Globe Lap Privacy Policy

Effective date: 22 July 2026

Globe Lap is a free, non-commercial global relay race: runners all over the world each carry a lap around the planet on the same day, with waves starting at 9:00 in the morning local time so a front sweeps westward around the world. This policy explains what data Globe Lap collects, why, how long we keep it, and the choices and rights you have. It applies both to the app and to the globelap.com website.

Globe Lap is operated by Valsted Solutions OÜ (Estonian business registry code 17236439), Ahtri tn 12, 15551 Tallinn, Estonia. In data protection terms, we are the data controller for the data described here. For any privacy question or request, contact us at run@globelap.com.

The short version

• You do not need an account, an email, or a name to use the app. By default you are an anonymous device identity, nothing more.
• We use your location to measure your run, to draw your own route, and to keep the race fair. We never use it for advertising, and we never sell it.
• We keep as little as possible and delete it on request. You can wipe your data from inside the app at any time, and raw location data is deleted automatically 12 months after an event.
• We run no third-party advertising, and no third-party analytics or tracking, anywhere: not in the app and not on the website.

Anonymous by default

When you first open the app, it stores a small key on your device so the race can attribute your runs to you without an account. This on-device key, together with an anonymous participant record on our side, lets the race count your distance and show you your own run. This identity is not your name, your email, or your phone number. If you never choose to add any personal details, we never learn who you are.

What we collect in the app, and why

What	Who it applies to	Why we are allowed to (legal basis)	How long we keep it
GPS location trace during a run	Anyone who runs	It is necessary to provide the run-tracking you asked for	12 months after the event, then deleted automatically, or sooner if you delete it
Run statistics (distance, pace, start and finish points)	Anyone who runs	Necessary to provide run-tracking	12 months after the event, then deleted automatically, or sooner if you delete it
Anti-cheat signals recorded with your run (a mock-location flag, a motion type, a coarse start location)	Anyone who runs	Our legitimate interest in keeping the race fair and in showing the spectator map	Kept with your run, deleted on the same 12-month schedule or sooner if you delete it
Device attestation hash (a scrambled fingerprint of your device, used against cheating)	All participants	Our legitimate interest in keeping the race fair	Part of your anonymous participant record, kept until you delete your data. If a device is banned for cheating or abuse, its scrambled fingerprint is kept while the ban is active and deleted 12 months after a ban is lifted
Device step count read during a run	Anyone who runs	Our legitimate interest in keeping the race fair	Read as an anti-cheat signal and not stored long term
Display name	Only if you set one	Your consent	Until you delete it
Adaptive-athlete setting	Only if you turn it on	Your explicit consent	Until you delete it or turn it off
Age confirmation (a yes or no)	All participants	A legal obligation to check age	Until you delete your data
Crash and error reports (the error, where in the app it happened, app version, device type, language)	Participants who have confirmed their age	Our legitimate interest in finding and fixing bugs	12 months, then deleted automatically, and deleted when you delete your data
Feedback you send us (the category, your message, app version, device type, language)	Participants who choose to send feedback and have confirmed their age	Your consent, because you chose to send it	12 months, then deleted automatically, and deleted when you delete your data
Your IP address	Anyone who contacts our servers	Our legitimate interest in preventing abuse	Used transiently to rate-limit requests, not kept beyond handling the request
Consent record (which consent you gave, the policy version, and when)	Anyone who gives consent (a display name, feedback, or the adaptive setting)	A legal obligation to be able to show that you consented (GDPR Article 7(1))	Until you delete your data

Your location

Location is the heart of a running app, so we are careful with it.

• We use your GPS trace to measure how far you have run, to draw your own route back to you, and to keep the race fair.
• To keep the race fair, we record a mock-location flag and a motion type with your run, and a coarse start location feeds the spectator map that shows where runners are joining from.
• We never attach your location to feedback or to crash reports. When you send feedback or when the app reports a crash, your location is not included.
• We do not use your location for advertising, and we do not sell it.
• If you lose GPS signal mid-run, we simply pause your distance. We do not guess or fill in where you were.

Keeping the race fair, and automated decisions

To protect a fair race, some checks run automatically, without a person reviewing each one:

• An automated filter checks display names and feedback for profanity and normalizes them. A display name that fails this check is rejected.
• Automated anti-cheat can end a run, or leave its distance out of the tally, if it looks invalid, for example a mock location or an impossible speed. This can happen without a person in the loop.

