Privacy Policy
Last updated: October 2026 · Effective immediately
Zero Sensor Telemetry
Orientation angles, magnetic vectors, and level data are processed strictly in local browser memory.
Local Geolocation
GPS coordinates for WMM2025 declination calculations remain 100% client-side without remote storage.
Transparent Analytics & Ads
Clear disclosure of GA4 analytics, upcoming AdSense advertising frameworks, and cookie management controls.
1. Introduction & Scope
Welcome to Free Compass Online (accessible at freecompassonline.com). We believe in empowering users with high-utility browser navigation tools while maintaining utmost transparency about data handling, privacy choices, and third-party technologies.
This Privacy Policy explains what information is collected, how device motion hardware is utilized, how web analytics and future advertising networks function, and how you can exercise control over your personal privacy settings.
2. Device Motion & Orientation Sensor Data (100% Client-Side)
To compute your 360-degree heading, cardinal direction, spirit level tilt, and pitch/roll angles, Free Compass Online accesses your device's physical sensors via standard HTML5 browser APIs:
- DeviceOrientationEvent & Magnetometer: Measures alpha (compass rotation), beta (front-to-back tilt), and gamma (left-to-right tilt) angles.
- Accelerometer & Gyroscope: Provides real-time leveling feedback and rotational stability filtering.
Strict Client-Side Guarantee:
All sensor calculations occur in real-time transient memory (RAM) directly inside your browser. Sensor readings are never transmitted, logged, recorded, or sent to Free Compass Online servers or any third parties.
3. Geolocation & Magnetic Declination (True North & Celestial Tracking)
When you switch the compass mode from Magnetic North to True North, or enable optional Sun / Moon tracking, your web browser will prompt you for optional location access (Latitude and Longitude).
- True North Calculation: Coordinates are fed directly into our bundled client-side mathematical implementation of NOAA's World Magnetic Model (WMM2025) to calculate local magnetic declination.
- Celestial Azimuth: Calculates solar and lunar angles in real-time based on local position and current time.
- No Remote Tracking: Your precise GPS coordinates are evaluated purely inside your browser. They are not uploaded, stored in a database, or attached to any user profile.
4. Local Storage Usage
We use your browser's local storage (localStorage) strictly to preserve your user interface preferences between visits:
theme: Remembers whether you selected Light Mode or Dark Mode.compass_mode: Remembers your preference between Minimal and Advanced telemetry views.target_bearing: Remembers custom target angles you dial into the bearing guide.
These preferences reside solely on your device and can be erased at any time through your browser's history and storage settings. We do not use sessionStorage for user tracking.
5. Website Analytics (Google Analytics 4)
Free Compass Online uses Google Analytics 4 (GA4), an analytics service provided by Google LLC, to understand how visitors interact with our website, monitor performance, and improve usability.
GA4 collects aggregate, pseudonymized metrics such as pages viewed, visit timestamps, general non-precise geographic region (country and city level), device category, operating system, and referral sources. GA4 utilizes first-party cookies (such as _ga and _ga_*) to distinguish unique visits and maintain session state.
IP addresses are automatically anonymized by GA4. Analytics data is not combined with private personal identification or your local compass sensor readings. You can opt out of Google Analytics across all websites by installing the official Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.
6. Google AdSense & Third-Party Advertising
To keep Free Compass Online accessible at no cost to students, teachers, and outdoor enthusiasts, this website is configured to support future digital advertising through Google AdSense and certified third-party advertising partners.
How Advertising Cookies & Technologies Operate:
- Third-Party Cookies & Web Beacons: Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies and similar technologies (such as the DoubleClick cookie / Google advertising cookies) to serve ads based on a user's prior visits to this website or other websites across the Internet.
- Personalized Advertising: Google's use of advertising cookies enables it and its partners to serve personalized ads to users based on their visits to our site and/or other sites on the Internet.
- Non-Personalized Advertising: In regions where personalized ads are opted out or restricted, non-personalized (contextual) ads may be served. These ads do not use personal profiles for ad targeting, but may still use cookies for frequency capping, aggregated ad reporting, and combating fraud and abuse.
- Third-Party Vendors & Networks: Ads may be served by Google certified ad networks and vendors. You can view Google's list of certified ad technology providers at Google Ad Technology Providers.
