Privacy Policy

Last updated: August 10, 2026

In short

  • The map, county pages, and ZIP/location lookup work without sending your location or ZIP to our server — the match happens in your browser.
  • We use a self-hosted, cookieless analytics tool to see aggregate traffic (which pages, which states) — not to identify you. We run no advertising today. If that changes, this page will say so before it happens, not after.
  • The only personal data we ever ask for is an email address, and only if you actively sign up for county alerts.
  • We do not sell personal data. We never have.

Who is responsible for this data

burnbanradar.com is operated by Honeygoat GmbH, Kägenstrasse 21, 4153 Reinach, Switzerland. Full details are on the Imprint page. For anything privacy-related, contact info@burnbanradar.com.

What we collect, feature by feature

Browsing the map and county pages

Viewing the national map, a state page, or a county page does not submit any form. Every page load is recorded in aggregate by our analytics tool (see Analytics below), but not tied to you personally.

"Use my location" and ZIP lookup (the "Can I burn today?" tool)

When you tap Use my location, your browser's own geolocation permission prompt asks you directly — we never see that request. Once your browser returns coordinates, they are matched against county boundary data that is already loaded in your browser; the coordinates are never sent to our server or to any third party. Typing a ZIP code works the same way: the ZIP-to-county lookup table is a static file your browser already has, and the match happens locally. We have no record of which ZIP codes or locations anyone has looked up.

Theme preference (light/dark)

Your light/dark mode choice is saved using your browser's localStorage — not a cookie. It never leaves your device and we cannot read it. Clearing your browser's site data resets it.

County alert signups

Every county page offers an optional email signup for status-change alerts. If you use it, we collect:

This is used solely to send you a notification when that county's burn-ban status changes, or — only if you separately opt in — when the National Weather Service issues a Red Flag Warning for that state. Signups use double opt-in: nothing is sent to you until you confirm via a link in a confirmation email. Every alert email carries a one-click unsubscribe link that requires no login. We do not add tracking pixels or click-tracking redirects to alert emails, and we do not use your email address for anything other than the alerts you signed up for. We do not sell, rent, or share your email address with third parties for their own marketing.

Current status: this feature is still being connected to a delivery backend. If you sign up while it is not yet fully active, your address may not receive alerts immediately — we will not use an inactive signup for any other purpose.

Server and hosting logs

Like effectively any website, requests to burnbanradar.com pass through standard web-server infrastructure, which may log basic technical information (IP address, timestamp, requested page, user agent) for security, abuse-prevention, and operational purposes. This is separate from, and not shared with, the aggregate analytics described below.

Cookies

We do not set tracking or advertising cookies. Our analytics tool (below) does not use cookies either. The only browser storage we use is the localStorage theme preference described above, which is not a cookie and is never transmitted.

Analytics

We use Umami, an open-source, self-hosted analytics tool, run on our own infrastructure at analytics.balmac.ch rather than a third-party vendor's servers. Umami is built to be cookieless and privacy-first by design: it does not use cookies, does not fingerprint individual devices for cross-site tracking, and does not share data with ad networks or data brokers, because we — not a third party — control the instance. It reports aggregate metrics such as which pages and states are visited, referring sites, and general device/browser/country information derived from your connection. We use this only to understand which parts of the Site are useful and where to prioritize new state coverage — never to identify or profile an individual visitor.

We do not currently run display advertising. If that changes, this policy will be updated in advance to name the specific provider(s), describe what data they collect, and explain your opt-out options — before it goes live, not after.

Your rights

Regardless of exactly which jurisdiction's law applies to you, we extend the following to every visitor:

To exercise any of these, email info@burnbanradar.com from the address in question. We will respond within a reasonable time and will not charge a fee for a reasonable request.

Children's privacy

burnbanradar.com is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has signed up for alerts, contact us and we will delete the signup.

International data handling

burnbanradar.com is operated from Switzerland by a Swiss company. If you sign up for alerts, your email address and county selection may be processed by service providers located in Switzerland, the European Union, or the United States, depending on which alert-delivery provider is in use at the time. We choose providers that maintain reasonable security practices; none are authorized to use your data for their own purposes.

Third-party sources and links

Every county and state page links to the original government source for that status. Those government sites are operated independently and have their own privacy practices, which we do not control. This policy covers burnbanradar.com only.

Changes to this policy

If we materially change what we collect or how we use it, we will update the date at the top of this page and, for material changes affecting alert subscribers, notify active subscribers by email before the change takes effect.

Contact

Questions about this policy or your data: info@burnbanradar.com. Operator details are on the Imprint page.