WATERWAY-ASSIST EUPrivacy Policy
Waterway-Assist EU ("the app", "we") is a VHF channel planner and route assistant for skippers on European inland waterways, available as a web app and as an Android/iOS app. This policy explains what data the app collects, why, and who it's shared with. It applies to both the mobile app and the web version at waterway-assist.com.
1. Location data
With your permission, the app reads your device's GPS location to:
- Center the chart on your position and show it as a marker;
- Find the nearest VHF channels, bridges, locks and facilities;
- Default the route planner's starting point to "current position";
- Check whether a reported or live-tracked police vessel is within 2 km of you.
Your coordinates are sent to our own backend
(api.waterway-assist.com) over HTTPS only to compute the
answer to that specific request (e.g. "what's near this point"). We do
not build a location history, do not store a log of where you've been,
and do not link location queries to you as an individual.
You can deny or revoke location permission at any time in your device settings; the app still works, but can't center the map on you, default the route's start point, or run the police-proximity check.
2. Address search / reverse geocoding
When you search for a place by name, or when the app resolves your
coordinates to a place name, the query text or coordinates are sent
directly from your device to OpenStreetMap's Nominatim
service (nominatim.openstreetmap.org), a
third-party, non-commercial geocoding service. This is the only feature
where your location leaves our own servers. See the OpenStreetMap
Foundation's own privacy policy for how they handle it:
osmfoundation.org/wiki/Privacy_Policy.
3. Content you choose to submit
The app has several optional community features. Anything you submit through them is public — visible to every other user of the app — so please don't include personal information you don't want public.
Reports
Reporting a hazard, police checkpoint, or correction to a channel/ facility sends its category, an optional note, and a location to our backend. Reports aren't tied to an account or device identifier.
Community blog
Posting or commenting stores the display name you type (any name you
like — it isn't verified and doesn't have to be your real one), the
post/comment text, and a category. To let you edit or delete your own
post later, the app generates a random "edit key" on your device
(stored locally via shared_preferences/browser storage) —
this key isn't personal data, isn't sent anywhere except back to our
server when you edit, and isn't recoverable by us if you lose it (e.g.
after uninstalling the app).
Sightseeing routes
Submitting a scenic/tourist route (built from a route you planned in the Route Planner) stores its name, description, waypoints, tags, and a photo — either one you upload or a link to a photo hosted elsewhere — with an optional photo credit. It's held for review before it appears publicly to other users.
Marina reviews
Reviewing a marina stores the display name you type, a rating, your review text, and up to 8 photos you upload.
4. What we don't collect
| Category | Collected? |
|---|---|
| Accounts, sign-in, email, phone number | No |
| Advertising identifiers / ad tracking | No |
| Third-party/cookie-based analytics, crash-reporting SDKs | No (see §6 for our own cookie-free page-view count) |
| Contacts, camera, microphone | No |
| Photos | Only if you choose to attach one to a sightseeing route or marina review (see §3) — never accessed otherwise |
| Payment information (app is free) | No |
| Data sold to third parties | Never |
5. Live vessel (AIS) data
The map can show live positions of government/police vessels, sourced server-side from the third-party AIS feed aisstream.io. This is public shipping-traffic data about vessels, not about you — your device doesn't connect to aisstream.io or send it anything.
6. Anonymous usage analytics (web app only)
The web app uses Umami, a self-hosted, cookie-free analytics tool we run ourselves — not Google Analytics or any other third-party tracker. It counts page views and rough visitor numbers (browser type, referring site, country-level location derived from IP, which is discarded immediately and never stored) so we know whether anyone's actually using the app. It doesn't use cookies, doesn't fingerprint your device, doesn't track you across other websites, and can't identify you individually.
7. Server logs
Like any web server, our hosting infrastructure keeps standard technical logs of incoming requests (IP address, timestamp, endpoint requested) for a short period, used only to keep the service secure and investigate abuse. These logs aren't cross-referenced with anything else and aren't shared with third parties.
8. Who we share data with
- Our own backend — hosted on a server we control (Hetzner, EU), to serve map/routing/reporting data.
- OpenStreetMap Nominatim — for place search / reverse geocoding (see section 2), only when you use that feature.
We don't use any other third-party processor, and we don't sell, rent, or trade any data.
9. Data retention
Location sent for a map/route/nearest-facility query is processed to answer that request and isn't retained afterwards. Reports and blog content persist until removed by the poster (via their edit key) or through moderation.
10. Your rights
If you're in the EU/EEA, the GDPR gives you the right to access, correct, or request deletion of your data. Since the app doesn't use accounts, we generally can't identify "your" data unless you point us to it directly — e.g. a specific report or blog post. Contact us (below) with a description or link to the content and we'll act on it.
11. Children
The app is a navigation aid for boat skippers and isn't directed at children. We don't knowingly collect data from children.
12. Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, the "last updated" date at the top will change accordingly. Material changes will be reflected here before they take effect.
13. Contact
Questions, or a data request under section 10?
Email: jesper.walraven22@gmail.com