Privacy Policy

‍Last modified: November 24th, 2024

‍Introduction  
Sherwood Forestry Service, Inc. (“Charity,” “our,” “we”) respects your privacy and is committed to protecting it through our compliance with this Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy is part of and incorporated into our Terms of Use available here and our Website Privacy Policy available here.

In this policy we describe the types of information we may collect from you or that you may provide when you use our website, app.watchduty.org, and/or when you download, register with, access, or use the Watch Duty mobile application (collectively, the “Platform”) and our practices for collecting, using, protecting, and disclosing that information.

This policy applies to information we, and not third parties, collect:

- On the Platform;
- In email and other electronic messages between you and the Platform;
- Through mobile and desktop resources you download from the Platform;
- When you interact with our advertising and the Platform on third-party applications and services, if those services or advertising include links to this policy.

It does not apply to information collected by:
- Us offline or through any other means, including on any other website operated by Charity or any third party; or
- Any third party including through any application or content (including advertising) that may link to or be accessible from or on the Platform.

Please read this policy carefully to understand our policies and practices regarding your information and how we will treat it, as you agree to this Privacy Policy by using the Platform. If you do not agree with our policies and practices, do not download or use the Platform.  

‍Children Under the Age of 13  
The Platform is not intended for children under 13 years of age and you are not allowed to use the Platform or provide information on it if you are under 13 years of age. If we learn we have received personal information from or about a child under 13 without verification of parental consent, we will delete that information immediately. If you believe we might have any information from or about a child under 13, please contact us immediately at legal@watchduty.org.

If you are based in the European Economic Area (“EEA”) you may only use the Platform if you are over the age at which you can provide consent to data processing under the laws of your country or if verifiable parental consent for your use of the Platform has been provided to us.

‍Information We Collect And How We Collect It
‍We collect several types of information from and about users of the Platform, including:

- by which you may be personally identified, such as your e-mail address (“personal information”);
-that you voluntarily enter, such as your email address;
-Information and other content that you provide when you use the Platform, such as photographs or videos, and the information in the content that you provide, such as the location of a photo or video or the date a file was created;
- Content and other information provided by or obtained through (i) other users of the Platform and/or (ii) public resources, including but not limited to radio scanners and public wildfire cameras, that may include information about you, such as when (x) other users share or (y) public resources share, upload, host, or display, a photograph or video that may include you, be about you, or originally be sourced by you (in which case if such content and other information is obtained through public resources, Charity will provide appropriate attribution to the rightful owner if such content is posted or hosted on the Platform;
- Information about your internet connection, the equipment you use to access the Platform, and Platform usage details.

We collect this information:
- First, directly from you when you provide it to us, such as providing us your email address.
-Second, we collect generic information about your usage and equipment automatically as you navigate through the Platform, such as usage details, IP addresses, and web browser preferences if you access the Platform via your desktop or device information, such as your mobile device information and internet connection, your device’s unique device identifier, operating system, mobile network information, and metadata and other information associated with other files stored on your device, if you access the Platform via the mobile application you download to your mobile device. Such information may be collected using Google Analytics. Although we do not correlate tracking information to individuals, some information collected, such as IP addresses and device identifier, will be unique.

You also may provide information to be published or displayed (hereinafter, “posted”) on public areas of the Platform, or transmitted to other users of the Platform or third parties (collectively, “User Contributions”). Your User Contributions are posted on and transmitted to the Platform at your own risk. Additionally, we cannot control the actions of other users of the Platform with whom you may choose to share your User Contributions outside of the Platform. The Platform is available to the general public and Platform users do not need to be signed in or have an account to view or access much of the content on the Platform and it may be the case that your User Contributions may end up in the news publications or television outlets. Therefore, we cannot and do not guarantee that your User Contributions will not be viewed by unauthorized persons or other members of the general public.

Before User Contributions are posted to the Platform, such User Contributions shall undergo Charity’s moderation process. When you submit a User Contribution for review and posting, you are consenting to us disclosing this information as broadly as possible. If posted to the Platform, we reserve the right, at Charity’s sole discretion, to remove, either temporarily or permanently, any User Contribution for any reason whatsoever.

Charity’s right to remove any User Contribution and Charity’s moderation process does not obligate Charity to police, review or verify User Contributions in any way.  At all times, Charity is not liable for any User Contributions.

The information we collect is used by the Charity to identify users and provide them with services, support, sales and marketing action, and to meet contractual obligations. You may choose not to provide personal information to the Platform.

In some countries, including countries in the EEA, the information referenced above in this Privacy Policy may be considered personal information under applicable data protection laws. If you do not want us to collect this information, do not use the Platform.

‍Do Not Track Settings
‍The Charity does not track its customers over time and across third party websites to provide targeted advertising, and therefore does not respond to Do Not Track (DNT) signals. However, some third-party websites track your browsing activities when you use their websites so that they can tailor their content to your preferences. If you are visiting such sites, your web browser may allow you to set the DNT signal on your browser so that third parties (particularly advertisers) know you do not want to be tracked.

