Privacy
Last updated October 21, 2026
The short version
- The map, hunting areas, seasons, shooting light and offline maps work without an account.
- Your location is used on your phone. It goes to our server only for the few things that need it: land status and "Where am I", the weather, and the route finder. We don't keep a history of where you've been. Tracks and waypoints are only stored with your account if you save them there.
- No ads, and no analytics or tracking tools. The maps come from Mapbox, which sees the map pieces your phone asks for and counts how many phones use them; its optional data sharing is off unless you turn it on. We don't sell your information or share it for advertising.
- You can delete your account and everything in it, from the app or at huntsidekick.com/delete-account.
Who we are
Hunt Sidekick is a hunting map app for British Columbia, made in BC. In this policy "we" means the people who run Hunt Sidekick. It covers the Hunt Sidekick apps for iPhone and Android and this website. For anything about your information, email hello@huntsidekick.com.
What we collect, and why
Your account (only if you make one)
- Email address. To sign in, and to send you sign-in codes. We don't send marketing email.
- If you use Continue with Google: Google gives us your name, email address and an account number for your Google account. We don't get your Google password, contacts or anything else in your Google account.
- Sign-in codes. When you sign in by email we send a 6-digit code. We keep only a scrambled form of it (a hash), and it stops working after 10 minutes. We also keep a record of each code email (the address, the time, and whether it was delivered) for 30 days, so we can fix sign-in problems.
Things you save
If you're signed in and sync is on (it can be turned off in Settings), your waypoints and the photos you add to them, tracks, saved routes, the list of areas you've saved for offline, and settings are stored with your account, so they appear on your other phones. Without an account they stay on your phone only.
Your location
- On your phone, to show where you are, the hunting area you're in and its seasons, shooting light, and to record a track or follow a route. Once you start recording a track, the app keeps using your location with the screen off until you stop it. Android shows a "Recording your track" notice and iPhone shows a blue bar while that happens.
- Sent to our server only when a feature needs it: the point you ask about for land status and "Where am I", the spot you want weather for, and the start and end points of a route search. These aren't added to your account. A route is only stored with your account if you save it.
- Map pieces. To draw the map, your phone downloads map pieces for the area on screen: the topo and satellite maps and ground heights straight from Mapbox, and the other layers (land status, closures and the rest) from our server. Saving an area for offline downloads the same pieces ahead of time. Like any website, Mapbox sees your phone's internet address and which map pieces it asked for. It also counts how many phones use its maps each month, for its billing, using a random number for each install of the app. It doesn't get your name, email or account.
- Mapbox's data sharing (off unless you turn it on). Mapbox can also collect anonymous usage data from apps that show its maps, including where the phone is while the map shows your position, to improve its maps. In Hunt Sidekick this is off unless you turn it on in Settings, Privacy.
We never sell location information or share it with anyone except as described on this page.
Crash reports and the app log
- On Android, if the app crashes it sends us a crash report: the app version, phone model and Android version, and the app's recent log of what it was doing.
- On either phone, you can send us the app log yourself from More, Send app log.
- Coordinates and map-piece numbers are removed before anything is written to the log, so reports don't show where you were.
Our server's request log
Our hosting company keeps a short log of requests to our server (the time, the address asked for, the internet address and the app or browser making it) to keep the service secure and to fix problems. For some lookups the address asked for includes the point it was about.
This website
If you leave your email address to hear about the launch, we keep it with the date and the country and province the request came from. We use it to email you when the app is out and don't share it. Email us to be taken off the list. The website doesn't use cookies or analytics.
Who handles information for us
| Company | What for | What it gets |
|---|---|---|
| Cloudflare | Runs our server, database and file storage, and sends sign-in emails | Everything stored with your account, and requests to our server |
| Continue with Google, if you use it | That you're signing in to Hunt Sidekick | |
| Mapbox | The topo and satellite maps and ground heights your phone downloads directly | Your phone's internet address, the map pieces it asks for, and a random number for the app install (to count users). Usage and location data only if you turn on sharing in Settings |
| Open-Meteo | Weather forecasts | The spot asked about, from our server, without who asked |
| Government of BC, Natural Resources Canada, Amazon Web Services | Public map and terrain data (hunting areas, land status, roads, ground heights for the route finder) | Nothing about you: our server fetches the data |
Apple and Google run the app stores and handle downloads under their own privacy policies. We don't use advertising networks, analytics services or anything that tracks you across other apps and websites.
Where it's kept
Our server and storage run on Cloudflare's network, which has data centres in Canada, the United States and other countries. Information stored outside Canada is covered by the laws of the country it's in, and may be accessible to that country's courts and authorities.
How long we keep it
| Information | Kept |
|---|---|
| Your account and what you've saved to it | Until you delete it, or delete your account |
| Sign-in code email records | 30 days |
| Crash reports and app logs | 90 days |
| Server request log | Up to 7 days |
| Launch-news email addresses | Until the launch email goes out, or you ask us to remove yours |
When you delete your account, your account, its sign-in methods, everything synced to it and your photos are deleted straight away. Our database keeps an automatic recovery copy for 30 days, so the last copies are gone 30 days after that.
Your choices and rights
- Use the app without an account, turn sync off in Settings, or sign out on any phone.
- Turn off location for Hunt Sidekick in your phone's settings. The map still works, but it can't show where you are or record tracks.
- Delete your account in the app (More, Your account, Delete account) or at huntsidekick.com/delete-account.
- Ask for a copy of your information, or ask us to correct it, by emailing hello@huntsidekick.com. We answer within 30 days.
- If you're not happy with how we've handled your information, you can complain to the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner for British Columbia or the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.
Security
Everything between the app and our server is encrypted (HTTPS), and Cloudflare encrypts stored data. Sign-in codes are kept only as a hash, and signing out on a phone ends its session. No system is perfectly secure; if something goes wrong that affects your information, we'll tell you and the privacy commissioner as the law requires.
Children
Hunt Sidekick isn't meant for children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect information from them. If you think a child under 13 has an account, email us and we'll delete it.
Changes to this policy
We'll post changes on this page and update the date at the top. If a change affects how we use information you've already given us, we'll tell you in the app or by email first.