Your trips stay yours.
In short: Ebb & Flood doesn't need an account, doesn't collect your personal information, and doesn't show ads, track you across other apps or sell data.
This policy covers the Ebb & Flood app for iPhone and Android and this website. Ebb & Flood is made by Flow Analytics LLC in Washington State.
Your location
If you allow it, the app uses your phone's location to show where you are on the map. Your location is used on your phone only. It is never sent to us or anyone else. You can turn it off any time in your phone's settings, and the app still works without it.
Your trips
Trips you plan, including stops, dates and paddling speed, are saved on your phone. On iPhone and iPad, if you're signed in to iCloud and iCloud sync for trips is on (⚙︎ Settings), a copy is also kept in your own iCloud account so your trips appear on your other Apple devices. That copy is stored and synced by Apple under your Apple ID; we can't see it. Turn it off any time in ⚙︎ Settings.
Trips are not sent to us. When you share a trip, as a PDF or a text message, the itinerary is made on your phone and you choose where it goes using your phone's share menu. We don't receive a copy. The map links inside a shared itinerary open Apple Maps or Google Maps for whoever taps them.
Maps and predictions the app downloads
The app downloads map data and NOAA current and tide predictions from our servers, which run on Cloudflare. Like any website, those servers see your IP address and basic device details (such as the app version) when your phone asks for data. We use this only to deliver the data and protect the service from abuse. We don't use it to identify you, build a profile or advertise.
Logs: we don't keep server logs of our own, and we don't see or store your IP address. Cloudflare handles these requests for us and may keep short-term technical logs for security and reliability, under Cloudflare's privacy policy. What we see is only totals, such as how many map files were downloaded in a day.
If you turn on satellite imagery or the NOAA nautical chart, those load directly from U.S. government servers (USGS and NOAA), which likewise see your IP address.
Launch and camp site information (from Washington State Parks, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Washington Department of Natural Resources, the Washington Department of Ecology, the Washington Water Trails Association and OpenStreetMap) is built into the app, so looking at sites doesn't send anything anywhere. See Data sources & credits.
App updates
To get fixes without a new App Store version, the app checks our update service, run by Expo (expo.dev). That check sends your IP address, the app version, your phone's platform (iOS or Android) and a random ID the app creates for itself when installed. The ID isn't linked to you, your phone's hardware or advertising, and is reset if you delete and reinstall the app. All of this is used only to deliver the right update, under Expo's privacy policy.
Crash reports and analytics
The app contains no analytics, advertising or crash-reporting code (no third-party tracking or crash-reporting SDKs). If you have chosen in your phone's settings to share analytics with app developers, Apple (or Google on Android) may send us anonymous crash reports and totals such as the number of installs. These don't identify you. On iPhone you can turn this off in Settings, then Privacy & Security, then Analytics & Improvements.
The occasional request to rate the app is shown by Apple's App Store (or Google Play); we don't receive anything from it except your public rating or review, if you leave one.
Links that leave the app
Some buttons open other apps or websites: Directions opens Apple Maps or Google Maps with that site's location, and Park page, Website and the WWTA links open that organization's website in your browser. Those apps and websites have their own privacy policies.
Purchases
Subscriptions are handled by Apple (App Store) or Google (Google Play). We never see your name, card or payment details. We only receive confirmation that a subscription is active, so the app can unlock its features.
When you email us
If you email us, including with Report a problem on a site's card, we receive your email address and what you write. A site report also includes that site's name, its location in the app and where its data came from, so we can find it. We use your email only to reply and to fix the data, and we don't add you to any mailing list. We keep emails until the question or fix is done, and delete them within two years.
Your choices and rights
Because there are no accounts and we don't hold personal information about you, there is usually nothing for us to show you or delete. You're in control of what exists:
- Trips on your phone: delete a trip in the app, or delete the app to remove everything it saved.
- Trips in your iCloud: deleting a trip in the app deletes its iCloud copy too. You can also turn off iCloud sync for trips in ⚙︎ Settings, or manage iCloud storage in your iPhone's settings.
- Emails you sent us: ask us to see or delete them and we'll do it within 30 days.
Wherever you live, including in states with privacy laws such as California and Washington, you can ask to know, correct or delete any personal information we hold. We don't sell or share personal information, and we'll never treat you differently for asking.
Children
Ebb & Flood is not directed at children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect information from them.
Changes
If we add features that change what data is involved, such as optional accounts or links for sharing trips, we'll update this policy before that feature ships and change the date above.
Contact
Questions about privacy:
hello@ebbandflood.app