Privacy Policy

Nautical Nick Visibility Report nauticalnick.net

Effective Date: July 5, 2026 Last Updated: July 5, 2026

This Privacy Policy explains what information Nautical Nick ("we," "us," "our") collects when you use nauticalnick.net and the Nautical Nick Visibility Report service, including the Ocean Oracle Pro subscription (the "Service"), how we use it, and the choices you have.

The short version: we collect only what we need to run the Service. We don't sell your personal information, we don't run third-party advertising, and we don't ask for information we don't need.

1. Information You Provide to Us

Account information. When you create an account, we collect your email address and a password. Your password is never stored in plain text; we store only a cryptographic hash. If you sign in with Google, we receive your email address, name, and profile picture from Google instead of a password. We do not receive or store your Google password.

Phone number (optional, for text alerts). If we offer text message alerts and you choose to enroll, we will collect your mobile phone number solely to send you the alerts you request. See Section 4.

Payment information. If you subscribe to Ocean Oracle Pro, your payment is processed by Stripe, our payment processor. Your full card number goes directly to Stripe and never touches our servers. We receive and store only what we need to manage your subscription: your subscription status, plan, billing period dates, and a Stripe customer identifier. Stripe's handling of your payment data is governed by Stripe's own privacy policy.

Waitlist information. If you join a "Coming Soon" waitlist for a region we haven't launched yet, we collect your email address and, if you choose to share it, your home dive spot or region, so we can notify you when coverage arrives.

Content you post. Dive reports, comments, and other content you submit are stored and, where the feature is public, displayed publicly along with your display name. Don't include personal information in public posts that you don't want visible to others.

Preferences. Watchlists, favorite beaches, alert settings, and similar preferences you set in your account.

Correspondence. If you email us, we keep the correspondence so we can respond and maintain a support history.

We do not ask for your birthday, physical address, government ID, or other sensitive personal information, and we ask you not to send it to us.

2. Information Collected Automatically

Like nearly every website, we automatically collect some technical information when you use the Service:

Session cookies. We use a session cookie to keep you logged in. It is essential to the Service; we do not use third-party advertising cookies or tracking pixels.

Log and device data. Our servers automatically record information such as your IP address, browser type, device type, pages viewed, and timestamps. We use this for security (such as rate limiting and detecting abuse), debugging, and understanding aggregate usage of the Service.

Email engagement. Our email provider may record whether emails we send are delivered, opened, or bounced, so we can maintain deliverability and stop sending to dead addresses.

Maps. Beach maps on the Service are rendered by Mapbox. When a map loads, your browser communicates directly with Mapbox, which may collect technical data (such as IP address) under Mapbox's privacy policy.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information described above to:

(a) create and secure your account and authenticate you; (b) provide the Service, including visibility data, forecasts, watchlists, and alerts you've requested; (c) process subscription payments and manage billing through Stripe; (d) send transactional email, such as account verification, password resets, receipts, and subscription notices; (e) send Ocean Oracle Pro forecast emails and condition alerts you've signed up for; (f) notify you about regional launches you've joined a waitlist for; (g) respond to support requests; (h) monitor, debug, and improve the Service, including using observed-conditions data from dive reports to improve our prediction algorithm; (i) enforce our Terms of Service, prevent fraud and abuse, and comply with legal obligations.

We do not use your personal information for third-party advertising, and we do not sell or rent it to anyone.

4. Text Message (SMS) Alerts

This section applies if and when we offer text alerts.

Enrollment in text alerts is optional and requires your express consent, provided when you enter your phone number and opt in. Message frequency varies with conditions and your alert settings. Message and data rates may apply. You can opt out at any time by replying STOP to any message or by disabling text alerts in your account settings; reply HELP for help.

Your phone number and SMS opt-in consent will never be shared with or sold to third parties for their marketing purposes. We share it only with our SMS delivery provider, acting on our behalf, to send the messages you requested.

5. How We Share Information

We do not sell your personal information. We share it only in these circumstances:

Service providers. We use a small number of third-party providers to run the Service, and they process data only on our behalf and only as needed: Stripe (payments), Railway (hosting and database), Resend (transactional and alert email), Mapbox (maps), Google (OAuth sign-in, if you use it), and, if text alerts launch, an SMS delivery provider. Each is bound by its own contractual and legal obligations regarding data handling.

Public content. Content you choose to post publicly (dive reports, comments) is visible to others, along with your display name.

Legal requirements. We may disclose information if required by law, subpoena, or court order, or if we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect the rights, safety, or property of users, the public, or us.

Business transfer. If we sell or transfer the business or its assets, user information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you before your information becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

That's the complete list.

6. Data Retention

We keep your information for as long as your account is active. If you delete your account, we delete or anonymize your personal information within a reasonable period, except where we need to retain it for legitimate purposes: subscription and payment records for tax and accounting requirements, records needed to enforce our Terms or resolve disputes, and security logs, which are retained on a rolling basis and then deleted. Waitlist emails are kept until we launch the region and notify you, or until you unsubscribe, whichever comes first. Anonymized or aggregated data that no longer identifies you (for example, historical dive report visibility observations used for algorithm calibration) may be retained indefinitely.

7. Security

We take reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect your information, including password hashing with a modern algorithm (argon2), encrypted connections (HTTPS), database-backed sessions that we can revoke server-side, rate limiting on authentication, and restricting payment card handling entirely to Stripe. No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security, but we work to protect your data and will notify you as required by law in the event of a breach affecting your personal information.

8. Your Choices and Rights

Access and update. You can view and update your account information in your account settings.

Email. Marketing-style emails (such as forecast digests and launch announcements) include an unsubscribe link. Transactional emails (receipts, password resets, security notices) are sent as needed to operate your account.

Text messages. Reply STOP to any alert to opt out, or disable alerts in your settings.

Deletion. You can delete your account in your account settings or by emailing us at [email protected]. We will delete your personal information as described in Section 6.

California residents. California law gives you the right to request access to the personal information we hold about you, request its deletion, request correction, and not be discriminated against for exercising these rights. We honor these requests for all users, not just Californians. To make a request, email [email protected] from the address associated with your account (or provide equivalent verification). We do not sell or share personal information as those terms are defined in the California Consumer Privacy Act, and we have not done so in the preceding 12 months.

Do Not Track. We do not track users across third-party websites, so we do not respond to Do Not Track signals.

9. Children

The Service is intended for users 18 and older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has provided us personal information, contact us at [email protected] and we will delete it.

10. Users Outside the United States

The Service is operated from the United States and intended for U.S. users. If you use it from elsewhere, your information will be transferred to and processed in the United States, where privacy laws may differ from those in your jurisdiction.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we will notify you by email or by a prominent notice on the Service before the changes take effect. The "Last Updated" date at the top reflects the most recent revision.

12. Contact

Questions or requests about this Privacy Policy or your personal information: [email protected]