Privacy

Account Information

Reporter accounts store your email address, public username, first and last name, account status, and email verification history. Your public username can appear with reports. Your email address and first and last name are used for account review, support, safety, and accountability, and are not shown on public report cards.

Passwords are stored in protected form and are never saved as plain text. Email verification, password reset, sign-in, and account safety records may be kept so RailMonNA can protect accounts and investigate abuse.

If you sign in with Facebook, Facebook shares your name, your email address (if you have one and allow it), and an identifier for your Facebook account that is specific to RailMonNA. RailMonNA uses them only to create and sign in to your account: your name is handled like any other account name (visible to admins only), and RailMonNA does not post to your Facebook account or read your friends, photos, or other Facebook information.

If you sign in with Google, Google shares your name, your email address (and whether Google has verified it), and an identifier for your Google account. RailMonNA uses them only to create and sign in to your account, and finds your account by that identifier, not by email; your name is handled like any other account name (visible to admins only). RailMonNA asks Google only for basic sign-in information (openid, email and profile): it cannot read your Gmail, contacts, files or other Google data.

Report Information

Train reports may include locomotive numbers, railroad, train ID, direction, time, notes, route details, and the place where the train was seen. Report updates, corrections, reactions, and review history may also be stored so the site can merge duplicate sightings, show current information, and handle quality issues.

Reports are meant to be public railfan information. Do not include private addresses, personal details about other people, details of anyone hurt in an incident, or anything you would not want shown to site visitors.

Incident Reports

Incident reports store the kind of incident, the place on the map, the railroad, train ID and description you give, when it was reported, and your account (so moderators can review it and handle misuse). Your username is not shown with an incident on the map; moderators and admins can see who reported it. Confirm, cleared and wrong votes are stored with your account, and only their totals are shown.

Incident reports and their votes are deleted 30 days after the incident ends (when it clears, is rejected, or its time runs out). Actions taken on them are kept in the admin action log.

Public Profiles

Public profiles are off unless you turn yours on under Account. When it is on, anyone can see your profile page: your username, the month you joined, the bio and home railroads you write, totals of your sightings, trains and railroads, badges earned from that activity, and a list of your recent sightings. Each sighting appears there only after 24 hours, and shows the train, the town and the day, never the time of day or a map position. You can hide any sighting from your profile, and turning the profile off removes the page straight away.

While your profile is on, your username on report cards links to it. Admins can hide a profile that breaks the Terms. Profile pages ask search engines not to list them.

Location Data

You can view the main map without giving RailMonNA your location. If you use current-location features, your browser asks first. You can deny that request, revoke it later in browser settings, or move the report pin before submitting.

The final report location becomes public. Do not submit a private address, unsafe place, restricted railroad property, or location you do not want shared.

How Information Is Used

RailMonNA uses information to create and manage accounts, verify email addresses, display reports, improve map and report quality, respond to account requests, prevent spam or unsafe use, troubleshoot site problems, and keep required site records.

RailMonNA may also use report and account records to review disputes, investigate misuse, enforce the Terms, protect the site, or respond to legal or safety requests when required.

When Information Is Shared

Public report information is visible to site visitors. Public reports may also be shared on RailMonNA's social media pages, such as its Facebook Page; those posts describe the train, place and time and link back to the report, and do not include your username. RailMonNA also uses service providers for hosting, email delivery, maps, and train information. Those providers may process limited information needed to provide their services.

RailMonNA does not sell your personal information. Information may be shared if required by law, to protect the site or other users, or to address safety, abuse, fraud, or security issues.

Your Choices and Controls

Creating an account requires agreement to the Terms of Service and acknowledgment of this Privacy Policy. RailMonNA records when you accepted them. Location access is optional and always uses a separate browser permission.

Signed-in users can download a copy of their account and report information from the Account section. You can also delete your account and choose whether your old reports stay public without your identity or are removed from public view.

To stop using Google sign-in, choose Disconnect under Account → Security and data (set a password first if Google is how you sign in), and remove RailMonNA under Third-party apps and services in your Google Account. Deleting your account also deletes its Google connection.

To stop using Facebook sign-in, choose Disconnect under Account → Security and data (set a password first if Facebook is how you sign in), or remove RailMonNA from your Facebook settings under Apps and Websites, which also disconnects it here. If Facebook was your only way to sign in, use Forgot password with your email to set a password. Deleting your account also deletes its Facebook connection. To have your Facebook sign-in data deleted without deleting your account, disconnect it as above, send a data deletion request for RailMonNA from your Facebook settings (you'll get a confirmation code and a page showing it's done), or contact RailMonNA.

How Long Information Is Kept

Account information is kept while your account is active. Train reports and their history may be kept so the map remains useful unless you choose a deletion option or RailMonNA removes the content.

Accounts not used for 60 days (no sign-in and no use of the site while signed in) are removed. You get two email reminders first, 14 days and 3 days before, and signing in at any time keeps the account. Staff accounts are not removed this way. When an account is removed, its train reports stay on the map without the username, and the account details, settings, and alerts are deleted.

Whenever an account is removed, by you, by an admin, or for inactivity, the reports it made are kept without the username unless you chose to delete them.

RailMonNA keeps a log of account and moderation actions, such as an account being created, suspended, or removed, a report being edited or merged, or a sign-in being disconnected. Only admins can see it, and it is kept to resolve disputes and investigate misuse. It is not deleted when an account is removed: its entries keep the username the account had at the time, but not the account's email address or name.

Messages sent through the Contact page (your name if you give it, your email address, the topic, subject and message) are emailed to RailMonNA and a copy is kept in the admin inbox, where only admins can read it, so a message that email loses still gets answered. Copies are deleted after 12 months, or sooner if an admin deletes them.

Nightly backups are encrypted and kept for up to 90 days, so information you change or delete can remain in a backup until it expires. Logs, email verification, password reset, and abuse-prevention records may also remain for a limited time after a change or deletion request. RailMonNA keeps those records only as long as needed for site operation, security, troubleshooting, or legal reasons.

Children and Young Users

RailMonNA is built for safe, lawful railfan use. If you are not old enough to create an online account where you live, use the site only with permission from a parent or guardian.

Outside Services

RailMonNA uses hosting, email, map, and train-information providers to keep the site running. Outside maps and data feeds may have their own privacy practices.

RailMonNA uses Cloudflare Web Analytics to count page visits and measure how quickly pages load. It sets no cookies, does not follow you across other websites, and RailMonNA sees only totals, never who you are.

RailMonNA does not use ads or behavior-tracking analytics. This page will be updated before any tracking, advertising, or paid service is introduced.

Supporting RailMonNA

Support through GitHub Sponsors is handled entirely by GitHub. RailMonNA never sees your card or bank details. GitHub shares your GitHub username and the sponsorship you chose, and your email address only if you allow it in your GitHub settings.

Sponsoring is separate from your RailMonNA account. It does not change what you can do on the site, and RailMonNA does not connect it to your account unless you ask.

Questions or Requests

Use the Contact page for privacy questions, account help, correction requests, or deletion requests. RailMonNA may need to verify the account before making account-level changes.