‍Automated Decision-Making
‍We do not intend to use automated decision-making in relation to the information and data that you provide through the Platform.

‍First-Party Use of Cookies
‍In some cases, Charity may use cookies for technical reasons in order for the Platform to operate. Cookies are small data files that may be placed on your computer or mobile device when you visit a website or use your mobile device. Cookies are widely used by website and application owners to make the website and application work more efficiently and to provide reporting information. Charity employs the use of cookies for internal purposes to ensure that the Platform can function and is available for your use and access, however, Charity does not employ any other cookies or tracking technology, including but not limited for the purpose of targeted ads.  The cookies are managed by Charity and not a third-party. You can set your browser or mobile device to refuse all or some cookies, however, the cookies that Charity employs are essential and if you set your browser or mobile device to refuse such cookies, the Platform may not be available to you.

‍Third-Party Use of Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies
‍Except as outlined under “First Party Use of Cookies,” we do not intend to employ the use of other cookies or other tracking technologies to provide the content available on the Platform. We do, however, use Google Analytics to collect aggregate generic information about our users and their usage of the Platform, including information about your internet connection and device information and usage while on the Platform. We also use third-party embeds, such that those through YouTube and/or Twitter, as may be applicable. Such third-parties may employ the use of cookies. Please read Google Analytics’ Privacy Policy here, YouTube’s Privacy Policy here, and Twitter’s Privacy Policy here, and get in contact with Google Analytics, YouTube, and/or YouTube if you have questions or concerns about their privacy practices.

‍How We Use Your Information  
We use information that we collect about you or that you provide to us, including any personal information:
- To develop, provide, and improve the Platform and its services to you.
- To provide you with information, products, or services that you request from us.
- To provide you with notices about your account (if applicable).
- To carry out our obligations and enforce our rights arising from any contracts entered into between you and us.
- To notify you about changes to the Platform or any products or services we offer or provide through it.
- In any other way we may describe when you provide the information.

‍Sharing and Disclosure of Your Information  
We do not intend to share or disclose personal information that we collect or that you provide through the Platform to any outside third-party.

We may disclose aggregated information about our users, and information that does not identify any individual, without restriction.

We may disclose information that we collect or that you provide:
- To our subsidiaries and affiliates.
- To contractors, service providers, and other third parties we use to support our business.
- To a buyer or other successor in the event of a merger, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, or other sale or transfer of some or all of the Charity’s assets, whether as a going concern or as part of bankruptcy, liquidation, or similar proceeding, in which personal information held by the Charity about the Platform users is among the assets transferred.
- To fulfill the purpose for which you provide it. For example, if you give us a User Contribution to upload to the Platform, such content will undergo our moderation process and if approved, we will upload the content to the Platform.
- To other users on Platform to the extent that you include such information in a User Contribution.
- To other users to the extent that information about you is shared by someone else on the Platform.
- With your consent.
- For any other purpose disclosed by us when you provide the information.To comply with any court order, law, or legal process, including to respond to any government or regulatory request.
- If we believe disclosure is necessary or appropriate to protect the rights, property, or safety of the Charity, our customers, or others.

‍Data Retention
‍We retain personal information we collect from you where we have an ongoing legitimate business need to do so (for example, to provide you with a service you have requested or to comply with applicable legal, tax, or accounting requirements).

When we have no ongoing legitimate business need to process your personal information, we will either delete or anonymize it or, if this is not possible (for example, because your personal information has been stored in backup archives), then we will securely store your personal information and isolate it from any further processing until deletion is possible.

‍Choices About How We Use and Disclose Your Personal InformationWe strive to provide you with choices regarding the personal information you provide to us. Currently, we do not intend to share or disclose the personal information you provide to us, however, if that does change, we will provide you with the mechanisms we’ve put into place to control the means and manner that we may share or disclose your personal information at that time. In the meantime, please get in contact with us via email at legal@watchduty.org if you have questions or concerns.

Here are additional mechanisms that provide you with control over your information:
‍
- Tracking Technologies. The Charity does not employ the use of cookies, however, it does employ the use of Google Analytics, and YouTube and Twitter (as provided in this Privacy Policy) to provide you with the Platform, which may employ the use of Cookies. You are encouraged to read Google Analytics Cookie Policy here, YouTube’s Privacy Policy here, and Twitter’s Privacy Policy here. You can set your browser to refuse all or some browser cookies, or to alert you when cookies are being sent.
- Location Information. You can choose whether or not to allow the Platform to collect and use real-time information about your device's location through the device's privacy settings. Such device location information will only be collected if you submit a User Contribution to be posted on the Platform. If you block the use of location information, some parts of the Platform may become inaccessible or not function properly. For instance, you will not be able to submit a User Contribution, such as a photo or video, if you block the use of location information.

We do not control third parties' collection or use of your information to serve interest-based advertising. However these third parties may provide you with ways to choose not to have your information collected or used in this way. You can opt out of receiving targeted ads from members of the Network Advertising Initiative ("NAI") on the NAI's website.

