Data Usage & Attribution Policy

1. User-Contributed Data

Users of SightTrack may contribute ecological observations ("Sightings"), which may include:

• Photographs of species or habitats
• Geolocation data (latitude, longitude)
• Date and time of observation
• Descriptive text or tags

Users retain the ability to edit or delete their submitted sightings at any time through their personal account.

2. Ownership and Licensing

All data submitted by users remains the intellectual property of the individual contributors. SightTrack does not claim ownership over any user-submitted data, including images, descriptions, or geospatial information.

To support open science and collaborative conservation efforts, contributors grant SightTrack a non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual license to:

• Store, process, and display submitted data on our platform
• Use the data in aggregated or anonymized form for analysis, mapping, and research
• Share data with external organizations and platforms under open data terms
• Train AI models on de-identified datasets to support ecological and conservation-related outcomes

Unless otherwise noted, all data (excluding private user information) is made available under the Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 License, which allows reuse with attribution to the original contributor.

3. Public Access and Data Sharing

SightTrack enables open access to biodiversity data to advance research, education, and environmental action. Specifically:

• Public Access: We provide access to contributed data through interactive maps, downloadable files, and APIs.
• Collaborations: We share data with academic institutions, nonprofit organizations, schools, and governmental bodies engaged in biodiversity monitoring and restoration.
• Global Databases: We may publish de-identified user data to reputable open-science platforms, including:
  • GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility)
  • iNaturalist
  • DataCite and other data repositories

In all cases, we work to preserve the privacy and intent of our contributors while amplifying the scientific value of their observations.

4. Use in AI & Research

SightTrack uses contributed data to:

• Train artificial intelligence models for species identification and ecological trend analysis
• Support public reports and conservation recommendations based on aggregated community data
• Provide predictive recommendations and conservation alerts (e.g., via the ActionTrack engine)

No data is ever sold or used for commercial advertising or monetization purposes. Only research-aligned or mission-compatible third parties may be granted access under open-use agreements.

5. Attribution Guidelines

When third parties use or redistribute data originating from SightTrack:

• Attribution must be made to the original contributor (user), if identifiable, in accordance with the Creative Commons license.
• Attribution to SightTrack is not required, but encouraged where practical to support platform visibility and community growth.
• For citations in academic work or publications, we recommend the following format:

6. Data Modification and Removal

Users may:

• Edit their contributions through their personal dashboard
• Permanently delete individual sightings
• Request deletion of all associated data by contacting contact@sighttrack.org

Once removed, the data will be purged from active databases and withheld from future redistribution. Previously published open data may remain in external archives but will no longer be updated or linked to user identities.

Contact Us

If you have any questions regarding privacy while using the Application, or have questions about the practices, please contact the Service Provider via email at: