Welcome to Volcanavi. These Terms & Conditions ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the Volcanavi website, web app, and related services (the "Service"). By accessing or using the Service, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

Summary of changes in this revision (October 14, 2026): new sections on user submissions (photos, trail files and links, trail reports), the Tactical Volcano Conditions Index (VCI) beta, travel, altitude, weather and seismic information, third-party maps and services, account deletion, acceptable use, international use, and governing terms.

1. Service Description

Volcanavi provides aggregated data, maps, visualizations, live alert status summaries, eruption and ash advisories, weather and seismic context, trail information, travel and altitude guidance, and AI-generated informational content about volcanoes worldwide. The Service is for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for official warnings, evacuation orders, or safety advisories issued by government agencies.

2. Eligibility and International Use

• You must be at least 13 years old, or the minimum age required to consent to online services in your country, whichever is higher, to use the Service.
• The Service is offered internationally. You are responsible for complying with the laws that apply to you, including local rules on access to protected areas, hiking, drones, and photography.
• Some content may be shown in your browser's language through automated or AI translation. Translations may be imperfect; the English version prevails where there is a conflict.

3. Accounts

• Accuracy: You must provide accurate, current information when creating an account.
• Security: You are responsible for activity under your account and for keeping your login credentials secure. Sessions may end automatically after a period of inactivity.
• Account Deletion: You may delete your account from your Profile. Deletion is permanent and removes your account and associated personal data as described in our Privacy Policy, subject to records we must keep for legal, billing, or security reasons.

4. Subscriptions and Payments

• Certain features (for example the Dashboard, Volcano Map, Analytics, and Tactical VCI) require a paid or otherwise granted premium subscription.
• Subscriptions are billed in advance on a recurring basis until cancelled. You can manage or cancel your subscription through the billing portal; cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period unless required otherwise by law.
• Payments are processed by our third-party processor, Stripe. We do not store your full card details.
• Prices, taxes, and currency may vary by region. Any statutory consumer rights you have in your country (including withdrawal or refund rights) are not affected by these Terms.
• We may change subscription features or prices with reasonable advance notice. Educational or complimentary access may be granted or withdrawn at our discretion.

5. User Submissions

The Service lets you submit content, including volcano photos, trail files (such as GPX or KML), trail links, trail data reports, edit suggestions, and feedback ("Submissions").

• Ownership and License: You keep ownership of your Submissions. By submitting, you grant Volcanavi a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, store, review, reproduce, adapt (for example resize, crop, or convert route geometry), display, and distribute your Submission in connection with operating and promoting the Service.
• Your Responsibility: You confirm that you own or have the right to submit the content, that it does not infringe anyone's rights, and that it is accurate to the best of your knowledge. Do not submit photos containing identifiable people without their consent, or trail data you are not permitted to share.
• Review and Approval: Submissions are reviewed by our administrators and may be approved, edited, rejected, retagged to a different volcano, or removed at any time, without obligation to publish.
• Attribution: Approved photos may be displayed publicly with your profile display name, or as "Anonymous" if you choose that option when submitting.
• Third-Party Links: Trail links you submit may point to third-party platforms (for example AllTrails, Komoot, Wikiloc, or YAMAP). We are not responsible for those platforms or their content.

6. Acceptable Use

You agree not to:

• Use the Service for any unlawful purpose or in violation of others' rights;
• Submit false, misleading, offensive, or malicious content, including spam or malware;
• Scrape, bulk-download, resell, or redistribute data from the Service without our written permission;
• Interfere with, probe, or attempt to bypass the Service's security, access controls, or subscription gating;
• Misrepresent Volcanavi information as an official government warning.

We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms.

7. Safety Disclaimers

This is the most important section of our Terms. Please read it carefully.

