Privacy Policy

Last updated: October 2026

Overview

WildGemma is an offline-first trail naturalist application. It is designed from the ground up to minimise data collection and maximise user privacy. The core AI inference runs entirely on your device using edge models, meaning your voice queries, text observations, and sensor telemetry never leave your hardware during normal operation.

Data We Collect

When you use WildGemma in its default offline mode, we collect no personal data whatsoever. Specifically:

Voice recordings are processed locally via the Web Speech API and are never transmitted to our servers.
Text observations are resolved against an on-device knowledge base and are not stored beyond your browser session.
Sensor telemetry (barometric pressure, temperature, humidity, altitude, cadence) is simulated or sourced from local hardware and is not transmitted externally.
Location coordinates used for trail context are stored only in your browser's local memory during the active session.

Optional Cloud Sync

If you choose to use the "Trailhead Sync" feature at the end of a hike, your session observations and telemetry may be transmitted to cloud services (such as MongoDB Atlas) for durable storage. This sync is entirely opt-in and only occurs when you explicitly press the sync button.

Third-Party Services

WildGemma may interact with the following external services when online connectivity is available:

Google Fonts for web typography (subject to Google's privacy policy).
SerpApi for NPS trail alerts during pre-hike caching (no personal data is sent).
MongoDB Atlas Vector Search for post-hike journal synchronisation (opt-in only).

Cookies and Local Storage

WildGemma uses browser local storage and service workers solely for offline caching of application assets and biome knowledge. We do not use cookies for tracking, analytics, or advertising purposes.

Children's Privacy

WildGemma does not knowingly collect information from children under 13. The application is designed as a general-purpose trail safety tool and does not target or profile users of any age group.

Open Source

WildGemma is an open-source project. You can inspect the complete source code to verify our privacy practices at any time. The codebase is publicly available on GitHub.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. Changes will be reflected by updating the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Continued use of WildGemma after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

Contact

If you have questions about this privacy policy or WildGemma's data practices, please open an issue on our GitHub repository.