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Privacy Policy

Last updated: October 22, 2026

Introduction

OwlPlot ("the App") is operated by MaplePlot Inc. (formerly Glucoplate Inc.), a corporation incorporated under the federal laws of Canada (the Canada Business Corporations Act) ("we," "us," or "the Company"). We are committed to protecting your privacy in accordance with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) of Canada. This privacy policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard your information when you use the OwlPlot mobile application and website (owlplot.com).

Information We Collect

Information you provide:

  • Email address (when you contact support)
  • Saved locations (stored locally on your device)
  • App preferences and settings

Information collected automatically:

  • Device type and operating system version
  • App usage analytics, not linked to a name or email
  • Crash reports and performance data, which can include a rough region (about 10 km)
  • Your IP address, seen by any server the App connects to

Location data:

  • We request location access to provide accurate sunrise, sunset, and astronomical data for your current position
  • Sun, moon and sky positions are calculated on your device
  • To fetch weather, sea conditions, the terrain around a spot and weather alerts, the coordinates of the place you are looking at are sent to the services listed under Third-Party Services. How precise they are depends on the request:
    • Weather, sea and past cloud-cover forecasts (Open-Meteo) use coordinates rounded to roughly 1 km
    • The skyline around a spot (Open-Meteo elevation) uses the spot's precise coordinates and points around it, so the horizon can be drawn accurately
    • Weather alerts use coordinates precise to roughly 10 m (US National Weather Service) or a small area around the spot (Environment and Climate Change Canada)
  • When you open the surf screen, the app sends the spot's precise coordinates, and the place name, to our own server to find the nearest surf spot, the nearest buoy and that beach's calibration. We don't save these lookups in our database, but our hosting provider's request logs can record them for a short period
  • Place search and place names use Apple Maps on iOS and your device's location services on Android (on most Android phones, provided by Google)
  • Aurora and space-weather data is downloaded from NOAA as a whole-region dataset, so your location is not part of those requests. Tide readings are requested by station, picked on your device, and buoy readings by buoy number
  • If you choose to send a surf report, the spot's coordinates are sent with it and stored on our server, rounded to roughly 100 m — see below
  • You can use the app without granting location access by manually searching for locations

Device features you choose to use:

  • Camera: used for the augmented-reality sky view. The camera image is shown on screen and is not recorded or sent to us
  • Photos: photos you pick to attach to a shot plan are copied into the app on your device
  • Calendar: on iOS, if you allow it, the app adds your planned shoots to your calendar (it asks for permission to add events only); on Android it opens your calendar app with the event filled in
  • Notifications: reminders are scheduled on your device. The app doesn't use push notifications from a server

Surf reports (optional):

  • The surf screen lets you tell us how big the waves actually looked, so the app's estimate for that beach can be corrected against what people really see
  • A report records the wave height, period and wind the app was showing, the coordinates of the spot (rounded to roughly 100 m), and the size you selected
  • It is stored without an identifier — no account and no device ID — and we don't link one report to another or to you
  • Your device sends a random, per-install number with the request purely so our server can stop one app flooding a beach with reports. It is used as a daily counter that expires after about 30 hours, and we don't store it with the report
  • Because a stored report doesn't contain an identifier, we generally have nothing personal to look up, export or delete. This is deliberate: we aim to anonymise at the point of collection rather than collect first and delete later
  • A report is sent when you tap a size. The app doesn't send one on its own

How We Use Your Information

  • To provide accurate sunrise, sunset, and astronomical timing data
  • To improve app functionality and user experience
  • To respond to your support inquiries
  • To analyze app performance and fix bugs

Data Storage and Security

Your data security is important to us:

  • Saved locations, shot plans, plan photos and preferences are stored on your device. On iOS, saved spots, shot plans and camera gear can also sync through your own iCloud account (plan photos aren't synced). On Android, the app's settings, saved data and plan photos can be included in your device's Google backup. We don't operate an account system
  • We run one small server (a Cloudflare Worker and database) that holds a list of surf spots we maintain, per-beach calibration figures and the anonymous surf reports described above, and answers the surf lookups described above
  • We don't store your location from ordinary use of the app. The coordinates in our database are the ones attached to surf reports people chose to send, rounded to roughly 100 m
  • The App connects over encrypted HTTPS. No system is completely secure