7. User Advertising & Cookie Controls
You have multiple mechanisms to manage, restrict, or opt out of personalized advertising cookies and third-party tracking:
Google Ads Settings
Manage personalized Google advertising preferences or turn off ad personalization at adssettings.google.com.
Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA)
Opt out of interest-based advertising from participating companies at aboutads.info.
Network Advertising Initiative (NAI)
Opt out of targeted advertising from NAI member networks at networkadvertising.org.
European Users (EDAA)
Visitors located in the EEA and UK can manage behavioural advertising at youronlinechoices.eu.
Additionally, you can configure your web browser to block or delete cookies entirely via browser privacy settings.
8. Regional Privacy Rights & Consent Compliance
A. European Economic Area (EEA), United Kingdom & Switzerland (GDPR / ePrivacy)
In compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), UK GDPR, and Google's EU User Consent Policy, when users in the EEA, UK, or Switzerland access this website, consent mechanisms (such as a Google-certified Consent Management Platform supporting the IAB Transparency & Consent Framework) ensure valid consent is requested prior to deploying non-essential cookies or serving personalized advertising.
Users in these jurisdictions have rights to access, rectify, restrict, or request erasure of personal data, as well as the right to lodge a complaint with a relevant Data Protection Authority.
B. California & United States State Privacy Rights (CCPA / CPRA)
Under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), California residents have specific rights regarding personal information. Free Compass Online does not sell personal information or precise geolocation data for monetary consideration. To the extent that third-party advertising cookies may constitute "sharing" or "targeted advertising" under applicable state laws, users can exercise opt-out rights via the cookie choices described in Section 7.
9. Web Hosting, Cloudflare CDN & Server Logs
Free Compass Online is hosted and delivered through Cloudflare Pages and its global edge network. When you request web pages, Cloudflare edge servers may record standard technical HTTP request logs (including IP address, browser user-agent, requested URL, and timestamp).
These logs are processed strictly for DDoS defense, threat detection, web application firewall (WAF) security, and operational reliability. Cloudflare may set essential security cookies (such as bot management tokens) strictly necessary for site protection.
10. External Fonts, Scripts & Service Worker
- Google Fonts: We load typography (Inter and JetBrains Mono) from Google Fonts (
fonts.googleapis.com/fonts.gstatic.com). Google may receive your IP address to deliver the font files to your browser. - QR Code Generator API: For desktop visitors, a QR code image is rendered via
api.qrserver.comencoding our website URL, enabling mobile handover. No personal data is embedded in the QR request. - PWA Service Worker: Our offline service worker (
sw.js) caches website assets locally so you can use the compass without an active internet connection. It does not track personal data.
11. Contact Form Communications
If you contact us via our Contact Form or email us directly, we receive only the details you voluntarily submit (such as name, email address, topic category, device model, and message text).
We use this information solely to respond to your technical questions, bug reports, or feature suggestions. We never sell, rent, or distribute your email address for commercial marketing.
12. Children's Privacy (COPPA Compliance)
Free Compass Online is a general-audience educational and navigation utility. We do not knowingly solicit or collect personally identifiable information from children under the age of 13 (or under 16 where required by regional regulations). If you believe that a child has provided personal information to us without parental consent, please contact us immediately so we can remove it.
13. Summary of Data Processing Architecture
| Data Category | Where Processed | Stored Remotely? | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Magnetometer / Motion Sensor | Local Browser RAM Only | No (0% server contact) | Real-time 360° heading & spirit level |
| GPS Coordinates (Optional) | Local Browser RAM Only | No (0% server contact) | WMM2025 declination & celestial azimuth |
| UI Preferences (Theme/Mode) | Local Storage on Device | No | Remember user display choices |
| Aggregated Web Analytics | Google Analytics 4 (GA4) | Pseudonymized / Aggregated | Website traffic & performance analytics |
| Advertising Cookies (AdSense) | Google AdSense / Certified Partners | Managed via Ad Networks | Serving digital advertising & support free access |
| Contact Inquiries | Email Support Systems | Secure Customer Support | Answering user questions & bug reports |
14. Contact Us Regarding Privacy
If you have questions, feedback, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:
- Email: privacy@freecompassonline.com
- Contact Form: freecompassonline.com/contact