Privacy Policy

Effective Date: January 7, 2025

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Information You Provide

• Account Information: When you create an account, we collect your email address and chosen username.
• User-Generated Content: Photos, reviews, and ratings you submit about beaches.
• Communication: Messages you send to our support team.
• Feedback: Surveys, feedback forms, and app reviews.

1.2 Automatically Collected Information

• Location Data: With your permission, we collect GPS location to show nearby beaches and provide navigation.
• Device Information: Device type, operating system, app version, and unique device identifiers.
• Usage Data: App features used, time spent in app, and crash reports.
• Analytics: Anonymous usage statistics to improve our service.

1.3 Third-Party Information

• Weather Data: Real-time weather information from meteorological services.
• Map Services: Beach locations and navigation data from mapping providers.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the collected information to:

• Provide real-time beach conditions and recommendations
• Enable location-based features and navigation
• Process and display user reviews and photos
• Send notifications about beach conditions and app updates
• Improve app functionality and user experience
• Provide customer support and respond to inquiries
• Ensure app security and prevent abuse
• Conduct analytics and research for service improvement

3. Information Sharing and Disclosure

We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal information. We may share information only in these circumstances:

3.1 Public Information

• User reviews and ratings (with chosen username)
• Photos uploaded to public beach galleries
• Community contributions and discussions

3.2 Service Providers

• Weather data providers for real-time conditions
• Map and navigation services
• Cloud hosting and data storage providers
• Analytics and crash reporting services
• Push notification services

3.3 Legal Requirements

We may disclose information if required by law, court order, or to protect our rights and safety.

4. Data Storage and Security

• All data is encrypted in transit and at rest
• We use secure cloud infrastructure with regular backups
• Access to personal data is limited to authorized personnel only
• We regularly update our security measures and conduct security audits
• Passwords are hashed and salted for protection

5. Your Rights and Choices

5.1 Account Control

• Access: View and download your personal data
• Correction: Update incorrect or incomplete information
• Deletion: Request deletion of your account and data
• Portability: Export your data in a machine-readable format

5.2 Privacy Settings

• Location: Enable/disable location sharing in app settings
• Notifications: Control push notifications and email alerts
• Visibility: Choose privacy level for your reviews and photos
• Analytics: Opt out of usage analytics collection

6. Children's Privacy

Our service is not intended for children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we become aware that a child under 13 has provided us with personal information, we will delete such information immediately.

7. International Users

Our service is hosted in the European Union. By using our service, you consent to the transfer of your information to our servers. We ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your data in accordance with GDPR and other applicable privacy laws.

8. Third-Party Services

Our app integrates with the following third-party services:

• Google Maps: For location services and navigation
• Weather APIs: For real-time weather data
• Firebase: For push notifications and analytics
• Cloudinary: For image storage and optimization

These services have their own privacy policies, which we encourage you to review.

9. Data Retention

• Account Data: Retained while your account is active
• Usage Analytics: Anonymized data retained for up to 2 years
• User Content: Reviews and photos retained unless deleted by user
• Support Communications: Retained for up to 3 years for quality assurance

10. Updates to Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy occasionally to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. We will notify you of significant changes through:

• In-app notifications
• Email notifications (if you have an account)
• Updates on our website

11. Contact Information

12. Legal Basis (GDPR)

For EU users, our legal bases for processing personal data include:

• Consent: Location data, marketing communications
• Contract Performance: Providing app services and features
• Legitimate Interest: App improvement, security, analytics
• Legal Obligation: Compliance with applicable laws