Privacy Policy

Information we collect

Wisconsin Trackside collects account email and authentication information, the public profile details you choose, train sightings, locomotive consists, car counts, train symbols, chase posts and stops, likes, comments, private messages, contact preferences, reports, blocks, uploaded photos and attribution, account requests, and technical information needed to operate and secure the service.

Device location and public observation pins

My location uses your browser’s permission to show a temporary position estimate on the map. The application does not save that device estimate in your account or draft, or automatically submit it as a sighting. Clear my location removes the marker. Street-map providers receive requests for the area you view; use the lightweight map to avoid street-map tile downloads.

A crossing or pin you deliberately select records where the train was observed. Public crossing IDs and selected public pins can reveal an exact location. Other reports may use an approximate area. Do not enter a private home address or another person’s location. Choosing a pin at the map center is an explicit selection, even if you first centered the map with My location.

Drafts on shared devices

Unfinished sightings can store the selected public pin, place, time, units, counts and notes on this device. Chase and photo forms also retain draft text. Drafts are separated by account but are not encrypted from someone with access to the browser’s storage. Signing out does not erase every saved draft. Review or clear drafts in My Trackside before lending a device. File selections may need to be chosen again after reopening.

Photos and videos

The normal photo uploader removes embedded GPS and other descriptive metadata from supported JPEG, PNG and WebP files while preserving orientation. Photos served through the site’s photo endpoints, including previews, also pass through this protection. This does not hide recognizable homes, people, signs or locations visible in the image.

Older stored photo originals have not all been replaced with cleaned files. Raw signed links issued for those originals can still expose metadata until the files are cleaned and cached copies expire. Videos retain their original file metadata, which may include location. Remove location information before uploading a video and avoid sensitive content. Request a privacy review if a file or sighting reveals information you did not intend to share.

How information is used

We use information to provide accounts, maps, community features, moderation, safety, support, data exports, deletion requests, fraud prevention, and service improvement. We do not publish account email addresses.

Storage and sharing

Account, database, authentication and photo storage use Supabase. The hosted site and video/object services also use Cloudflare infrastructure. Service providers process information only to operate Wisconsin Trackside. Public content is visible according to its moderation and visibility status.

Public authorship and private profiles

Your username identifies public sightings, chase posts and sighting comments you share, even when your full profile is private. A private profile keeps its photo, bio and optional details out of public view and the member directory. Your email address remains private. Historical archive records are not attributed to the account that imported them.

Member messages

Direct messages are stored to deliver conversations to the sender and recipient. They are not public and do not reveal account email addresses. Authorized service operations may access stored data for support and safety; messages are not end-to-end encrypted. Profile visibility does not prevent contact by username. You can turn off incoming messages or block a member from the Messages page. Account data exports include your conversations, and deleting either participating account removes its conversations.

Private support and reports

Support requests and correction reports are visible to the submitting account and authorized staff, not the public feed. The form includes the page path and any record ID you provide; it does not automatically include device coordinates, your email, or URL query parameters. Staff can use authorized account support tools when contact is needed. Email support remains available if you cannot sign in.

Your choices

You can edit or delete your own eligible content, block users, report content, request a copy of your data, and request account deletion in the app or on the account-deletion page. Some records may be retained when legally required or anonymized when necessary to preserve community safety and record integrity.

Children

Wisconsin Trackside is not intended for children under 13. Do not submit another person’s precise private location or personal information.