• Never Use for Safety-Critical Decisions: Information on the Service must never be the sole basis for decisions about personal safety, travel, evacuation, aviation, or health.
• Official Sources Prevail: Always consult the responsible national monitoring agency for the volcano (such as JMA, USGS, PHIVOLCS, CVGHM/MAGMA Indonesia, GeoNet, IMO, INGV, CENAPRED, SERNAGEOMIN, or equivalent), the relevant Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC), local authorities, park or trail operators, and qualified professionals.
• Normalized Alert Levels: Agencies use different scales, colors, and terms. For comparison, Volcanavi normalizes ground alert levels to the 5-level JMA scale. Normalized values are interpretations and may not exactly match the issuing agency's published level. VAAC aviation colour codes describe ash hazards to aviation and are shown separately from ground alert levels.
• Automated and Delayed Data: Alert levels, eruption notices, and advisories are collected automatically and periodically from official feeds and other sources. They may be delayed, incomplete, parsed incorrectly, or out of date when you view them.
• Tactical Volcano Conditions Index (VCI) - Beta: The Tactical VCI, plume projections, wind simulations, trail intersection ("collision") analysis, and AI tactical briefings are experimental beta features. Plume shapes are simplified models based on forecast wind and weather data and do not represent actual ash, gas, or ballistic hazard zones. A "safe" or low score does not mean a route is safe. Do not use these tools for go/no-go decisions.
• Weather, Seismic, and Air Quality Data: Weather, forecast, earthquake, and air quality information comes from third-party providers and may be inaccurate or delayed.
• Trails and Routes: Trail routes, difficulty ratings, and statuses may come from users, third-party platforms, OpenStreetMap, or AI and may be incomplete, outdated, or wrong. Trails may be closed or hazardous even if shown as open. Follow on-site signage and local authorities.
• Travel Advisories: Travel advisory summaries are based on government sources relative to the country of origin you set and may not reflect the latest official guidance. Check your government's official travel advice before travelling.
• Altitude and Health Information: Altitude sickness and health information is general guidance only and is not medical advice. Consult a qualified medical professional before high-altitude travel.
• AI-Generated Content: Geological profiles, history, cultural information, hiking suggestions, amenity details, briefings, and translations may be generated by artificial intelligence and may contain errors or fabricated details. AI content is not authoritative.
• Assumption of Risk: Visiting volcanoes and volcanic regions is inherently dangerous. You are solely responsible for your own safety and the safety of anyone you guide or travel with.

8. Third-Party Services and Data

The Service relies on third-party data and services, including official volcano monitoring agencies, VAACs, the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program, the Geological Survey of Japan, USGS earthquake data, weather providers, mapping and satellite imagery providers (such as Esri/ArcGIS, Mapbox, Google Maps and Places, and OpenStreetMap contributors), live camera feeds, and trail platforms. Their content remains subject to their own terms and licenses. We do not control and are not responsible for third-party content, availability, or accuracy.

9. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Volcanavi and its owners, operators, and affiliates are not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for any injury, loss of life, property damage, travel loss, or other loss arising from your use of, or reliance on, the Service or its information. The Service is provided "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind. Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited under the law of your country, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or fraud.

10. Intellectual Property

The Service, its design, branding, logos, and original content (excluding third-party data and user Submissions) are the property of Volcanavi and its licensors and are protected by copyright and trademark laws.

11. Changes to the Service and Terms

We may modify, suspend, or discontinue any part of the Service, including beta features, at any time. We may revise these Terms; the "Last Updated" date shows the latest version. For material changes, we will make reasonable efforts to notify you. Continued use after changes are posted means you accept the revised Terms.

12. Governing Terms and Contact

These Terms are governed by the laws applicable where Volcanavi is operated, without affecting mandatory consumer protections in your country of residence. If any provision is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions stay in effect. Questions about these Terms can be sent through the Contact page.

Your privacy matters to us. This Privacy Policy explains what information Volcanavi ("we", "us") collects, how we use and share it, and the choices and rights you have. It applies to users worldwide.

Summary of changes in this revision (October 14, 2026): added disclosures for photo, trail file, and trail link submissions; profile photos; favorites and preferences; travel advisory personalization; Tactical VCI and AI features; Google Ads conversion measurement; third-party map, weather, and data providers; self-service account deletion; international transfers; and expanded privacy rights.

1. Information We Collect

Information you provide

• Account Information: Name and email address when you register.
• Profile Information (optional): Profile photo, bio, country of origin, preferred language, and display preferences (such as Light Pro Mode).
• Favorites and Preferences: Volcanoes you save as favorites and other settings.
• Submissions: Volcano photos (with optional caption and your choice to be credited by name or as "Anonymous"), trail files (such as GPX/KML), trail links, trail data reports, edit suggestions, and the email associated with your account for review purposes.
• Contact and Feedback: Messages you send through our contact or feedback form, the topic you select, and an optional email address if you want a reply.
• Payment Information: When you subscribe, Stripe collects your payment details. We receive only a customer identifier and subscription status, not your full card number.

Information collected automatically

• Activity Data: Login times, session identifiers and duration, and pages viewed.
• Device and Browser Data: Browser type, version, user agent, and browser language (used to show content in your language).
• Network Data: IP address, used for security and fraud prevention.
• Cookies and Similar Technologies: Used to keep you signed in, remember preferences, measure usage (Google Analytics), and measure the effectiveness of our advertising (Google Ads conversion tracking, for example when a new account is created or a subscription is purchased).

We do not request continuous access to your device's precise GPS location. Map views and tactical tools are based on the volcano you select.

2. How We Use Your Information

• To provide, operate, and secure the Service and your account;
• To manage subscriptions and billing;
• To personalize content, such as language, favorites, and travel advisories relative to your country of origin;
• To review, publish, and credit approved Submissions;
• To respond to your messages and send service-related communications;
• To analyze usage and improve features, performance, and reliability;
• To measure the effectiveness of our marketing and advertising;
• To detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and security incidents, including inactivity-based session timeouts;
• To comply with legal obligations.

