Privacy policy

Get Busy Exploring has no accounts. We never ask for your name, email address, or password. Your travel data is stored under a random, anonymous restore code that only you hold, and you can permanently delete everything with one button. We don't sell data, and the only third-party services involved are the ones described below.

When you use the site, the following is saved: the countries, states, and provinces you mark as visited or want-to-go; the places you pin (a Google Maps place reference, the place name and coordinates, your visit date, category, and notes); your trips (name and dates); and any share links you create. Your color palette preference stays in your browser only.

We store no personal identifiers: no name, no email, no phone number, no account. Your data is keyed to a randomly generated restore code created the first time you use the site.

Your data starts out in your browser's local storage only — casually clicking around the maps sends nothing to our server. A server copy is created once you do something that needs one: adding a place or trip, creating a share link, or viewing your restore code. From then on your data syncs so your maps survive a cleared browser and can be restored on another device with your restore code. Anyone who has your restore code can access and modify that data — treat it like a password.

Sharing is off until you create a share link. Share links are read-only, unlisted (the URL is unguessable and marked not to be indexed by search engines), and revocable at any time from where you created them. A shared link exposes only its scope — your region maps, one trip, or a year-in-review card — never your restore code.

The Places & Trips pages use Google Maps and Google Places to display maps and search for places; your interactions with those features are subject to Google's privacy policy. If you import your Google Timeline, the export file is analyzed entirely in your browser — it is never uploaded to our servers, and only the regions, trips, and places you choose to import are saved.

We use Google AdSense to show ads. Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this and other websites. Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve ads based on your visits to this site and/or other sites on the internet. You can opt out of personalized advertising in Google Ads Settings or at aboutads.info.

We use Google Analytics to understand how the site is used — page views, rough geography, and which features get attention. It uses cookies and collects device information under Google's privacy policy. Analytics data is aggregate; it is not linked to your restore code or your travel data.

Open the settings menu (gear icon) and choose Delete my data. This permanently removes your maps, places, trips, and share links from both your browser and our server. There is no recovery. Note that if you lose your restore code, we have no way to identify which data is yours — that's the flip side of not collecting any personal information.

If this policy changes, the date at the top will be updated.