Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

When you create an account, we collect your email address, display name, and profile photo (provided via Google sign-in through Firebase Authentication). When you use Shimmerscape, we also collect:

• Content you create — tank profiles, timeline entries, photos, videos, equipment lists, resident records, water parameters, and community links.
• Usage data — pages visited, features used, and storage consumed. We use this to operate and improve the service.
• Device information — browser type, operating system, and screen size, collected automatically through standard web protocols.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Provide, operate, and maintain Shimmerscape
• Display your public tank pages and profile to other users
• Enforce storage limits and service quotas
• Send important service notifications (e.g., security alerts)
• Improve the service based on aggregate usage patterns

We do not sell your personal information. We do not use your data for advertising.

3. Public Content

Tank pages, timeline entries, and user profiles are publicly accessible by design — this is core to Shimmerscape's purpose as a sharing platform. Any content you add to your tank page (photos, descriptions, equipment lists, etc.) may be viewed by anyone with the link and indexed by search engines.

4. Data Storage and Security

Your content is stored on secure cloud infrastructure. Photos and videos are stored in Cloudflare R2 object storage. Account data is stored in a PostgreSQL database. We use HTTPS encryption for all data in transit and follow industry-standard security practices.

5. Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services:

• Firebase Authentication (Google) — for account sign-in
• Cloudflare R2 — for media file storage
• Vercel — for web application hosting

Each of these services has its own privacy policy governing how they handle data.

6. Data Retention

We retain your data for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, we will delete all associated data (tanks, entries, media files, and personal information) within 30 days. Some data may persist in backups for up to 90 days.

7. Your Rights

You can:

• Access your data at any time through the Shimmerscape interface
• Edit or delete any content you've created
• Delete your account from the Account settings page, which removes all your data
• Contact us with questions or requests about your data

8. Cookies

We use essential cookies only — for authentication session management. We do not use tracking cookies, advertising cookies, or third-party analytics cookies.

9. Children's Privacy

Shimmerscape is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes by posting a notice on the service. Your continued use of Shimmerscape after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

11. Contact

If you have questions about this privacy policy or your data, contact us at privacy@shimmerscape.com.