‍Accessing and Correcting Your Information
You can review and change your personal information by sending us an email at legal@watchduty.org to request access to, correct, or delete any personal information that you have provided to us. We may not accommodate a request to change information if we believe the change would violate any law or legal requirement or cause the information to be incorrect.

If you delete your User Contributions from the Platform, copies of your User Contributions may remain viewable in cached and archived pages or might have been copied, stored, displayed, or republished by other Platform users, including by not limited to general public members and news and television outlets.

‍Your California Privacy Rights  
California Civil Code Section § 1798.83 permits users of the Platform that are California residents to request certain information regarding our disclosure of personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. To make such a request, please send an email to legal@watchduty.org.

‍Transferring your information
‍The Charity is a worldwide service. By using the Platform, you authorize us to transfer and store your information outside your home country, including in the United States, for the purposes described in this policy. The privacy protections and the rights of authorities to access your information in these countries may not be the same as in your home country. We take additional measures when information is transferred from the European Economic Area (EEA). This includes having standard clauses approved by the European Commission in our contracts with parties that receive information outside the EEA. We also rely on European Commission adequacy decisions about certain countries, as applicable, for data transfers to countries outside the EEA.

‍Data Security  
We have implemented measures designed to secure your personal information from accidental loss and from unauthorized access. For example, we perform regular malware and security scanning of the Platform and all servers and computers used by us to support the Platform. All Charity employees and personnel are required to adhere to our security and confidentiality procedures and undergo training and adhere to best practices related to maintaining the security of user personal information.

Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we do our best to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of your personal information transmitted to the Platform. Any transmission of personal information is at your own risk. We are not responsible for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures contained on the Platform.

‍EEA Users
‍You have options in relation to the information and data that we have about you.  To exercise any of the options discussed below, please contact us at legal@watchduty.org. If you’re an EEA user, you may:
- Access the information we have about you. We will make an effort to share this information with you within a reasonable time.
- Have your information corrected or deleted.
- Object to us processing your information. You can ask us to stop using your information, including when we use your information to send you marketing emails or push notifications. We only send you marketing material if you've agreed to it, but if you'd rather we don't, you can easily unsubscribe at any time by clicking on the “unsubscribe” or “opt-out” link in the marketing emails we send you, or by emailing us at the email address above.
- Withdraw your consent for us to collect and process your personal information at any time.  Withdrawing your consent will not affect the lawfulness of any processing we conducted prior to your withdrawal, nor will it affect the processing of your personal information conducted in reliance on lawful processing grounds other than consent.
- Have the information you provided to us sent to another organization, where we hold this information with your consent or for the performance of a contract with you, where it's technically feasible.
- Complain to a regulator. If you're based in the EEA and think that we haven't complied with data protection laws, you have a right to lodge a complaint with the Data Protection Commission in Ireland or with your local supervisory authority.

We respond to all requests we receive from individuals wishing to exercise their data protection rights in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

‍Legal Basis for Processing Personal Information
‍Our legal basis for collecting and using the personal information described in this Privacy Policy will depend on the personal information concerned and the specific context in which we collect it. However, we will normally collect personal information from you only (i) where we need the personal information to perform a contract with you (if any); (ii) where the processing is in our legitimate interests and not overridden by your rights; or (iii) where we have your consent to do so.  We have a legitimate interest in operating our Platform and communicating with you as necessary to provide this Platform, for example when responding to your queries, improving our website, undertaking marketing, or for the purposes of detecting or preventing illegal activities.

In some cases, we may also have a legal obligation to collect personal information from you or may otherwise need the personal information to protect your vital interests or those of another person. If we ask you to provide personal information to comply with a legal requirement or to perform a contract with you, we will make this clear at the relevant time and advise you whether the provision of your personal information is mandatory or not (as well as of the possible consequences if you do not provide your personal information).

‍Third Party Links
‍The Platform may contain links that lead to other websites, and the Charity is not responsible for the privacy practices, content, and/or activities of these linked websites. Nonetheless, we seek to protect the integrity of the Platform and welcome any feedback about these external websites.
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‍Data Protection Officer
Sherwood Forestry Service, Inc. (DBA Watch Duty) is headquartered in Santa Rosa, California in the United States.  Sherwood Forestry Service has appointed an internal data protection officer for you to contact if you have any questions or concerns about Sherwood Forestry Service’s personal data policies or practices. If you would like to exercise your privacy rights, please direct your query to Sherwood Forestry Service’s data protection officer. Sherwood Forestry Service’s data protection officer’s name and contact information are as follows: 

David Merritt
dpo@watchduty.org

‍Changes to Our Privacy Policy  
We will post any changes we make to our privacy policy on this page, and you will be notified of any material changes in an email to the most recent email address that you provided to us, if any.

‍Contact Information
‍To ask questions or comment about this Privacy Policy and our privacy practices, contact us at legal@watchduty.org.