FishBeacon Privacy Policy
This policy explains what information the FishBeacon website and mobile app ("FishBeacon", "we", "us") collect, how it is used, and the choices you have. You can use the map as a guest without an account; some features need one.
Information we collect
- Account details: when you create an account, your name, username, email address and password, plus an optional boat name and boat photo. If you sign in with Google or Apple, we receive your name and email address (Apple may give us a private relay address) and an account identifier from them - never your Google or Apple password.
- Club / Fleet membership and subscription: the club you belong to or asked to join, your role in it, and whether your FishBeacon subscription is active and when it renews. Payments are handled by Apple or Google; we never see your card details.
- Location: your device's GPS location, to show where you are on the map and to measure distances. If you turn on Track Me, your positions, speed and heading are saved to your track history. The app may keep recording in the background while a recording is on, and stops when you stop it.
- Sharing your location with your Club / Fleet: off unless you turn on Share my location (in Account, or when starting Track Me). You choose who sees you: everyone in your Club / Fleet, or only the boats you pick on the Members screen. While it's on and Track Me is running, those approved members can see your boat name, boat photo, latest position, speed and heading on their map. It stops showing as soon as you stop Track Me, and you can turn sharing off at any time.
- Club / Fleet members list: the other approved members of your Club / Fleet can see your boat name, username, boat photo, whether you're an admin, and whether you share your location.
- Spots and catches: fishing spots you save (name, position, species, optional photo, the weather and water conditions at the time) and catches you log (species, size, notes, position, time and an optional photo).
- Engines and fuel: the engines and fuel tanks you enter (make, model, year, horsepower, serial number, engine hours, tank size), and the fill-ups and maintenance you log (date, gallons, price, cost, engine hours, notes and an optional photo of the receipt).
- Messages to the app admin: if you use Contact App Admin, your name or username, email address, optional phone number and message are sent to the admin by email and kept so they can reply. If you're signed in, the email also includes a short summary of your account (club, subscription, and how many spots, tracks and log entries you've saved) to help answer you.
- Camera and photos: only the photos you choose to take or upload for a spot, a catch, your boat or a receipt. We do not access anything else in your photo library.
- Basic technical data: like most websites, our server may log IP addresses and request times for security and troubleshooting.
How we use it
- To run FishBeacon: sign you in, show your spots, catches and tracks, and sync them between your devices.
- To send account emails you ask for, such as password resets.
- To keep the service secure and fix problems.
We do not sell your information, and we do not use it for advertising.
What other people can see
Spots are private unless you share them with your club. A club spot, including its name, position, species, photo, and your boat name or username, can be seen by the other members of the fishing club you belong to in FishBeacon. If you turn on Share my location, your Club / Fleet's members (or just the boats you pick) also see your latest position while you use Track Me (see above). Everything else, including your track history, private spots, catches, engine and fuel log, receipts and email address, is visible only to you.
If you join a club, the club's admins see your name, username, email address, boat name and photo, when you joined, and whether your subscription is active, so they can approve and manage members. The club's name, logo, website and fishing contests are shown to its members in the app.
Community rules
By creating an account you agree to these rules for anything you share in FishBeacon: club names and logos, spot names and photos, and contest details.
- No offensive, hateful, sexual, violent or harassing content, and no content that targets a person or group.
- No spam, scams, or misleading information.
- Only share photos you took or have permission to use.
There is no tolerance for objectionable content or abusive users. You can report a club, spot or contest with its ⋯ or Report button, and block anyone whose shared spots you don't want to see. We review reports within 24 hours and remove content that breaks these rules, and may remove the accounts that posted it.
Services we rely on
Subscriptions are processed by Apple (App Store) or Google (Google Play) and managed through RevenueCat, which receives an anonymous account number, not your name or email. Sign in with Google and Sign in with Apple are provided by Google and Apple under their own privacy policies.
To show maps, weather, tides and water conditions, FishBeacon requests data from providers such as OpenStreetMap, Open-Meteo, NOAA, NASA and GMRT. These requests include map coordinates (for example the spot you tapped) but not your name or account details. Vessel positions come from public AIS broadcasts.
How long we keep it
We keep your account information, spots, catches, track history and engine and fuel log until you delete them or delete your account (see below). One exception: without a FishBeacon subscription, we keep only your 3 most recent Track Me trips, and older trips are deleted automatically when you record a new one.
Deleting your account
In the app, go to Home → Account → Delete Account. Your account is deleted right away: your name, email address, password and Google/Apple sign-in, boat details and photo, track history, catch log, engine and fuel log with its receipt photos, and club membership. Your saved spots are hidden from everyone at once and permanently deleted within 30 days. Deleting your account doesn't cancel a FishBeacon subscription - cancel that in your Apple or Google account. Without the app, you can delete it on our website at fishbeaconusa.com/delete-account. You can also ask us to delete your account by emailing admin@fishbeaconusa.com from the address on your account.
Your choices
- You can use the map without an account.
- You can turn off location, camera or photo access at any time in your device settings; the features that need them will stop working.
- You can edit your profile, delete your spots, and stop track recording in the app.
Children
FishBeacon is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect information from them. If you believe a child has created an account, contact us and we will delete it.
Security
Information is sent over encrypted connections (HTTPS). No online service can be perfectly secure, but we take reasonable steps to protect your information.
Changes to this policy
If we change this policy, we'll update the date at the top of this page.
Contact
FishBeacon: admin@fishbeaconusa.com
See also our Terms of Use.