Privacy
Last updated November 10, 2026
In short: Big Tree Finder has no accounts, no cookies and no ads, and it does not ask for personal information. It counts visits with a privacy-friendly analytics service that does not use cookies or follow you to other sites. A few settings are kept in your own browser so the site remembers them, and the location feature only works when you ask it to.
What your browser remembers
The site uses your browser's local storage, on your device only, for three things. None of it is sent to us.
- Your compare list (the trees you added).
- Whether you prefer the grid or list view.
- The hardiness zone you picked or estimated.
You can remove them at any time: clear the compare list, choose Any zone or Reset filters, or clear this site's data in your browser settings.
Your location
- Nothing happens until you press Use my location and allow it when your browser asks.
- Your position is rounded to about 10 km (6 miles) and sent only toOpen-Meteo, a weather data service, to look up winter temperatures for your area. No cookies or other details are sent with it. Open-Meteo's ownterms and privacy policy apply to that request.
- Big Tree Finder has no server that receives your location, and your location is never stored.
- Only the resulting zone number is kept, in your browser, as described above.
Visit statistics
To see which pages are useful, the site usesVercel Web Analytics. It records page views along with general details such as the page, the site that referred you, your country, and your browser, operating system and device type.
- It does not use cookies or store anything in your browser.
- It does not track you across other websites. Visits are grouped using a short-lived identifier that is discarded after a day, so the statistics cannot follow you from one day to the next.
- We only see totals, such as how many people viewed a page, not who you are.
If your browser or an extension blocks analytics, the site works the same.
Hosting
The site is hosted by Vercel. Like any web host, Vercel processes technical details such as your IP address and browser type to deliver pages and keep the service secure. See Vercel's privacy policy. Fonts and photos are served from this site, not from third parties.
Links to other sites
Photo credits link to Wikimedia Commons, and some pages link to the USDA hardiness zone map and other sites. Those sites have their own privacy practices.
Children
The site does not knowingly collect information from anyone, including children.
Changes
If the site changes how it handles information, for example by adding advertising, this page will be updated before that change takes effect, with a new date at the top.