CAVEFINDER

Privacy Policy

Effective Date: March 28, 2026

CaveFinder (cavefinder.app) is operated by Buzzy LLC, a New Mexico limited liability company. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, and protect your information when you use our terrain analysis service.

Contact us: [email protected]

1. Information We Collect

Account Data

When you create an account, we collect:

Email address — used for account authentication, password resets, and service notifications
Display name — shown in the application interface
Password — stored only as a bcrypt hash; we never store or have access to your plaintext password

Usage Data

When you use CaveFinder, we automatically collect:

IP address — used for rate limiting and abuse prevention
Browser session ID — a random identifier for analytics
Search locations — the geographic bounding boxes you analyze (latitude/longitude coordinates defining the area)
Analysis parameters — data source selections, filter settings, and feature usage
Timestamps — when actions occur

Payment Data

Payment processing is handled entirely by Stripe. We never receive, process, or store your credit card number, bank account details, or other payment instrument data. We store only your Stripe customer ID to link your account to your subscription.

2. How We Use Your Data

Provide the service — process your terrain analysis requests and deliver results
Enforce subscription tier limits — track usage against your plan allowances
Prevent abuse — rate limiting, fraud detection, and enforcing acceptable use
Improve detection accuracy — we analyze aggregate usage patterns (such as which data sources and regions are most popular) to improve the service. We never use individual location data to train or improve our algorithms.
Communicate with you — service announcements, security notices, and responses to support requests

3. Cookies

CaveFinder uses a minimal number of cookies, all essential to the operation of the service:

Cookie	Purpose	Duration	Type
`cf_session`	Session tracking and authentication. Identifies your browser session for analytics and maintaining login state.	1 year	Essential, HttpOnly, Secure (production)
`cf_tier`	Stores your current subscription tier (Free or Pro) so the application can display the correct features and limits.	1 year	Essential, HttpOnly, Secure (production)

Both cookies are set with the HttpOnly flag (inaccessible to JavaScript) and the Secure flag in production (transmitted only over HTTPS). We do not use advertising cookies, tracking pixels, or third-party analytics cookies.

4. Third-Party Service Providers

We share data with the following third-party processors only as necessary to operate the service:

Stripe (stripe.com) — payment processing. See Stripe's Privacy Policy.
Anthropic (anthropic.com) — optional AI-powered features. These features require you to provide your own API key; we do not send your data to Anthropic unless you explicitly enable AI features.
OpenTopography (opentopography.org) — digital elevation model data downloads. Your requested geographic coordinates are sent to retrieve terrain data.
USGS (usgs.gov) — digital elevation model data from the 3D Elevation Program. Your requested geographic coordinates are sent to retrieve terrain data.
Cloudflare (cloudflare.com) — CDN, DDoS protection, and SSL/TLS. See Cloudflare's Privacy Policy.
OpenStreetMap / Overpass API (openstreetmap.org) — public cave location data. Geographic coordinates are sent to query publicly available cave data.

5. Data Retention

Analytics data (usage events, session logs) — retained for 90 days, then deleted
Analysis job results (candidate lists, overlays) — purged after 24 hours or on server restart, whichever comes first. Results are not permanently stored.
Account data (email, display name, hashed password) — retained until you request account deletion
Payment records (Stripe customer ID, subscription status) — retained as long as your account is active or as required for billing/legal purposes

6. Your Rights

Depending on your jurisdiction (including under the GDPR and CCPA), you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:

Access — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
Correction — request correction of inaccurate personal data
Deletion — request deletion of your account and associated data. You can delete your account directly within the application, or contact us.
Data portability — request your data in a structured, machine-readable format
Opt-out of analytics — contact us to opt out of non-essential usage data collection
Do Not Sell (CCPA) — we do not sell your personal information to third parties

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at [email protected] or use the account deletion feature within the application. We will respond within 30 days.

7. Data Security

We protect your data through:

Passwords stored using bcrypt hashing (never in plaintext)
HTTPS encryption for all data in transit (enforced via HSTS in production)
HttpOnly and Secure cookie flags to prevent client-side access
Rate limiting to prevent brute-force attacks
Security headers (X-Content-Type-Options, X-Frame-Options, Referrer-Policy)

8. Children's Privacy

CaveFinder is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, please contact us at [email protected] and we will promptly delete it.

9. International Data Transfers

CaveFinder is operated from the United States. If you access the service from outside the US, your data will be transferred to and processed in the United States. By using the service, you consent to this transfer.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will notify registered users by email before the changes take effect. The "Effective Date" at the top of this page indicates when the policy was last revised.