Privacy Policy

Who we are

Thailand Stuff ("we", "us") operates thailandstuff.com and the Thailand Stuff mobile apps for iOS and Android, an online directory and guide to Phuket and Thailand. In this policy "the Service" means our website and our apps together. This policy explains what personal information we collect, how we use it, and the choices you have. If you have any questions, contact us at info@thailandstuff.com.

Information we collect

Account information. If you create an account, we store your name, email address and an encrypted password so you can sign in, post reviews and manage your profile.
Content you submit. Reviews, ratings, comments, trail times, map markers and photos you upload. Photos can contain embedded EXIF data, including the GPS location where the photo was taken. Where present, we may use this location to place your photo on a map. If you would rather not share a location, remove the location data from your photo before uploading, or upload a photo taken without location tagging.
Usage and device information. Like most online services, we collect basic technical data such as your browser or device type, approximate region and the pages or screens you visit, through analytics and server logs.
Personalization data. To make the Service more useful, we remember what you save, the pages you recently viewed, and the searches and filters you use. If you are signed in, this is linked to your account so your saved items follow you across devices; if you are not signed in, it stays on your own device. You can turn this off in the cookie banner, and you can view, export or clear it from your account page.
Cookies. Small files stored on your device by the website. Some are strictly necessary (they keep you signed in and remember your cookie choice). Others are optional (analytics and personalization) and only run according to the choice you make in our cookie banner.

The Thailand Stuff app

Our mobile apps use the same account, content and personalization as the website, plus some device features that the app asks your permission for. You are always in control: the app requests each permission when a feature needs it, and you can grant or revoke it at any time in your device settings.

Location. With your permission, the app uses your device location, including precise GPS, to show where you are on the map, give directions and turn-by-turn navigation to trails and places, record a ride or track when you choose to start one, show local weather and rain radar, and estimate your speed and distance. Location is used on your device to power these features while you are using a map or navigation screen. We do not track your location in the background. When you request directions, the start and end points are sent to our routing service so it can calculate the route. If you do not grant location permission, the maps still work but navigation and "find my location" will not.
Camera and photos. With your permission, the app can use your camera and photo library so you can add photos to reviews, trails and map markers. As on the website, a photo can carry EXIF GPS data, and where present it may be used to place the photo on the map. You choose whether to grant these permissions and which photos to share.
Microphone. When you use the app's voice translation features, the app records your microphone audio while you are speaking and sends it to a speech-to-text provider to transcribe and translate it. Audio is captured only while a voice feature is active. The app does not record in the background.
Offline maps. If you download offline map packs, that map data is stored on your device so you can use maps without a connection. You can delete downloaded packs at any time from within the app.
On-device storage. Your saved items, recently viewed items and preferences are stored on your device, and are synced to your account when you sign in, the same as on the website.
Notifications. To send you push notifications such as new messages, replies and updates, the app registers a device notification token with us through Firebase Cloud Messaging. You can turn notifications off at any time in your device settings.
Diagnostics. In the app we collect crash and error reports through Sentry to help us find and fix problems. These reports are scrubbed of personal identifiers and are never used for advertising.
No ads or tracking SDKs. The app does not show advertising, does not use advertising identifiers, and does not include third-party advertising or analytics SDKs. Maps, weather, rain radar and routing are provided by the third-party services listed below.

How we use your information

We use your information to operate and secure the Service, to let you sign in and post content, to display your reviews and photos, to provide maps and navigation, to understand and improve how the Service is used, and to communicate with you about your account or your content when needed. We do not sell your personal information.

Cookies and analytics

When you first visit the website, a cookie banner lets you accept all cookies or reject the optional ones. Your choice is stored in a cookie and applied on every page. You can change or withdraw it at any time using the "Cookie settings" link in the footer.

Strictly necessary cookies. Needed for the website to work, for example to keep you signed in and to remember your cookie choice. These always run and cannot be turned off.
Analytics cookies. On the website we use Google Analytics to measure traffic and understand how the site is used, and Google processes this usage data under its own privacy policy. If you reject optional cookies, Google Analytics does not load and sets no cookies. The mobile app does not use Google Analytics.
Personalization. Remembering your saved items, recently viewed items and searches, as described above. If you reject optional cookies, we do not record this activity to your account.

We do not use advertising cookies and we do not run ads.

Third-party services

To run the Service we rely on trusted third parties, and some data may be processed by them:

Google Analytics, for usage measurement on the website.
Map and tile providers, which serve the maps shown on the website and in the app.
A routing provider, used to calculate directions and navigation routes from the start and end points you choose.
Weather and rain-radar providers, used to show local conditions.
A machine-translation provider, used to translate content into other languages.
Firebase Cloud Messaging (Google), used by our apps to deliver push notifications.
Sentry, used by our apps for crash and error diagnostics; reports are scrubbed of personal identifiers before they are sent.
A speech-to-text provider, used by the app's voice translation features to transcribe and translate the microphone audio you record.
Search engines. We notify Bing and Yandex when content is published or updated (via the IndexNow protocol) so pages are indexed quickly. This sends page addresses only, not personal data.

These providers process data under their own privacy policies.

How long we keep information

We keep account information for as long as your account is active. Content you post stays on the Service until you or we remove it. Personalization data is kept only briefly: we store your most recent activity (recently viewed items and searches) and prune older entries automatically, and you can clear it yourself from your account page at any time. If you close your account, your saved items and activity are deleted with it. If you ask us to delete your data, we will remove your personal information within a reasonable period, except where we need to keep some records to meet legal obligations.

Your rights

You can access, correct or delete your account information at any time from your account page, or by emailing us at info@thailandstuff.com. Depending on where you live, you may also have rights to object to or restrict certain processing, and to request a copy of your data. We will respond to genuine requests as required by applicable law.

Age

The Service is intended for adults. You must be at least 18 years old to create an account or use our apps, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe someone under 18 has given us personal information, please contact us so we can remove it.