1. Who we are and what this covers
MapPal Inc. operates SnowPal, an app and website for ski and snowboard maps, recording, mountain conditions, planning and community features. This notice explains how we handle information when you use SnowPal or contact us. RidePal and other products have their own notices, even where they share a sign-in system.
Our public mailing address is MapPal Inc., 1810 Polk St., San Francisco, CA 94109, United States.
Contact contact@ridepal.app with the subject SnowPal privacy for questions or a privacy request. You can use available guest features without creating a SnowPal account. Account-based features require information needed to provide them.
2. Information SnowPal processes
The information involved depends on the features and permissions you choose.
- Account and profile: name, email address, sign-in provider and account identifiers, username, biography, profile photo, follow relationships, blocks and preferences such as sport, pass and home mountain. Apple may provide a private relay email address.
- Location and recordings: precise coordinates and timestamps, GPS accuracy, altitude, speed, route, run and lift estimates, vertical, distance and duration. Device motion and barometer readings can support altitude and jump estimates. Recording can continue while the screen is locked or the app is in the background until you pause or finish it.
- Shared content: selected photos or videos (including sound in videos), activity summaries, reports of mountain conditions, profile content, crew messages, meeting pins, plan dates, locations, notes, invitations and RSVPs. Content may include personal information you enter or information embedded in uploaded files.
- Preferences and local storage: draft plans, saved recordings, cached shared days, map downloads, mountain images, settings and pending uploads. A guest recording stays on that device unless you explicitly export or otherwise share it; signing in does not automatically claim guest recordings.
- Purchases: product and transaction identifiers, entitlement and renewal status, purchase dates and related purchase events. Apple handles App Store payment details; SnowPal does not receive your full payment-card number from Apple.
- Technical and support information: IP address, device and app version, installation identifiers, service requests, app interactions, performance/error information, and messages you send support. Infrastructure and integrated SDKs may generate this information automatically.
3. Why we use it
We use information to authenticate you, save and sync your ski days, display maps and conditions, calculate activity statistics, operate sharing and plans, deliver requested notifications, administer purchases, answer support requests, investigate abuse, secure the service and understand reliability and use. We also process records needed to meet legal obligations or resolve disputes.
Where relevant privacy law requires a legal basis, we rely on providing the service you request, consent for optional permissions and sharing, legitimate interests in security and service operation where not outweighed by your rights, and legal obligations. Withdrawing consent does not invalidate earlier lawful processing.
SnowPal does not sell or rent personal information, or share it for cross-context behavioral or targeted advertising, including with resorts or sponsors. We do not use recorded routes, precise crew location, or fitness and motion information for advertising. We obtain separate permission before using your photos or videos in SnowPal marketing; posting content in the app does not grant that permission. We do not use Apple Health information for advertising. The current release does not connect to Apple Health, Strava or Garmin; any future integration will require appropriate permissions and an updated disclosure.
5. Providers and other disclosures
We use providers to operate SnowPal. We require providers handling personal information on our behalf to limit their use to the services they supply and to provide protection consistent with this notice and applicable requirements. Provider links below explain their own practices; a provider's notice does not replace our responsibilities.
When you submit content, SnowPal automatically uses safety services to review it before publication. Condition-report notes, crew display names, crew titles and crew messages are sent to OpenAI for moderation, including text in private crews. Shared-plan titles, place names, meeting notes, notes and selected run names/difficulty labels are reviewed when you share or update the plan. Private plans kept only on your phone are not sent for this review. Structured condition reports without a written note do not send a note to OpenAI.
Submitted profile names, usernames, biographies, profile pictures, photos and media thumbnails are sent to OpenAI for automated safety review. Selected video files are sent to Google Video Intelligence to detect visually explicit sexual content. Video files can contain audio, but this check does not evaluate audio or provide general screening for threats or harassment. Media review also applies to private ski days. Pending submissions can be retried and reviewed when the app reconnects; content that already passed review can be reviewed again if it changes or a new review is needed.
You can use available recording features without submitting content to these review services. Do not submit information you do not want reviewed, including another person’s sensitive information. These review requests do not intentionally include your account identifier, invite code or GPS history, but submitted text or media can itself identify people or places. Plan-text review does not intentionally include GPS pins, dates or attendee lists.
Automated checks can make mistakes. Content that does not pass is not newly published; contact contact@ridepal.app for help or to challenge a decision. Authorized team members may review reported content and related evidence to handle reports and appeals. Providers may retain inputs under their applicable security, abuse-prevention and service terms; we do not promise zero provider retention.
Information may also be disclosed when required by law, to protect people or the service, investigate fraud or enforce rights, or as part of a business transfer subject to applicable protections. A recipient you choose through an export or sharing action handles the information under its own practices.