If a fair-play check affects your run and you think it is wrong, you can contest it by contacting us at run@globelap.com, and a person will look at it.

The adaptive-athlete setting

The app has a setting you can turn on so that our fair-play checks do not wrongly flag wheelchair users and other adaptive athletes, whose motion signature differs from running on foot. Turning it on is your explicit consent to record that setting for this purpose. You can turn it off at any time.

Crash and error reports

To keep the app working, especially on race day, the app sends us a report when something breaks: the error, roughly where in the app it happened, the app version, your device type, and your language. These reports go only to our own systems. They are not shared with any third-party company. They never include your location or your run data. Native crashes (the kind the operating system records) may also reach us through Apple's and Google's own developer consoles when you have the relevant device diagnostics setting enabled; those settings are controlled by Apple and Google under their own terms.

Feedback

If you send us feedback from inside the app, we receive your message, the category you picked, and basic technical details (app version, device type, language). We read every message. Because you are anonymous, we cannot reply, so please do not include personal details in your message.

The website (globelap.com)

The website has a "register your interest" form. If you use it, we store the email address you enter, an optional message, your timezone, and your language, so that our team can respond to you and note your interest in Globe Lap. We do not send marketing or bulk emails. You can ask us to delete your details at any time by writing to run@globelap.com, and we automatically delete registration data 12 months after you submit the form. You must be at least 16 years old to submit the form. The website sets no cookies and runs no analytics. This registration data is handled by our own server in the European Union.

How long we keep your data

The table above lists retention for each type. In general we keep data only as long as it is useful for the race or for fixing problems, and then it is deleted. Raw GPS traces and run records are deleted automatically 12 months after their event by a scheduled purge. Feedback and crash reports are deleted after 12 months at the latest, and immediately when you delete your data. We may compute aggregate, anonymized statistics about the race, a compatible statistical purpose, and only such anonymized aggregates are kept beyond these retention windows. The global distance tally is one such aggregate counter.

Where your data is processed, and who we share it with

• Your app data is stored and processed on Google Cloud in the European Union (the europe-west1 region in Belgium). Google acts as our data processor, and no one accesses your data from outside the EU.
• Native crash reports may pass through Apple's and Google's own developer consoles under your operating system's diagnostics settings, as described above.
• The website's registration data is handled by our own server in the European Union.
• We do not sell your data.
• We run no third-party advertising, and no third-party analytics or tracking, anywhere.
• We share data only with the service providers that help us run Globe Lap, and only so they can provide that service to us.

Your rights

• See your data. You can ask us for a copy of the data we hold about you.
• Delete your data. In the app, open Settings and choose "Delete My Data". This wipes your GPS traces, your run statistics, your display name, and your anonymous participant record, including the device attestation hash. You can also ask us to delete website registration data by writing to run@globelap.com. The global distance tally is a single running counter, not a list of individuals, so deleting your data does not subtract from it, and nothing personal remains in it.
• Take your data with you. You can export your run as a standard GPX file to use elsewhere.
• Withdraw consent. Where we rely on your consent (your display name, your feedback, the adaptive-athlete setting, and the website registration), you can withdraw it, for example by turning off the setting or asking us to delete your data.
• Object. Where we rely on our legitimate interest (anti-cheat and crash reports), you can object by contacting us at run@globelap.com.

If you think we have handled your data wrongly, you have the right to complain to a data protection authority. Our lead supervisory authority is the Estonian Data Protection Inspectorate (Andmekaitse Inspektsioon); if you are elsewhere in the EU or UK, you may also complain to your own local authority.

Age

You must confirm that you are at least 16 years old to take part in events (to be tracked and to submit runs). If you are under 16, you can still watch the app as a spectator, but participation, feedback, and error reporting that require age confirmation are turned off. We do not collect a date of birth; we only record a yes-or-no age confirmation.

Children

Globe Lap is not intended for children under 16, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from them. If you believe a child under 16 has provided us personal data, please contact us and we will delete it.

International users

Globe Lap is played worldwide. Some countries have additional rules for location data or for younger users, and we comply with the rules that apply where you are.

Changes to this policy

If we change this policy, we will update the effective date above and, for significant changes, tell you in the app. Continuing to use Globe Lap after a change means you accept the updated policy.

Contact

For any privacy question or request, contact us at run@globelap.com.