How we operate
We believe you deserve to know exactly how this project is funded, how we use resources, and how we protect your data. No hidden agendas — just honest information.
Our commitment
Costa Rica Species was built entirely by volunteers and independent contributors. We have no institutional funding, no venture capital, and no corporate agenda. Our only goal is to make Costa Rica's extraordinary biodiversity accessible to the world — for free, forever.
How we are funded
We currently have two revenue sources, and we are transparent about both.
Advertising
We display a small amount of non-intrusive advertising to cover hosting, infrastructure, and operational costs. We carefully select ad formats that respect your browsing experience. We never sell your personal data to advertisers.
Donations (coming soon)
We are building a donation system. When active, every contribution will be split transparently between a verified Costa Rican wildlife conservation charity (60%) and platform operations (40%).
Donation split
60%
goes directly to a verified Costa Rican wildlife conservation charity of your choice
40%
covers platform hosting, development, and operational costs to keep the catalog free
Where money goes
Platform operational costs we cover to keep the catalog running and free.
- Cloud Hosting & Infrastructure — Database, file storage, CDN, and compute resources.
- Domain & SSL — Domain registration and security certificates for all languages.
- Media Storage — Storing thousands of species images and habitat photographs.
- Development — Volunteer time and occasional tooling costs for new features.
Your data
We do not sell your data
Your personal information is never sold, rented, or shared with third parties for commercial purposes.
Minimal data collection
We only collect what is necessary to operate the platform — no behavioral profiles, no targeted advertising data.
You are in control
You can request deletion of your account and all associated data at any time by contacting us.
Cookies
We use essential cookies for session management and anonymous analytics to understand how the catalog is used. No tracking cookies.
Annual reports
Once donations are active, we will publish a full annual report detailing income, expenses, and how much was sent to each conservation partner.
Free forever
The catalog will always be free to browse. No paywalls, no subscriptions, no locked content.
Open knowledge
Species data is available for educational and research use. We support open science.
Conservation first
Every financial and editorial decision is guided by what is best for biodiversity education and conservation.
Ethical media
All photos are Creative Commons licensed or uploaded by users who confirm their authorship. If any image violates our policies, you can request its removal at any time.