.
• Your points, rank, badges and streak are shown only to you. There is no public leaderboard.

Access during testing

While the app is being tested, Community checks may be switched on only for approved testers; everyone else sees a Feedback page instead, and feedback works the same way as above. To decide this, the app sends a short Tester ID to our server each time it starts. It is the first 10 characters of a one-way hash of your Community ID (and, if you are signed in, of your account and of the other devices linked to it, so that being approved on one of your devices covers the others), so it does not reveal the Community ID itself. It appears in Settings → About so you can give it to us if you want access. We keep a list of approved Tester IDs on our servers.

Optional sign-in

You can sign in to keep your points on any device. Sign-in is provided by Auth0 (an Okta service), which shows its own login page where you can use a social account or an email address. Auth0 handles your password or social login; we never see it.

• What we receive — the identifier your login provider gives for you and a display name. If the name looks like an email address we ignore it and show "Walker". We do not receive or store your email address.
• What we store — a one-way hash of that identifier, and the list of Community IDs (devices) you link to your account. Linking combines the reports from those devices into one score and one history under your account, and the devices count as one person (one reporter) when community checks are tallied.
• The sign-in cookie — signing in sets one cookie, ff_session: signed, HttpOnly, Secure, valid for 30 days, holding the provider identifier and your display name. It is strictly necessary for staying signed in and is only set if you sign in. Signing out removes it from that device.
• Merging sign-ins — if you use more than one login you can merge them from Settings → Account, after proving you control both. We then keep a record that the second login belongs to the first account, and the devices and points of both are combined under one account. Merging cannot be undone.
• Who processes it — Auth0 processes your login under its own privacy policy. Our servers are hosted by Netlify.

Keeping and deleting it

We keep Community reports, the Community ID's score and any account link until you ask us to delete them. To have them deleted, email us as described in section 7 with "Privacy request" in the subject and, if you can, your recovery code. Deleting removes your reports, score and account link from our servers, and we will close or edit any public GitHub issue we filed from your report; the combined results already shown to others are recalculated without you. Requests are handled by hand, and we will tell you when it is done. Signing out does not delete anything. Deleting our records does not delete your account with the login provider you used (Auth0 and, through it, a social account): that is held by them and you can remove it with them.

14. Who we are

Epping Forest Finds is run by Simon McManus, who is the data controller for the purposes of UK GDPR. Contact details are below.

---