Your data stays yours.
WhereToSkiNext.com doesn't sell your data, doesn't require an account, and stores as little as possible — most of it never leaves your browser.
Last updated: June 2025
The short version
We don't collect your name, email, or any account information — we don't have accounts. If you type in a location, it's used only to calculate drive times and is optionally saved in your own browser, not on our servers. We use Google Analytics to understand how the site is used in aggregate. That's the whole picture.
What we collect and why
| Data | How it's used | Where it's stored |
|---|---|---|
| Location (ZIP or city) | Converted to coordinates to calculate drive times and rank nearby mountains. Never logged or stored on our servers. | Your browser only. Saved to localStorage if you check "Remember this location" — you can clear it any time. |
| GPS coordinates (optional) | Same as above — used only to compute drive distances. Requires your explicit browser permission. | Your browser session only. Saved to localStorage only if you check "Remember this location". |
| Filter preferences | Restores your settings on your next visit for convenience. | Your browser's localStorage only. |
| Weather & snowfall data | Cached to avoid redundant API calls and speed up the app. | Your browser's sessionStorage only. Expires when you close the tab. |
| Page analytics | Aggregate usage data to understand how the site is used and improve it. | Google Analytics servers. See Google's privacy policy below. |
We do not collect your name, email address, payment information, or any account credentials. There are no accounts.
Third-party services the app contacts
When you use WhereToSkiNext.com, your browser makes requests to the following external services. We do not control their privacy practices and link to their policies where available.
| Service | Purpose | Data sent |
|---|---|---|
| Open-Meteo open-meteo.com |
Live weather forecasts for each resort | Latitude & longitude of ski resort locations (not your location) |
| Open-Meteo Archive open-meteo.com |
Historical snowfall data for the past 7 days | Latitude & longitude of ski resort locations (not your location) |
| Project OSRM project-osrm.org |
Calculates real road drive times from your location to resorts | Your coordinates and resort coordinates, used only to compute routing. No account or identity data is sent. |
| Zippopotam.us zippopotam.us |
Converts US ZIP codes to coordinates | The ZIP code you type in |
| OpenStreetMap Nominatim nominatim.org |
Converts city/address searches to coordinates | The location text you type in |
| Google Analytics & GTM policies.google.com |
Aggregate usage analytics — page views, feature usage, traffic sources | Standard analytics data: pages visited, browser/device type, approximate region, referrer. No personally identifiable information is intentionally sent. |
| Google Fonts developers.google.com |
Loads the DM Sans typeface used on the site | Your IP address and browser info are sent to Google's servers when the font files load. |
Note on location data and OSRM: When you enter a ZIP code or city, your coordinates are sent to OSRM to calculate drive times. These requests go from your browser directly to OSRM's public routing server. We do not proxy, log, or store those requests on our end.
Cookies and browser storage
WhereToSkiNext.com itself does not set cookies. Google Analytics sets its own cookies (_ga, _gid, etc.) to distinguish unique visitors and sessions.
WhereToSkiNext.com stores the following data in your browser:
| Key | Type | What it stores |
|---|---|---|
ski-saved-origin | localStorage | Your saved location (only if you checked "Remember this location") |
ski-planner-weights | localStorage | Your snow, size, value, and crowd priority settings |
ski-pass-pref | localStorage | Your selected pass preference (Epic, Ikon, etc.) |
ski-ski-days | localStorage | Your typical ski days per season setting |
ski-wx-cache | sessionStorage | Cached weather forecast data for the current session |
ski-hist-cache | sessionStorage | Cached historical snowfall data for the current session |
You can clear all of this at any time by clearing your browser's site data for wheretoskinext.com, or by resetting filters in the app.
Shareable URLs
When you click the "Share" button or share a resort report URL, your current filter settings — including your approximate coordinates and location label — are encoded into the URL. Anyone with that link will be able to see those settings. If you'd prefer not to share your location, clear the location field before copying a share link.
Children's privacy
WhereToSkiNext.com is not directed at children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect any information from children. Because we don't collect personal information from any user, there is nothing to delete — but if you have concerns, contact us at the address below.
Changes to this policy
If we make material changes to how we handle data, we'll update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. We won't start collecting personal data without updating this policy first.
Questions about this policy?
Reach us at WhereToSkiNext@gmail.com