Privacy policy
Last updated:
This page explains what Lighthouse Atlas stores about you and why. “We” and “the operator” mean the operator of this site; you can reach them through the contact page. This text describes how the site software behaves today. It is a draft and will be reviewed legally before launch.
The short version
There are no accounts, no sign-in and no saved lists. You can look up lighthouses without giving us anything. Your location is used only in your browser to show distances; it is never sent to us. We do not sell personal information, send marketing email or take payments. Whether analytics cookies are set depends on how this site is set up; see “Analytics and statistics”. Where the lighthouse, sun time and map data come from is listed under “Data sources”.
Who is responsible
The party responsible for data processing on this site is the operator of Lighthouse Atlas. You can reach them by email at support@lighthouseatlas.cc or through the contact page.
What we collect
The pages you read need no personal data from you. In detail:
- Search words you type appear in the page address, like any web request. The site does not keep a search history.
- If you email us, we receive the address and the message you send, and we keep the conversation for as long as it is needed to answer you. Please do not include personal information in a correction.
- The site software can write a technical request log (time, method, path, status, duration, request id; no query string, cookie or IP address). The server or network that hosts the site may keep its own standard logs.
Your location
“Use my location” asks your browser for your position. If you allow it, the position stays in this browser tab (sessionStorage) and is used only to calculate straight-line distances on the page. It is not sent to our server and not shared. Sorting by distance downloads the coordinates of listed lighthouses and sorts them in your browser. “Change” or closing the tab removes the position.
Data sources
Lighthouse Atlas shows lighthouses in the United States and Canada. This section says where the information comes from, under which license, and what it does not offer.
- Lighthouses: the list of lighthouses, their names, their map positions and how finely each position was recorded come from Wikidata (wikidata.org). Wikidata data is available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal public domain dedication: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ . We reformatted the entries, grouped them by place and added the sun times described below.
- Sun times: sunset, civil dusk, hours of daylight and the direction of the sunset are calculated by us for each map position and each listed date in 2027 with the NOAA / Meeus solar position method, for a flat horizon at sea level (the sun’s upper edge at the horizon, civil dusk at 6 degrees below it). Times are converted into local time with the IANA time zone database (public domain), release 2026f.
- Time zones: the zone of each position is found with the software tzfpy (MIT license) and its bundled boundary data tzf-dist (version 2026f), which is available under the Open Database License (ODbL) 1.0 and includes boundaries derived from OpenStreetMap: © OpenStreetMap contributors, https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright and https://opendatacommons.org/licenses/odbl/1-0/ . The boundaries are simplified and can be off by about 110 m. The Python tzdata package used for the conversion is licensed under the Apache License 2.0.
- States, provinces, counties and towns: a lighthouse in the United States is assigned to a state, county and town using the U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files (2024 states, counties and places) and, where those leave a state open, Natural Earth admin-1 boundaries (public domain, scale 1:10 million). A lighthouse in Canada is assigned to a province or territory from the administrative location recorded in Wikidata or, where none is recorded, from Natural Earth boundaries. No assignment is made by nearest distance.
- Map tiles: OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles · Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License (ODbL): https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright . Your browser loads the tiles from tiles.openfreemap.org whenever a map is shown. The credit also appears on the map itself.
What you should know about the information:
- Lists like this can be incomplete or wrong. Not every lighthouse is listed, and a few listed places may not be lighthouses in the usual sense.
- Sun times are calculated, not observed. They are for a flat horizon at the map position; hills, buildings, trees, the height of the viewpoint and weather change what you see on site. They are not visiting hours.
- We show no information about access, public visiting, opening hours, tours, tickets, fees, climbing, year built or tower height. “Public access: unknown” means exactly that.
- Map positions are the ones recorded in Wikidata and are not verified by us; the precision shown is the precision recorded there, not a measured accuracy. Distances are straight lines, not driving or walking routes.
- A few records sit near a time zone border; for a position that cannot be assigned to one zone we show times in UTC and say so.
- We show no ratings or reviews. Images on the site are illustrative photos and do not show the lighthouse named.
- We reload the data from time to time. Whatever has changed in the sources in the meantime appears here only after the next reload.
Reporting a mistake: if a lighthouse is missing or a detail is wrong, use the “E-mail” line on the page or the contact page. We read every message. The records themselves are maintained by their publishers.
Why we use it
We do not use your data for marketing email.
- To answer your messages.
- To protect the site: the software limits and logs requests in the way described above.
- To count aggregate usage (see “Analytics and statistics”).
Our reasons
- Answering your email: you wrote to us and we reply.
- Protecting the site and the technical request log: a working, protected service.
- Google Analytics and the cookies it sets: switched on by default so the operator can see how the site is used; you can object at any time with the control under “Analytics and statistics”, and we then stop it in your browser.
- Location: you trigger the location request yourself and your browser asks you first. The position stays in your browser and is not sent to us.
Who processes data
- Google: if analytics is set up and you have not objected, Google Analytics receives page views. Google handles that data under its own policies and may process it in the United States and other countries.
- Site statistics service: the site can send the operator’s own statistics service one daily aggregate (the site identifier, the domain and constant zero counts, because there are no accounts). It contains no visitor data.
- Maps: when a page shows a map, your browser loads map tiles from tiles.openfreemap.org (OpenFreeMap). OpenFreeMap receives the usual request data (such as your IP address). Your shared location is not sent with these requests. Your browser also asks us for the lighthouses on the map; we do not store those requests.
- Hosting: the server or network that hosts the site may keep its own standard logs.
- The “Open in maps app” link opens Google Maps, a third-party service with its own privacy policy, only when you click it.
Advertising
The site shows no advertising and loads no advertising network. If that changes, this policy will be updated before any advertising is shown.
Analytics and statistics
Analytics cookies are not active on this site, so no request is made to Google Analytics. If this changes, this page will say so first.
Separately from Google Analytics, the site sends the daily aggregate described under “Who processes data”. It contains no personal data.
How long we keep data
- Emails to the support address are kept for as long as needed to answer them and for a short time afterwards.
- Request logs are kept briefly and rotated.
- Google Analytics keeps data according to its own retention setting, which the operator chooses in the Analytics property.
Your choices and rights
Depending on where you live, you may have rights over personal information about you, such as:
- knowing what is stored about you and getting a copy,
- correcting inaccurate information,
- deleting it,
- opting out of the sale or sharing of personal information (we do not sell personal information),
- not being treated differently for using these rights.
For requests about your data, use the contact page or write to support@lighthouseatlas.cc. No automated decision-making takes place.
You can change your analytics choice at any time with the control in “Analytics and statistics”, and you can clear cookies and tab storage in your browser.
Children
This site is aimed at adults and families planning a trip or an evening walk, and not at children under 13. It collects no personal information from anyone.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy when the site changes. The date at the top shows when it was last updated. See also the terms of use.