WindWaterSailPrivacy policy
Effective date: August 25, 2026
Developer: Nils Albertsen
App: WindWaterSail (iOS)
Summary
WindWaterSail does not collect, transmit, store, or share any personal data on a server. There is no account and no backend. The app requests tide, current and weather data from public government and open-data services, and those requests contain only the coordinates of the launch site or station you are looking at, never your identity and never your device's own location.
Data We Collect
None.
WindWaterSail has no account system and no backend. It does not collect analytics, crash reports, usage statistics, advertising identifiers, or any other identifiers of any kind.
Data Stored on Your Device
Everything WindWaterSail keeps is stored locally and never leaves your device.
| Data | What it stores | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Alert preferences | Whether conditions alerts are on, and how far ahead of a window you want to be notified | Standard preferences (local only) |
| Station catalog cache | The public NOAA list of tide and current stations, names, IDs and coordinates | On-device cache (local only) |
| Marine zone cache | The public National Weather Service marine forecast zone outlines | On-device cache (local only) |
| Scheduled alerts | Pending local notifications for upcoming conditions windows | iOS notification system (local only) |
The two caches hold public reference data only. They contain nothing about you, and iOS may clear them at any time. Turning alerts off in the app removes every pending notification it has scheduled.
Location
WindWaterSail may ask for permission to use your location while you are using the app. This is used for one purpose: to show your position on the map, so you can see where you are relative to launch sites and stations.
Your location is used only on your device, by Apple's Maps component, to draw the blue dot. It is never transmitted to the developer or to any third party, and it is never included in any weather, tide or current request.
You can decline this permission. The app works fully without it, you simply will not see your own position on the map.
WindWaterSail does not request access to your contacts, photos, microphone, camera, health data, or background location.
Notifications
If you turn on conditions alerts, WindWaterSail asks for permission to send notifications and schedules local notifications on your device for upcoming windows that match the launch site's criteria.
These are local notifications only. There is no push server, no push token, and nothing is registered with the developer or any third party. The alerts are calculated on your device from forecast data and delivered by iOS. You can turn them off in the app, or in iOS Settings, at any time.
Network Access
WindWaterSail connects to the internet to retrieve public forecast and prediction data. It sends the coordinates or station identifier of the place you are viewing, and the dates you are viewing, and nothing else.
| Service | Operated by | What is sent |
|---|---|---|
| NOAA CO-OPS | U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | A public NOAA station ID and a date range, to retrieve tide or current predictions; and a request for the public station catalog |
| National Weather Service API | U.S. National Weather Service | The coordinates of the selected launch site, to find its marine forecast zone and retrieve the Coastal Waters Forecast text |
| Open-Meteo | Open-Meteo | The coordinates of the selected launch site (or a nearby offshore point) and a date range, to retrieve wind, temperature and wave forecasts |
None of these requests include your name, an account identifier, a device identifier, an advertising identifier, or your device's own GPS location. All three services are free and keyless; WindWaterSail sends no API key tied to you.
The National Weather Service asks every application that uses its API to identify itself with a contact address. WindWaterSail sends the app's own support address for this purpose. This is the developer's address, not yours.
Aside from these lookups, WindWaterSail makes no network requests. It has no server, no backend, and no analytics endpoint.
Third-Party Services
WindWaterSail uses NOAA, the National Weather Service and Open-Meteo solely to retrieve forecast and prediction data, as described above. Each service's handling of requests is governed by its own terms. WindWaterSail uses no advertising SDKs, analytics SDKs, or other third-party tracking libraries.
Maps are drawn by Apple's MapKit, which is part of iOS.
Children's Privacy
WindWaterSail does not collect any data from anyone, including children under 13. There is nothing to collect.
Changes to This Policy
If this policy ever changes, the updated version will be published here and the effective date above will be revised.
Contact
Questions about privacy?
Email: nilssupport@gmail.com