Privacy Policy

Farlands is a focus and mission communication product. Astronauts run a personal console, choose a simulated distance from Earth, and share a mission page with people they trust. Messages, voice logs, video logs, and snapshots are delivered after a planet-based delay. SOS signals and acknowledgments are delivered immediately so urgent contact can break through the delay.

We collect information you provide, information generated by your use of the service, and limited technical data needed to operate the product.

• Account and identity data: when you sign in with Google or email and password, we receive authentication identifiers from Firebase Authentication, such as your user ID, email address, and email verification status. Google sign-in may also provide your display name and profile photo URL.
• Anonymous sessions: visitors to a public mission page may receive an anonymous Firebase account so we can grant page access and preserve membership if they later upgrade to a full account.
• Astronaut profile data: username, selected planet, privacy mode (public or room code), optional avatar, current status text, premium status, and snapshots toggle state.
• Visitor profile data: handle and avatar selections for people who chat on a mission page.
• Mission content you create: direct text messages, voice logs, video logs, snapshots, personal notes (visible only to the astronaut), SOS messages and acknowledgments, and membership records for people allowed to view a mission page.
• Read receipt data: when you open a direct-message thread, we record how far you have read. Your read position is shared with the other person after planet-based delay, the same way messages travel, so they may see when messages were delivered and read.
• Room code storage: if you join a private mission page, your browser may store the room code in localStorage so you can return without re-entering it.
• Device permissions and media: if you enable snapshots, voice logs, or video logs, your browser requests camera and/or microphone access. Recordings are uploaded to our storage provider and linked to your mission profile.
• Technical and service data: server logs, security rules evaluations, rate-limit counters, online presence timestamps written to Firebase Realtime Database, mission activity signals, and error information needed to keep the service reliable.
• Cookies and similar technologies: authentication session storage, optional analytics if you accept cookies in our banner, localStorage for cookie consent and room-code rejoin, and IndexedDB for local Notes draft recovery (device-only until sync). See our Cookie Policy at /cookies.

We use collected information to provide, secure, and improve Farlands.

• Create and manage accounts, profiles, and mission pages.
• Deliver messages and media according to simulated planet delay rules, except for SOS traffic which is delivered immediately.
• Enforce privacy settings, room-code access, audience restrictions on logs, and premium feature limits.
• Operate authentication, account linking for anonymous visitors, and email verification.
• Send mission activity emails when you are offline, such as alerts when someone joins your mission, summaries of unread direct or group messages, console link requests you ask for, and occasional re-engagement reminders if you have not opened your console recently. These are product notifications, not promotional marketing. You can opt out of mission activity emails from the link in any such email or at /email-preferences when signed in.
• Process premium interest requests and, when billing launches, manage subscriptions.
• Detect abuse, protect SOS and join flows with rate limits, and maintain service integrity.
• Respond to support requests and legal obligations.

Farlands is designed for controlled sharing between an astronaut and approved mission members, not for public social broadcasting.

• With people you invite: on a public mission page, visitors who sign in may become members automatically. On a room-code mission page, only people who enter the correct code become members. Members can see content allowed by the astronaut's privacy, audience, and delay settings.
• With service providers: we use Google Firebase and Google Cloud (Authentication, Firestore, Realtime Database, Cloud Storage, App Hosting, and related infrastructure) to host and process data. These providers process data on our behalf under their terms and privacy policies.
• For legal and safety reasons: we may disclose information if required by law, to protect users and the public, or to enforce our Terms of Service.
• We do not sell your personal information.

Access to messages and media is enforced on our servers, not only in the interface. Mission members can read an item only if they are a member of the astronaut's mission page, the item's deliverAt time has passed, and the item audience includes them or is set to all eligible listeners.

Read receipts in direct messages follow the same delay model: when you mark messages read, the other person learns that only after the acknowledgment crosses the configured planet distance.

Personal notes on the astronaut console are stored for the astronaut only. Room codes are verified using a one-way hash; we do not need to store the plain-text code after your mission profile is created.

We keep information only as long as needed to operate the service and as described below.

• Snapshots expire after 24 hours and are removed by automated cleanup.
• Voice logs remain until deleted by the astronaut or account removal. Free accounts can record up to 10 minutes per clip; premium accounts can record up to 30 minutes per clip.
• Premium video logs are limited to 5 minutes per clip and 5 minutes per UTC day. Video logs are kept for 90 days, then removed by automated cleanup.
• Chat messages, membership records, SOS records, and profile data remain until you delete them or delete your account, subject to backup and legal retention requirements.
• Premium interest submissions are kept until checkout launches or you ask us to remove them.

You can change astronaut privacy settings, regenerate a room code, disable snapshots, and delete notes or logs from your console where the product provides controls.

You can opt out of mission activity emails (join alerts, message summaries, re-engagement reminders) via /email-preferences or the unsubscribe link in those emails. Security and account emails may still be sent when required.

You can sign out at any time. Clearing localStorage removes saved room codes from your browser.

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, or export personal information, or to object to or restrict certain processing. Contact us to make a request.

Email us at hello@farlands.me. We may need to verify your identity before responding.

We use Firebase security rules, authenticated APIs, one-way hashed room codes, and server-side checks to protect mission data. Mission content is fetched through our APIs rather than direct client database access. No online service can guarantee perfect security, but we work to reduce risk and limit access to authorized members and the astronaut.

Farlands is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us information, contact us and we will take appropriate steps to delete it.

Farlands is operated using infrastructure that may process data in the United States and other countries where our service providers maintain facilities. By using the service, you understand that information may be transferred to and processed in those locations.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the last updated date at the top of this page. Continued use of Farlands after changes become effective means you accept the updated policy.

Questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices can be sent to hello@farlands.me.