Privacy Policy

Effective date: April 16, 2026

Studio Hedera ("we", "us") publishes the iOS app Nozawa Onsen (the "App"), a free travel guide for visitors to the Nozawa Onsen ski village in Nagano, Japan. We respect your privacy. This policy explains, in plain English, what the App does and does not collect.

If you use the App, this policy applies to you.

1. Scope

This policy covers the Nozawa Onsen iOS app distributed through the Apple App Store. It does not cover the websites or apps of third parties that we link to (such as Booking.com, Google Maps, Instagram, and others). Each of those has its own privacy policy.

2. No account, no sign-up

Nozawa Onsen does not have user accounts. You do not create a username, password, or profile. You are anonymous to us.

3. What we collect

We keep data collection to the minimum needed to make the App work.

a. Device location (only if you allow it)

When you tap "Get Directions" or open the map, iOS will ask for permission to share your location. If you allow it, your location is used on-device to:

• center the map on where you are, and
• open Apple Maps or Google Maps with directions to the place you chose.

Your location is not stored by the App and is not transmitted to Studio Hedera's servers. You can turn location access off at any time in iOS Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > Nozawa Onsen.

b. Backend content (Firebase Firestore)

The App reads its curated content (onsen list, restaurants, photo spots, etc.) from a Google Firebase Firestore database hosted by Studio Hedera. These reads are anonymous — the App does not sign in, create accounts, or send any user-identifying information with the request. Standard network metadata (such as your device's IP address at the network edge) is unavoidable for any internet request and is processed by Google as the infrastructure provider.

The App does not include analytics or crash-reporting SDKs in this version. We do not log usage events, screen views, or crashes to our servers.

4. What we do NOT collect

We do not collect any of the following:

• your name, email address, or phone number,
• payment information (the App has no purchases and no ads),
• your contacts, photos, or health data,
• your browsing history or activity in other apps,
• precise advertising identifiers (we do not use IDFA for ads).

We do not sell or rent data. We do not share data with advertising networks.

5. Third-party services

To provide content and features, the App connects to the following services. Each has its own privacy policy.

• Google Firebase (Firestore, Cloud Functions, Cloud Storage) — firebase.google.com/support/privacy
• Google Places API — supplies restaurant, hotel, and photo information. policies.google.com/privacy
• Google Maps — opened externally when you tap "Get Directions". policies.google.com/privacy
• Open Meteo — weather forecasts. No personal data is sent; we only send a location coordinate for the weather query. open-meteo.com/en/terms
• External booking and social links (Booking.com, Airbnb, Expedia, Agoda, Rakuten Travel, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok) — opened in Safari or the relevant app. Their own policies apply as soon as you leave the App.

6. Children

Nozawa Onsen is a general travel guide and is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect information from children under 13. If you believe a child has used the App and you have concerns, contact us and we will help.

7. International users and data transfer

The App is developed in Japan. Firebase and Google servers that route content requests may be located in the United States or other countries outside Japan or the European Economic Area. By using the App, you understand that this routine technical processing may take place internationally. Google maintains safeguards for these transfers under its own privacy framework.

If you are in the EU, UK, or another region with data protection laws, you have rights over personal data about you. Because we do not collect identifying information, we cannot link any data to you. You can still:

• revoke location permission at any time in iOS Settings,
• delete the App, which stops all further data collection from your device,
• contact us with questions.

8. Your choices

• Location: iOS Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > Nozawa Onsen.
• Network requests: deleting the App stops all backend connections from your device.

9. Security

We use Google Firebase's standard security (encryption in transit over HTTPS, access controls on our backend). No system is perfectly secure, but because we do not collect personal information, the risk to you is low.

10. Changes to this policy

If we change this policy, we will update the effective date at the top and post the new version at studio-hedera.com/nozawa/privacy. If changes are significant, we will highlight them in the App.

11. Contact

Questions about this policy?

Studio Hedera
Email: info@studio-hedera.com
Web: studio-hedera.com