Legal bases (where applicable, such as in the EEA, UK, and similar jurisdictions): performance of our contract with you (account and subscription), legitimate interests (security, service improvement, analytics), consent (where required for non-essential cookies, advertising measurement, or optional profile data), and legal obligation.

3. AI Processing

Some features use artificial intelligence providers to generate volcano information, translations, trail suggestions, metadata, and Tactical VCI briefings. These requests are generally based on volcano data and your language setting, not your personal profile. Please do not include personal information in free-text submissions that you do not want processed. Submitted trail links may be analyzed automatically to identify the trail provider and route.

4. User Submissions and Public Display

• Photos and trail files are uploaded to private storage and are only visible to you and our administrators until approved.
• Approved photos are re-published publicly on the volcano's page with your display name or "Anonymous", depending on your choice.
• Approved trails (route geometry, name, and provider link) become publicly visible to Service users.
• Photos may contain embedded metadata (such as location or camera information). Consider removing it before uploading.

5. How We Share Information

We do not sell your personal information. We share information only with service providers that help us operate the Service, and as required by law:

• Hosting, Database, Authentication, and Email: Base44 platform
• Payment Processing: Stripe
• Analytics and Advertising Measurement: Google Analytics and Google Ads
• AI Providers: Large language model and image providers used through our platform for generated content
• Maps, Imagery, and Places: Esri/ArcGIS, Mapbox, Google Maps and Places, and OpenStreetMap services (which receive requests from your browser, including your IP address, when maps load)
• Weather and Environmental Data: Weather, forecast, and air quality providers (requests are based on volcano locations)

We may also disclose information to comply with law, enforce our Terms, or protect the rights, safety, and property of users or others, or in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.

6. International Data Transfers

We and our service providers may process and store information in the United States and other countries that may have different data protection laws from yours. Where required, we rely on appropriate safeguards offered by our providers, such as standard contractual clauses.

7. Data Retention

• Account and Profile Data: Kept while your account is active and removed when you delete your account.
• Submissions: Kept while relevant to the Service. Approved public photos and trails may remain displayed after account deletion unless you ask us to remove them.
• Activity Logs: Kept for analytics and security for as long as reasonably necessary.
• Billing Records: Kept as required for tax, accounting, and legal purposes.
• Aggregated Data: Anonymized, aggregated statistics may be kept indefinitely.

8. Your Choices and Rights

Depending on where you live (including under the GDPR, UK GDPR, Brazil's LGPD, Japan's APPI, Canada's PIPEDA, Australia's Privacy Act, and U.S. state laws such as California's CCPA/CPRA), you may have the right to:

• Access the personal data we hold about you;
• Correct inaccurate or incomplete data;
• Delete your data, including through self-service account deletion in your Profile;
• Port your data in a machine-readable format;
• Object to or restrict certain processing, including for analytics or advertising measurement;
• Withdraw consent at any time where processing is based on consent;
• Opt out of marketing emails;
• Complain to your local data protection authority.

We do not sell personal information or "share" it for cross-context behavioral advertising beyond the advertising measurement described above. You can limit cookies through your browser settings or ad preferences, and we will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights. To make a request, use the Contact page. We may need to verify your identity before responding.

9. Data Security

We use reasonable measures to protect your information, including encrypted connections (HTTPS), secure authentication, role-based access controls so that only administrators can review submissions and activity data, private storage for uploads pending review, and automatic session timeouts after 30 minutes of inactivity. No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure.

10. Children's Privacy

The Service is not intended for children under 13, or under the minimum digital-consent age in their country (for example 16 in parts of the EEA). We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us and we will delete it.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The "Last Updated" date on this page shows the latest version. For material changes, we will make reasonable efforts to notify you.

12. Contact Us

For questions or privacy requests, please contact us through the Contact page.

Mobile app data (added October 21, 2026)

When you use the Volcanavi iOS or Android app we collect only what the features below need:

• Account information (name, email, profile details you enter): to sign you in, keep your favorites and settings, and confirm whether your account has a Premium plan purchased on volcanavi.com.
• Location (only if you use location features): approximate or precise location you allow is used on your device to show nearby volcanoes, weather, and trails. We do not track your location in the background or sell it.
• Notification token: if you turn on push alerts, your device's push token is stored so we can send alerts for the volcanoes you follow. Turn alerts off in Profile or in your device settings at any time.
• Language preference: your chosen language is saved so the app and your alerts appear in that language.

We do not sell personal data and do not use it for cross-app tracking. Purchases are not made inside the mobile app; plans are managed on volcanavi.com.

Deleting your account: go to Profile > Delete account. This removes your account and associated personal data (favorites, notification settings, and push token), except records we must keep by law.

Volcanavi is not an official warning service. Always follow your local authorities.