Privacy, Policies and Sponsors

Privacy and User Information

A girl looks at a computer showing GLOBE's website. Little images flutter by her from the screen.

All areas of the GLOBE website containing user information follow NASA's Web Privacy Policy. The GLOBE Data and Information System is managed by the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

Learn more about GLOBE's privacy policies below:

Email Addresses

All users supply an email address when creating their GLOBE account. A user’s email address is not displayed publicly anywhere on the GLOBE website. GLOBE uses email addresses internally to send messages such as satellite match emails and GLOBE news briefs. Users can opt in or opt out of these communications through the "Settings" page of the GLOBE Program's app, GLOBE Observer, or by accessing the “Account Settings” located under the user profile link in the upper right corner of the GLOBE website. GLOBE Team managers have the ability to email team members, but the email addresses are not publicly displayed. 
 

GLOBE Observer Accounts

GLOBE Observer accounts are only associated with an email address and country of residence. GLOBE does not request or store any additional personal information in its system for a GLOBE Observer account. When a new user creates an account, that user is assigned a unique, numeric user identification. The email associated with the account is never publicly displayed.
 

Use of Technology by Children

Countries have different requirements for technology use by children. According to the U.S. Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule, paired location and email address may be considered personally identifiable information. Children under the age of 13 should only use the GLOBE Observer app with an adult’s supervision, such as through an adult's GLOBE Guest account or with an account created with a parent's email. The GLOBE Program does not store home addresses and does not expose user emails when it publicly posts measurement data.
 

Guest Accounts

Each account may create up to 10 GLOBE Guest accounts. An educator or librarian can use a GLOBE Guest account to allow students or library patrons  to enter measurements on GLOBE.gov or access GLOBE Observer without providing the personal information of the guest user. Guest account logins are structured as email addresses, but do not use active addresses that can be used to send or receive email.

Please note that GLOBE Educator accounts created prior to 2026 have the ability to generate up to 50+ Guest accounts (formerly called Student accounts).

When data is submitted using a GLOBE Guest account, it is associated in the system with the user who created the account and any organization(s) she or he may belong to.

Photos and Visual Media

The training for the GLOBE Observer app states that users must exclude identifiable faces or other personal information, such as license plate numbers, in the photos associated with their observations. GLOBE scans all photos submitted as part of an observation for faces and text, such as street signs and license plates. Any photos containing these features will either be rejected and excluded from the GLOBE database or altered to obscure identifiable faces and text. 

The GLOBE website occasionally posts pictures or videos from GLOBE events as part of news stories or feature articles. Before such photos or videos can be posted on GLOBE.gov, all identifiable people in the photo or video must sign a GLOBE Media Release Form.