Data Governance for conservation
Configure org-wide location privacy for field work: IUCN threat tiers, species overrides, and time-bound embargoes so Evidence, Impact Map, and GBIF or Camtrap packages follow one policy above Geo privacy.
Field programs need one privacy policy for maps, Evidence, and harvest packages, not three separate habits. Data Governance is that policy when your plan includes field surveys. Open it under Settings → Privacy & security → Data Governance. It stacks above your everyday Geo privacy defaults.
Studios without field surveys never see this panel. Geo privacy under Location Data remains the baseline for every organization.
For judgment background, read Publishing sensitive species. This page is the settings how-to.
Prerequisites
- A plan that includes field surveys
- Admin access to Settings
- Optional: surveys with tagged observations and IUCN categories (from GBIF species suggest)
How the cascade works
Most specific rule wins:
- Manual rules and embargoes: survey or deployment Public after date; per-species overrides (force fuzz or withhold)
- Automatic threat tiers: when enabled, IUCN bands (for example CR/EN, VU) apply your configured fuzz radii or withhold
- Geo privacy baseline: Location Data fallback fuzz and portfolio Public map location (exact, redacted, or hidden)
Portfolio albums still set the baseline. Governance can still soften or hide pins for photos that carry conservation observations, even on an exact album, without changing albums that have no observations.
Open Data Governance
- Go to Settings → Privacy & security.
- Open Data Governance (only visible when field surveys are on your plan).
- Review the read-only line for your Geo privacy fallback fuzz radius. Change that baseline under Location Data if needed.
- Save with the normal Settings Save control.
Automatic threat-based obfuscation
Turn on automatic threat-based obfuscation when you want IUCN categories to enforce location policy without a per-photo checkbox.
| Band (typical) | What you configure |
|---|---|
| CR / EN (and similar) | Fuzz radius (often kilometers) or withhold; optionally mask place names |
| VU | Smaller fuzz or withhold |
| NT / custom band | Optional lighter fuzz |
Apply to checkboxes choose which surfaces obey the tiers:
- Public Impact Map
- Evidence feeds
- GBIF / Camtrap packages
With the toggle off, overrides and embargoes still apply. IUCN tiers do not run automatically.
Species overrides
Use the override table when a locally sensitive site is not well covered by global IUCN status (for example a common species at a sensitive rookery).
For each override: GBIF taxon key (and optional scientific name), action (fuzz or withhold), optional fuzz meters, optional mask of public place names.
Overrides beat automatic tiers for that taxon.
Time-bound embargoes
Set an organization default embargo for new surveys (none, 6 / 12 / 24 months, or custom days). New surveys can receive a Public after date from that default.
Until that date:
- Items stay off the public Evidence feed
- Related pins stay off public Impact Map when those photos are the pin source
- Rows are omitted from GBIF Prepare and Camtrap partner packages
Edit the date on the survey (and optionally per deployment). When the date passes, gates lift automatically. You do not need a separate “make public” switch.
What each surface does
| Surface | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Impact Map | Album public map location first; conservation observations can still fuzz, withhold, or omit |
| Evidence of Impact | Place chips and station pins follow the cascade; shared stations use the station’s strictest rule |
| GBIF Prepare | Same omit/fuzz rules; you still confirm fuzz vs withhold when sensitive detections require a choice |
| Camtrap export | Partner zip applies the same omit/fuzz/withhold rules as Prepare |
Shared responsibility for location
Location privacy is a partnership between ArtInStack’s public surfaces and the files you upload and share.
| ArtInStack protects | You remain responsible for |
|---|---|
| Softening, hiding, or omitting places on Impact Map, Evidence, and related public page content according to your portfolio and Data Governance settings | Choosing what to upload (including whether camera GPS stays in the original file) |
| Applying the same omit / fuzz / withhold rules you confirm in GBIF Prepare and Camtrap partner packages for table coordinates | Stripping or avoiding GPS in files before upload when a downloadable original must never carry exact location |
| Not linking private storage media as public image URLs in harvest packages | Reviewing Prepare’s private-media advisory, and deciding whether image links belong in a given harvest |
| Keeping map and page controls separate from partner exports | Treating partner zips, IPT uploads, and public image downloads as channels you control |
ArtInStack does not rewrite or strip GPS from the image files you store and publish. Soft pins on your site are not the same as cleaning GPS out of a downloadable JPEG. For maps and exports in practice, see Impact maps and location privacy and Prepare and publish to GBIF.
Steps
- Confirm field surveys are on your plan.
- Open Data Governance and note the Geo privacy baseline link.
- Decide whether automatic threat obfuscation should be on; set band actions and apply-to surfaces.
- Add species overrides for local exceptions.
- Choose an embargo default for new surveys; set Public after on active sensitive surveys if needed.
- Preview Evidence and Impact Map signed out; run Prepare once on a test survey if you publish to GBIF.
- For sacred or patrol-sensitive sites, confirm originals are GPS-clean before upload if downloads or partner handoff must never carry exact coordinates.
Verifying your setup
- With automatic obfuscation on, elevated IUCN rows show approximate (or withheld) places on Evidence and soft pins on maps.
- A species override forces fuzz/withhold even when IUCN is Least Concern.
- Embargoed surveys disappear from public Evidence until the date passes.
- Albums without conservation observations still follow ordinary Geo privacy only.
- GBIF Prepare still asks you to choose fuzz or withhold when the checklist requires it.
Next in this flow
Impact maps and location privacy for conservation