Mobile App Privacy Policy

Yarran Dheran Nature Reserve app

Last updated: 8 July 2026

This privacy policy explains how the Yarran Dheran Nature Reserve app (“the app”), developed and operated by Adam Howell on behalf of the Yarran Dheran Advisory Committee (“we”, “us”), handles your information. As the Yarran Dheran Advisory Committee is a volunteer community group and not an incorporated body, this policy is issued in Adam Howell’s name as the app’s developer and legal operator of record. We have built the app to collect as little personal information as possible. There is no account, no sign-up, and no advertising.

Information we collect

We keep what leaves your device to a minimum. Two features send a small amount of information off your device.

• Push notifications (OneSignal). If you opt in to notifications, our notification provider, OneSignal, generates an anonymous notification identifier for your device and stores your device’s push token along with basic technical details (device type, operating system version, app version, language and time zone). This lets us send you alerts such as reserve updates and fire-danger warnings. You can turn notifications off at any time in your device settings.
• Quest progress. If you take part in the in-app quests, a record of which quests you have completed is saved to our hosting provider (Netlify) so your progress can be restored if you reinstall the app or change devices. This record is linked to an automatically generated identifier for your device — not to your name, email address, or any account — and is not shared with any third party.

Information that stays on your device

The following is processed entirely on your device and is never collected, stored, or transmitted to us or to any third party:

• Location. If you grant location access, your position is used on your device only — for example, to show where you are on the map. We do not receive, log, or store your location.
• App settings and preferences (such as light/dark mode or audio-walk progress) are stored locally on your device.

Third-party content and services

The app displays information from external sources. Where it does, only standard technical requests are made to retrieve that content; we do not send your personal information to these services.

• iNaturalist. Recent wildlife sightings shown in the app are public data retrieved from the iNaturalist API. We do not submit any of your data to iNaturalist.
• Weather and fire-danger ratings. Weather is retrieved from Open-Meteo, and fire-danger ratings from Victorian emergency services data and the Bureau of Meteorology, for the reserve’s fixed location. No personal information about you is sent to obtain them.
• Maps. Map imagery is loaded from OpenStreetMap. As with any web map, your device requests the map tiles you are viewing directly from OpenStreetMap’s servers.
• Fonts and map library. The app loads fonts from Google Fonts and the Leaflet mapping library from a content-delivery network (unpkg). When these load, your device’s IP address is visible to those providers, as it is with any website. No other information is sent to them.
• OneSignal (described above) processes notification data on our behalf. See OneSignal’s privacy policy at onesignal.com/privacy_policy.

What we do not do

• We do not require you to create an account.
• We do not use analytics or advertising trackers, and we do not track you across other apps or websites.
• We do not sell or rent any personal information.

How we use information

The notification data described above is used solely to deliver the push notifications you have asked to receive. The quest record is used solely to save and restore your progress through the in-app quests. We do not use either for any other purpose.

Data retention

Notification data is retained by OneSignal for as long as your device remains subscribed. If you disable notifications or uninstall the app, that subscription becomes inactive and the associated record is removed in the ordinary course. Quest progress is retained while it remains useful for restoring your progress; you may ask us to delete it at any time (see below).

Where your information is stored

Some of the providers described above are based outside Australia. Our notification provider (OneSignal) and our hosting provider (Netlify) operate in the United States, so the limited information they handle on our behalf — push-notification data and quest progress respectively — may be stored or processed overseas. We take reasonable steps to ensure it continues to be handled consistently with this policy.

Children

The app is intended for a general audience and does not knowingly collect personal information from children.

Your privacy rights

We handle personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles. You may contact us to ask what information (if any) we hold about you, to request a correction, or to ask that your notification subscription or stored quest progress be removed. If you are not satisfied with our response, you may lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at oaic.gov.au.

Security

We take reasonable steps to protect the limited information involved. Notification data is transmitted over encrypted (HTTPS) connections.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The “last updated” date above reflects the most recent change.