Privacy Policy

Welcome to Oil Reporter! Here are a few things we think you need to know before joining this open data sharing initiative. Please read before you proceed.

Know that all data reported on Oil Reporter is PUBLIC. If you don’t want to share information with the public, Oil Reporter isn’t for you. This is an open data sharing initiative. All data is open and this includes the location of the data. So don’t do silly things like take pictures of people or upload anything you don’t want to be made public. Seriously, it will be public. Very public. Check out our privacy statement below.

Reporting means observing, which means do not touch or Interfere in any way. Be smart, be safe. Do not risk your safety, that of others or the affected wildlife and environment you encounter to use Oil Reporter. Observing means that you don’t touch or interfere with anything. We mean this. Oil reporter is for trained volunteers to record their observations but anyone can use it. Oil Reporter is not a response or operational entity - we are here to share information. We do encourage as much observation participation as possible with Oil Reporter. We are telling you flat out that you should leave all response actions to people who are professionals and trained volunteers. Because, you know it’s not cool to cause a bigger problem than what is already happening, right? Be a help, if you see wildlife that in distress or dead, call the authorities immediately at (866) 557-1401.

We need your location. Sharing a picture without a location will not be helpful because we can’t find where to put it on a map. Your geo-location is critical. Check to see if your geo-location is on for your mobile device before using the Oil Reporter apps and sharing with Twitter and Flickr. Remember to turn that off after you use the Oil Reporter app to maintain your privacy settings. We have to be frank, everything we do needs the ability to be mapped.

Be honest. Try your best to share exactly what you see. We know people make mistakes, but saying you don’t know by leaving the question blank is better than making something up. For those who think its fun to upload inappropriate information and spam, we ask you to nicely to don’t do it. Nobody thinks that is cool. If you should happen to see spam on this site, report it to spam@oilreporter.org.

All data on Oil Reporter is unverified. This means we aren’t checking out if what you post is true. We think most people are pretty honest and will post things that are helpful.

Wondering where Oil Reporter data is going? All data will be stored by the generous support and smart people of San Diego State University’s Visualization Center.

Have a problem? Hey, we know sometimes there might be a problem with our site. We are an all volunteer group and we are committed to making sure things work as much as we can. So just let us know if you see that something isn’t working, be part of the solution by emailing us at info@oilreporter.org.

Thanks again for reading. We look forward to your participation in this collaborative effort. It’s all about sharing what you see and allowing that information to be shared back out to world to provide greater situational awareness for all and encourage better decision making by authorities and response organizations.

Oil Reporter Privacy Policy

Effective Date: May 15, 2010

Welcome to Oil Reporter. This Website is owned and operated by Intridea for Crisis Commons.

Oil Reporter is committed to protecting the privacy of our visitors. This Privacy Policy discloses how we collect, protect and use information you provide us online, as well as how we protect your privacy. By using the features and pages on this site, you are accepting the practices described in this Privacy Policy.

If this Privacy Policy changes in the future, we will let you know by posting the policy changes on our website. However, we will treat all personal information we collect in accordance with the Privacy Policy in effect at the time the information is collected.

This Privacy Policy is incorporated into and is subject to the Oil Reporter Terms of Use. Your use of Oil Reporter and any personal information you provide on Oil Reporter remains subject to the terms of this Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use.

The Information Oil Reporter Collects

User Provided Account Registration Information: When you request an account in order to be able to post items and/or services on the website, you provide us with certain personal information, such as your name, organization, phone number and e-mail address.

Cookies Information: When you visit Oil Reporter, we may send one or more cookies to your computer that uniquely identifies your browser.

Log File Information: When you use Oil Reporter, our servers automatically record certain information that your web browser sends whenever you visit any web site. These server logs may include information such as your web request, IP address and browser.

User-Posted Information: In posting the needs and haves on our website, it is possible that users may include personally identifiable information in such posting.

The Way Oil Reporter Uses Information

Oil Reporter will never sell your personal information to anyone.

We use User Provided Account Registration Information, Cookies Information and Log File Information to operate, maintain and provide to you the features and functionality of Oil Reporter. We also use this information to improve the quality and design of Oil Reporter and to create new features, functionality and services by storing, tracking and analyzing user preferences and trends.

Any User-Posted Information that you voluntarily disclose online becomes publicly available and can be collected and used by others. Whatever personal information you share on Oil Reporter is displayed to others when you upload digital content. Any digital content that you submit to Oil Reporter may be redistributed through the Internet and other media channels and may be viewed by the general public.

We do not use your email address or other personally identifiable information to send commercial or marketing messages without your consent or except as part of a specific program or feature for which you will have the ability to opt-in or opt-out.

When Oil Reporter Discloses Information

We do not share your personally identifiable information (such as name or email address) with other, third-party companies for their commercial or marketing use without your consent or except as part of a specific program or feature for which you will have the ability to opt-in or opt-out.

We may release personally identifiable information and/or non-personally-identifiable information if required to do so by law, or in the good-faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with state and federal laws (such as U.S. Copyright Law) or respond to a court order, subpoena or search warrant.

Oil Reporter also reserves the right to disclose personally identifiable information and/or non-personally-identifiable information that Oil Reporter believes, in its sole discretion, is appropriate or necessary to enforce our Terms of Use, take precautions against liability, to investigate and defend itself against any third-party claims or allegations, to assist government enforcement agencies, to protect the security or integrity of our website, and to protect the rights, property, or personal safety of Oil Reporter, our users or others.

Data Security

Oil Reporter uses commercially reasonable physical, managerial and technical safeguards to preserve the integrity and security of your personal information. We cannot, however, ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to Oil Reporter and you do so at your own risk.

Third Party Links

Our provision of a link to any other website or location is for your convenience and does not signify our endorsement of such other website or location or its contents. We have no control over, do not review, and cannot be responsible for, these outside websites or their content. Please be aware that the terms of our Privacy Policy do not apply to these outside websites.

Children’s Privacy

Out of special concern for children's privacy, Oil Reporter does not knowingly accept online personal information from children under the age of 13. If you are under 13 years of age, please do not use or access the Oil Reporter site at any time or in any manner.

Change of Control

If Oil Reporter administration and management changes control, we will provide notice via the website before users are subject to a different privacy policy.

Contact Us

You may update or correct your personal information at any time by sending an email to [Insert Email Address]. Please note that media files uploaded by users to the Oil Reporter website cannot be removed and remain subject to our Terms of Use.

Please contact Oil Reporter with any questions or comments about this Privacy Policy, your personal information, your consent or your opt-in or opt-out choices by contacting us by e-mail at privacy@crisiscommons.org

Privacy Policy Updates

This Privacy Policy is subject to revision, and if we make any substantial changes in the way we collect, use or disclose your personal information, we will post a notice on this page or send you an email. If you object to any such changes, you must cease using the Oil Reporter website and services. Continued use of the Oil Reporter website following notice of any such changes shall indicate your acknowledgement of such changes and agreement to be bound by the terms and conditions of such changes.