Globe Lap Privacy Policy

Effective date: 25 August 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.
• Share images are composed on your device. If you take or pick a photo for a share image, that photo is not uploaded to Globe Lap.

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, and in any case deleted 24 months after your device last registers with us if no runs remain. If a device is banned for cheating or abuse, its scrambled fingerprint is kept while the ban is active, at most 24 months from when the ban was imposed, and deleted 12 months after a ban is lifted
Device step count read during a run	Anyone who runs	For indoor runs, it is necessary to provide the run-tracking you asked for; for GPS runs, our legitimate interest in keeping the race fair	Step readings are turned into distance when they arrive and are not kept themselves; what is kept with your run (the distance, the latest running step total and its timestamp, and fair-play measurements) is deleted on the same 12-month schedule, or sooner if you delete it
Your timezone	Anyone who registers, and again when a run starts	Necessary to assign your starting wave, and our legitimate interest in showing the spectator map	Kept with your participant record and with your run, deleted when you delete your data or on your run's 12-month schedule, and in any case 24 months after your device last registers with us if no runs remain
Display name	Only if you set one	Your consent	Until you delete it, and in any case 24 months after your device last registers with us if no runs remain
Adaptive-athlete setting	Only if you turn it on	Your explicit consent	Until you delete it or turn it off, and in any case 24 months after your device last registers with us if no runs remain
Age confirmation (a yes or no)	Anyone who answers the age question, whether they go on to participate or to spectate	A legal obligation to check age	Until you delete your data, and in any case 24 months after your device last registers with us if no runs remain
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 and in keeping our service secure	Used to rate-limit requests as they arrive, and recorded in our server access logs, which are kept for 30 days and then deleted automatically
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, and in any case 24 months after your device last registers with us if no runs remain
Registration timestamp (when your device last registered with our servers)	All participants	Our legitimate interest in not keeping data longer than needed: this timestamp is what lets us delete abandoned records automatically	Refreshed each time the app registers; deleted with the participant record

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.

Running indoors

The app has an indoor mode for treadmills and indoor tracks, chosen before a run starts.

• For an indoor run, your distance is measured from your phone's step counter instead of GPS. Your step readings are sent with your run and turned into distance when they arrive; the raw readings are not kept. What stays with your run is the distance itself, the latest running step total and its timestamp, and fair-play measurements, all deleted on your run's normal 12-month schedule or sooner if you delete your data.
• During an indoor run, your coordinates never leave your phone. As a fair-play check, the app sends a single number: the farthest your phone moved from where the run started.
• The spectator map places indoor runners at a representative city for their timezone, not at a measured location.

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.

Share images and photos

After a run you can make a share image to keep or send elsewhere.

• Composing the image happens entirely on your device.
• If you take a photo with the camera or choose one from your library, the app uses that photo only on your device as part of the share image. Your photo is not uploaded to Globe Lap, and we do not store it on our servers.
• The composed share image itself is also not uploaded to Globe Lap. We do not store share images on our servers.
• When you tap Share, the system share sheet hands the image to the app or service you choose, under that destination's own terms. When you tap Save, the image is written to your photo library on your device.
• Camera access and photo-library access are optional. You can skip the photo and share a stats card instead. Denying those permissions does not stop you from using the rest of the app.

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. An anonymous participant record whose runs have all been deleted and whose device has not registered with us for 24 months is deleted automatically, including the attestation hash, any display name, the age confirmation, and the consent records. This covers the case where the app was uninstalled without using Delete my data first: the leftover record cannot be reached by anyone, so we delete it on a schedule instead. 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.
• Share photos and composed share images stay on your device unless you yourself send them somewhere through the system share sheet or save them to your photo library. They are not transmitted to Globe Lap's servers.
• 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, go to Privacy, 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 file to use elsewhere: GPX for a GPS run, a distance-only TCX for an indoor run.
• 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.