Third-Party Services

We use the following third-party services:

  • Open-Meteo - receives coordinates to provide weather, marine and sea-state forecasts, past cloud cover and terrain elevation
  • US National Weather Service and Environment and Climate Change Canada - receive coordinates to provide weather alerts for a place
  • NOAA Tides and Currents and Fisheries and Oceans Canada - provide tide predictions, requested by station
  • NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center and National Data Buoy Center - provide aurora, space-weather and buoy data
  • CelesTrak and NASA JPL - provide space station and comet data; no location is sent
  • Apple and Google - place search and place names, iCloud sync on iOS, device backup on Android, and app distribution
  • Cloudflare - hosts our surf server: the surf spot list, surf lookups, anonymous surf reports and the server's request logs
  • Vercel - hosts this website
  • Firebase Crashlytics - crash reporting to identify and fix bugs, on both iOS and Android
  • Firebase Analytics - anonymous app usage analytics, on both iOS and Android. You can turn this off in Settings; see below
  • Firebase Remote Config - lets us show a prompt to update the app, or require an update, without shipping a new release

Each service has its own privacy policy governing the use of your information.

Your Choice About Analytics

Settings › Privacy › Share anonymous usage data controls whether we collect analytics at all. It records which screens and features get used. It isn't linked to your name or email.

If your device is set to a country in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, this is off by default and stays off unless you turn it on. Everywhere else it starts on and you can turn it off. We work this out from your device's region setting on iOS and from the country of your language setting on Android, so it can differ from where you actually are. Because the setting is applied as the app starts, Firebase may record the app being opened before it takes effect.

Crash reports are not covered by that switch and are sent even when it is off, so bugs can be fixed. They can include a rough region (about 10 km), which helps find problems that only affect one area. They are not designed to include your exact location.

Data Retention

App preferences and saved locations are retained on your device until you delete the app or clear the app data. Anonymous analytics data is retained for up to 24 months to help us improve the app. Surf reports carry no identifier and are kept to calibrate each beach. We don't currently delete them on a fixed schedule; once folded into a beach's figure, individual reports can be removed without losing what they contributed, and we may prune older ones over time. Our server's request logs are kept by Cloudflare for a short period, generally a few days. Support correspondence is retained for as long as necessary to resolve your inquiry.

Your Rights Under Canadian Privacy Law

Under PIPEDA, you have the right to:

  • Know what personal information we hold about you
  • Request access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal information
  • Withdraw consent for the collection, use, or disclosure of your personal information
  • Turn analytics off at any time in Settings › Privacy
  • Withdraw consent for location access at any time through your device settings
  • File a complaint regarding our privacy practices

In practice we hold very little to act on. There is no account, and surf reports are stored without an identifier, so we generally have nothing filed under you to look up. Saved locations and preferences stay on your device, apart from your own iCloud or Google backup. If you want your analytics history removed, contact us and we will take steps to delete the relevant Firebase records.

In the EEA and the UK, MaplePlot Inc. is the controller. We rely on your consent for usage analytics, on providing the features you use, and on our legitimate interest in keeping the App stable and secure. You can also complain to your local data protection authority.

OwlPlot Stacker

OwlPlot Stacker for Mac and Windows doesn't collect personal information. It has its own privacy policy.

Children's Privacy

Our app is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe we have collected such information, please contact us and we will take steps to delete it.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this privacy policy from time to time. We will let you know about material changes through the app or by posting the new policy on this page and updating the "Last updated" date.

Accuracy Disclaimer

OwlPlot is intended as a photography planning aid and estimation tool only. Astronomical timing data, sun/moon positions, and weather information are approximations and must not be relied upon for safety or navigation decisions. To the extent the law allows, MaplePlot Inc. is not responsible for damages resulting from reliance on App-generated data. Please refer to our Terms of Service for full details.

Contact Us and Complaints

If you have questions about this privacy policy or wish to make a complaint regarding our privacy practices, please contact us at: support@owlplot.com

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may file a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.

MaplePlot Inc.
Ontario, Canada