Privacy Policy
Version 1.0 · Effective 26 July 2026
This Privacy Policy explains what UAP Finder ("we", "us", the "platform") collects, why, and what you can do about it. UAP Finder is a community platform for recording and corroborating night-sky observations. It is built to hold the least personal data it can while still doing that job — the sections below describe exactly what that means in practice.
What we collect
Account data. The email address you register with, a securely hashed password (we never store or see the password itself), and a record that you affirmed you are 16 or older and accepted these documents, with the date you did so.
Sighting data. When you share a sighting, we receive the time of the observation, an approximate, deliberately fuzzed location, the object's sky bearings and angular track, your device type, and a hash of the clip. We also receive a single still image from the capture, and — in the two cases described under "Video and images" below — the video itself.
Precise location. Your device knows your exact coordinates; we use them only on our servers to check whether two observers saw the same object (corroboration). Your exact location is never shown publicly and never leaves our servers — every public view goes through a fuzzing step, and even the corroboration geometry we publish is coarsened so it cannot be used to work backward to where you were.
Activity. Votes, reports you file on other content, and group-session participation are tied to your account. We keep basic operational logs (for example, request rate) to run the service securely.
Why we collect it, and our legal basis
We process your email and password to provide and secure your account (performance of our agreement with you). We process sighting data, votes, and corroboration to deliver the core service and to maintain the integrity of a shared, community-verified record (our legitimate interest in operating a trustworthy platform, and your consent when you choose to share a sighting publicly). We keep the age and consent record because we are required to. Where the law requires consent, we ask for it and you may withdraw it — see "Your rights".
Video and images
We keep one still image for every sighting you share, so it can appear on the map and in listings.
We keep the video permanently in two cases: when your sighting is independently corroborated by another observer, and when you choose to keep it. Otherwise the video stays on your own device and is relayed on request — we hold it only for the few minutes it takes to pass it along, then delete it.
How long we keep it
Account data is kept while your account is open. Shared sighting records and their still images are kept as part of the public record for as long as your account exists or until you remove them. Videos follow the rule above. Transient relayed video is deleted within minutes. When you delete your account, we delete your data as described under "Removing it".
Who we share it with
We don't sell your data, and we don't share it with advertisers. We use infrastructure providers (cloud hosting, database, storage, and transactional email) to run the platform; they process data only on our instructions and only to provide those services. We may disclose data if required by law. Anything you choose to publish — a shared sighting, its fuzzed location and image, a vote — is visible to others by design.
What we don't do
We don't sell your data. We never publish your exact location. We don't use third-party social or advertising logins, so no third party is in your login path or receives your identity when you sign in.
Security
Connections use HTTPS. Passwords are stored only as salted, iterated hashes. Secrets are held in a managed key vault, and access to stored images and videos runs through a single controlled path so that hiding or deleting content removes the underlying files, not just the records. No system is perfectly secure, but data minimisation is our first line of defence — the less we hold, the less there is to lose.
Children
UAP Finder is not directed at children and is intended for users aged 16 or older. We do not knowingly collect data from anyone under 16. If you believe a child has created an account, contact us and we will remove it.
International transfers
The platform is operated from, and its data stored in, facilities that may be located in a different country from where you live. Where personal data is transferred across borders, we rely on our providers' safeguards for such transfers.
Removing it
Deleting your account deletes the stored images and videos too, not just the records describing them. Content hidden after a report stops being viewable immediately.
Your rights
You can export all of your data or permanently delete your account at any time from your account page. Depending on where you live, you may also have the right to access, correct, or restrict processing of your data, to object to it, and to withdraw consent; deleting your account is the current way to withdraw consent and erase your data. To exercise any of these rights, use your account page or contact us at privacy@uapfinder.com.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy. When we make a material change we will update the version and effective date above, and — where appropriate — ask you to review the updated terms.
Contact
Questions about your privacy or this policy: privacy@uapfinder.com.