Scope
This Privacy Policy applies to rock-identifier.org, api.rock-identifier.org, the Rock Identifier online photo-identification tool, account and billing services, and support interactions. It does not govern your browser, camera, payment provider, Google sign-in, advertising providers, or the external AI model provider, which may have their own terms and privacy policies.
Rock photos and AI identification processing
When you choose a photo, the selected file remains in your browser until you submit it or remove it. The homepage accepts one JPG, PNG, or WEBP image. Before submission, the browser prepares a resized JPEG payload for the identification request so that large camera images can be handled more reliably.
When you select Identify This Rock, the image is sent securely to our backend and then to a configured third-party AI identification provider to generate a likely match, broad rock group, visible clues, possible lookalikes, and a next-step suggestion. The current application does not save the submitted image in the account database or attach it to your order history. Temporary copies may exist in network or provider infrastructure while the request is processed under the applicable provider terms.
What the tool does not claim
Rock Identifier provides an AI-assisted visual starting point. It is not a laboratory test, professional appraisal, gemstone certificate, meteorite confirmation, chemical analysis, value estimate, or safety guarantee. We do not use a photo result to certify identity, authenticity, treatment, hardness, density, age, or composition.
Account and sign-in information
When you sign in with Google, we may receive and process the identity information you authorize, such as your account identifier, name, email address, profile image, authentication tokens, and sign-in timestamps. We use this information to authenticate you, connect available identification access to the correct account, provide account features, prevent abuse, and support sign-out and session management.
Signing in does not give Rock Identifier access to your email mailbox or other private account content. Google sign-in is used for account identity; the photo-identification tool only processes the image that you actively choose to submit.
Usage, payments, and orders
Our backend may process your account ID, plan or entitlement status, successful identification count, timestamps, coded error or security events, and information needed to enforce access limits. We do not need the contents of your rock photo to display your account, order, or subscription history after the identification request completes.
When you start or complete a purchase, we and the payment provider may process your account identifier, email address, selected plan, currency, amount, tax information, transaction reference, payment status, renewal dates, and related billing events. Complete payment-card details are handled by the payment provider and are not intended to be stored by Rock Identifier.
Website, server, and device information
When you visit the website or use connected account services, we and our infrastructure providers may process IP address, browser and device type, operating system, referring page, requested URL, timestamps, approximate location derived from IP, cookie or local-storage identifiers, response status, and security or diagnostic logs. We use this information to deliver the service, keep it secure, prevent abuse, troubleshoot errors, and understand aggregate performance.
Support communications
If you contact support, we process your email address, message, attachments you choose to send, and information needed to respond. Do not send passwords, complete payment-card details, or sensitive personal information. If reviewing a specific identification issue is necessary, send only the smallest redacted example that you are comfortable sharing.
Advertising, Google services, and cookies
The website may use third-party analytics and measurement tools, including Microsoft Clarity, to understand aggregate usage, diagnose errors, and improve the rock-identification experience. The website may also display advertising through Google AdSense or similar services. Google and its partners may collect, share, and use data to provide, personalize, measure, and secure their services. This data may include IP addresses, cookie identifiers, device or browser identifiers, approximate location, page visits, and interactions.
Google and other third-party vendors may place or read cookies in your browser or use web beacons, IP addresses, and similar identifiers because ads are served on rock-identifier.org. Depending on the user's location and applicable law, we may request consent before using non-essential advertising or analytics technologies. You can manage cookies through your browser, available consent controls, and provider settings.
How Google uses information from sites or apps that use its services
How information is shared
We may share the minimum information needed with providers that support hosting, authentication, AI identification processing, payment processing, customer support, security, analytics, advertising, and infrastructure. We may also disclose information when required by law, to protect users or the service, to investigate fraud or abuse, or as part of a merger, acquisition, financing, or sale of assets subject to appropriate safeguards.
We do not sell submitted rock photos. We do not intentionally use submitted photos to build an advertising profile. Service providers may process account, billing, website, operational, or image-request information only for the services they provide to us and under their own legal obligations.
Retention and security
The current application does not write submitted image data into the account, order, or usage tables. We retain account, transaction, usage, support, and security records only as long as reasonably needed for service operation, legal obligations, fraud prevention, dispute resolution, and enforcement. The external AI provider may temporarily process request content under its applicable service terms.
We use reasonable technical and organizational safeguards, including encrypted network connections for sensitive data transmitted to our services. No system is completely secure. You are responsible for protecting your Google account, browser profile, device, and any photos or results you save.
Your choices and rights
You can remove an unsubmitted photo from the tool, stop using the service, manage browser cookies, cancel future subscription renewals, request account deletion, or contact us about eligible access, correction, deletion, restriction, objection, portability, or consent rights. Some billing, fraud-prevention, security, or legal records may need to be retained.
Send privacy requests to support@rock-identifier.org. We may verify your identity before acting and may ask for enough information to locate the relevant account without requesting the photo itself.
Children, international processing, and changes
Rock Identifier is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. Providers may process information in countries other than your own, subject to applicable safeguards and law.
We may update this policy when the product, providers, data flows, or legal requirements change. The date at the top identifies the current version. Questions and privacy requests can be sent to support@rock-identifier.org.