- Google/Firebase and Google Cloud: shared authentication, databases, storage, server processing, app integrity checks and operational diagnostics. Firebase Analytics collection and automatic remote-notification token registration are disabled in this release configuration; forecast alerts use local notifications. Other SDKs and infrastructure can still process technical data. SnowPal account access uses a shared RidePal identity system; SnowPal product records remain subject to this notice.
- Amazon Web Services (Amazon SES): delivery of SnowPal sign-in emails, including the recipient address and sign-in message. The email sender runs through our shared identity service.
- Mapbox: maps, terrain, imagery, downloads and map-related telemetry. Map requests can reveal the viewed area, device or network information, and location information where used by the mapping service. Mapbox may use location and related telemetry to improve its services. You can choose whether to participate through the information button on the app's map, under Mapbox Telemetry; this is separate from sharing your location with a crew.
- Apple: sign-in, App Store payments and platform services. Superwall: paywall presentation and associated purchase, entitlement, device and interaction information when configured.
- Vercel: website delivery and associated request/security logs. The website does not currently include a separate advertising pixel or analytics package; embedded links and third-party services may have their own storage practices.
6. Storage, retention and deletion
Saved account information, recordings and uploaded media are kept to provide your account and history until you remove them or request SnowPal account deletion, subject to applicable retention exceptions. Shared plans and local caches can remain across app launches. A crew ending, a location becoming too old to display, or a condition report disappearing from a feed does not by itself mean the underlying record has been erased.
SnowPal’s ordinary Google Cloud service-log bucket is currently configured to retain logs for 30 days. Google Cloud’s required audit-log bucket retains certain administrative and security audit records for 400 days. These periods do not cover every provider, support email or product record. Deleted files in SnowPal’s upload bucket remain recoverable through Google Cloud’s soft-delete protection for seven days before permanent deletion; existing backups have separate replacement cycles.
Abuse reports, review decisions, limited account-deletion safeguards, support correspondence and transaction records have separate purposes, including handling reports and appeals, preventing abuse, resolving disputes and meeting legal requirements. The relevant purpose, unresolved requests or claims, applicable legal requirements, and the provider’s backup or security controls determine whether a record needs to remain. Contact us for the retention information and exceptions applicable to your request.
You can initiate deletion in SnowPal Settings using Delete Snowpal account. Recent sign-in may be required to protect the account. SnowPal deletion is product-specific: it does not automatically delete an identity or data you use in RidePal or another connected product. Contact us if you also want the shared identity removed. Account deletion and uninstalling the app do not cancel App Store subscriptions.
Deletion may involve multiple systems. We may retain limited records when legally necessary or proportionate for fraud prevention, resolving disputes or enforcing rights, and explain applicable exceptions when handling your request. Backup or recovery copies may remain until their configured replacement or expiry cycle; removal from the active service and expiration of these copies are separate steps. Removing the app clears its local app storage, but does not by itself request deletion of server records or independent copies you exported.
7. Your controls and rights
Use iOS Settings to change location, precise location, motion and notification permissions. Pause or finish recording to stop recording updates. Separately stop crew sharing when you no longer want members to see your position. Use SnowPal's activity privacy and block controls to manage supported sharing. Disabling a permission can prevent the related feature from working.
Depending on your location, you may have rights to access, correct, delete or receive a copy of personal information, restrict or object to processing, withdraw consent, and appeal a denied request. Send requests to contact@ridepal.app; we may verify identity and an authorized agent's authority. We respond under the deadlines and exceptions that apply and do not discriminate for exercising privacy rights. You may also complain to your local data protection authority.
Our statements about selling and advertising-related sharing apply regardless of browser Do Not Track or Global Privacy Control signals. If our practices change, we will update the notice and provide legally required choices before the change applies.
8. Security and international processing
We use access controls, encrypted connections and other safeguards suited to the service, but cannot guarantee that any system is completely secure. Protect your account, device and invitation links. Do not send passwords, sign-in codes or payment-card numbers to support.
SnowPal and its providers may process data in the United States and other countries whose laws differ from your own. Where required, cross-border transfers must use appropriate safeguards, such as recognized contractual protections or another lawful transfer mechanism. Contact us for information about safeguards that apply to your data.
9. Children and policy changes
SnowPal is not directed to children under 13. Do not create an account if you are under 13 or below a higher minimum age required where you live. If you are below the legal age of adulthood where you live, you must have permission from a parent or guardian to use SnowPal. If you believe a child has provided information inappropriately, contact us so we can investigate and take appropriate action.
We update this notice as SnowPal changes and revise the date above. For material changes, we provide any additional notice or consent required by law. Questions about this notice can be sent to contact@ridepal.app.