Last updated: October 9, 2026
Wilderness Experts respects your privacy. This policy explains what we collect, why, and the choices you have. In plain terms: we collect very little, we don’t sell your data, and we only use your details to run the site and reply to you.
Who we are
Wilderness Experts (“we,” “us,” “our”) publishes wilderness skills, safety guidance, and gear reviews at wildernessexperts.com. If you have any questions about this policy or your data, get in touch through our contact page.
Information we collect
Information you give us
When you use our contact form, we collect your name, email address, and the message you send, so we can read and reply to it. We don’t require any other personal information to read the site. A member account, described below, is optional.
Information collected automatically
Like most websites, our hosting and analytics tools automatically record standard technical information when you visit — such as your browser type, device, approximate location, referring page, and the pages you view. This is used in aggregate to understand what content is useful and to keep the site running well.
Your location on Destinations near me
Our Destinations near me page asks where you are so it can list the parks and monuments within a day’s drive. If you share your browser’s location, it is used on your own device to work out the distances, and it is saved in your browser so the page opens with your list next time. It is not sent to us or stored on our server, and “Forget my location” on that page clears it. If you type a town or postal code instead, what you type is sent to MapTiler, our map provider, to look the place up. MapTiler also supplies the map, so it sees the area of the map you view, under MapTiler’s Privacy Policy.
Member accounts
A free member account is optional. You can read everything on the site without one.
Signing in. You sign in by entering your email address, and we email you a link. Following the link creates your account if you do not have one. There is no password. The link works once and expires after 30 minutes. After you sign in, a cookie keeps you signed in on that browser. To stop people requesting links in bulk, we count sign-in requests from each internet address for up to a day.
Your profile. We hold your email address and, if you add them, a name and the backcountry experience level you choose.
What you save. When you are signed in we store what you choose to keep:
- trip plans, including the place, dates, group, conditions, any route you draw, and your packing list and what you have ticked off
- gear lists, including the items you say you own and their weights
- bookmarks
- your Skill Builder answers and results
Your reading history. When you are signed in we record which Expert Advice articles you read and when, so your member page can show them and suggest others. We do not record this for visitors who are not signed in.
Leave Word. When you send a trip plan to a contact, we store your name and email address, your contact’s email address, the plan, and the time you asked them to start worrying. We use your contact’s address only to send them that plan. They also receive a private link to a web copy, which stops working 45 days after that time. The personal note you add is sent in the email and is not stored on our website.
The monthly guide. If you ask for it, we store your email address, when you confirmed, and the internet address you signed up from as a record of your consent. Every issue has an unsubscribe link.
On your own device. The trip planner keeps the plan you are working on in your browser so that it is still there when you return. That copy stays on your device.
Photos you share with us
Signed-in members can send us their own photos of the parks and places we cover. When you do, we receive the photo file exactly as you sent it. Cameras and phones write extra information into a photo, and that comes with it: usually the date and time it was taken and the camera or phone model, and, if location was switched on, the position where it was taken. We also record the place you tell us it shows, the name you ask us to credit, the account it came from, and when you agreed to the licence.
We use this to check that the photo shows the place it is filed under, where the recorded position is useful evidence, and to keep a record that you licensed the photo to us. If we use your photo, the photo and the credit name are shown publicly. The copy we show is one we make ourselves, and it does not carry the date, device, or position recorded in your original. We do not publish where a photo was taken beyond the place it is shown under.
If you would rather we did not receive the position, remove the location from the photo before you send it, or turn off location for your camera app.
Cookies and analytics
We use cookies and similar technologies to make the site work and to measure traffic. Specifically:
- Google Analytics helps us understand how visitors use the site (which articles are read, how people arrive) so we can improve our content. It sets cookies and processes data under Google’s Privacy Policy.
We do not run third-party advertising on this site. Most browsers let you block or delete cookies in their settings. Blocking cookies won’t stop you reading our articles, though some features may behave differently.
Affiliate links
Wilderness Experts is reader-supported. Some links on our site — including links to products on Amazon — are affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. If you click one and buy something, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Affiliate relationships never change what we recommend or what we say about a product. When you follow an affiliate link, the destination retailer (for example, Amazon) collects and processes your information under its own privacy policy.
How we use your information
- To respond to messages you send us.
- To operate, maintain, and secure the website.
- To run your member account and the things you save in it.
- To send the emails you ask for: sign-in links, Leave Word messages to your contact, and the monthly guide if you subscribed.
- To understand which content is helpful and improve what we publish.
We do not sell your personal information, and we don’t send marketing email unless you have specifically asked us to.
How your information is shared
We share information only with the service providers that help us run the site — such as our web host, our email provider (which delivers contact-form messages), and Google Analytics — and only as needed for those services to function. We may also disclose information if required by law. We never sell or rent your personal data.
Data retention
Contact-form messages are delivered to our email and also kept in a log on our website, along with the IP address and browser they were sent from, so we can detect and block spam. The website’s copy is deleted automatically after 90 days. The copy in our email is kept only as long as needed to handle your request and for our records, then deleted. Aggregate analytics data is retained according to the analytics provider’s standard retention settings.
If we decide not to use a photo you sent, we delete the file and keep only the record that it was sent. If we use it, we keep your original with that record. You can ask us at any time to take your photo down and delete the original, and we will. We keep the record that you licensed it, including the credit name and the date, even after that and even if you close your account, because other people may already have reused the photo under that licence. The terms that apply to shared photos are in our Terms of Service.
Member account data is kept until you ask us to delete it. Ask through our contact page and we will delete your account and everything saved in it. The one exception is the licence record for any photo you shared, described above. Deleted data can remain in our encrypted backups for up to about six weeks before those copies are replaced.
Security
The site is served over an encrypted (HTTPS) connection, and contact-form submissions are transmitted over a secure, authenticated mail connection. No method of transmission over the internet is perfectly secure, but we take reasonable measures to protect your information.
Your choices and rights
You can ask us what personal information we hold about you, request a copy, or ask us to correct or delete it — just send us a message through our contact page. Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights under laws such as the GDPR or CCPA; we honour those rights where they apply. You can also control cookies through your browser settings.
Children’s privacy
Our site is intended for a general adult audience and is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us information, contact us and we will delete it.
Links to other sites
Our articles and reviews link to other websites (retailers, references, and resources). We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those sites. We encourage you to read the privacy policy of any site you visit.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we’ll revise the “last updated” date above. Significant changes will be reflected on this page.
Contact us
Questions about this policy or your data? Use our contact form and we’ll get back to you.