Public beta

Privacy notice

Last updated July 20, 2026

Rainier Gate Waits is designed to collect only the information needed to operate anonymous community wait timers and protect the service from abuse.

Information collected for a wait report

• The selected entrance.
• The timer start and completion timestamps.
• The resulting wait duration.
• Optional rounded location coordinates only when a future interface explicitly requests permission.
• A daily salted identifier derived from request information for rate limiting and duplicate-report control.

The application does not store a visitor’s route, name, email address, or account information. Raw IP addresses are not printed in application request logs. The hosting provider may process ordinary request metadata under its own service terms.

Information collected for beta feedback

• The feedback category and optional entrance.
• The estimate displayed and actual wait reported when submitting an accuracy report.
• Any message the visitor chooses to provide.
• An optional email address when the visitor requests follow-up.
• A temporary salted identifier used only for rate limiting.

Feedback is private and is not automatically incorporated into a live wait estimate.

Private timer token

When a server-backed timer begins, the browser receives a random completion token. The browser stores that token locally so the timer can still be completed after a network change or page reload. The server stores only a one-way hash of the token.

How reports are used

Qualifying community reports may modestly supplement a recent Google traffic-delay observation. Reports do not create a public estimate on their own, and they are not currently location-verified.

Retention

• Abandoned timer starts are deleted after approximately 24 hours.
• Anonymous client identifiers and timer-token hashes are removed from completed reports after approximately 60 days.
• Feedback rate-limit identifiers are removed after approximately 30 days.
• Feedback submissions, including optional contact information, are deleted after approximately one year unless removed sooner.
• Aggregate estimates and non-identifying durations may be retained to evaluate and improve the beta.

Official information

This independent beta is not affiliated with or endorsed by the National Park Service. Always check official NPS alerts, road status, and operating hours before traveling.