Privacy

Embarca has no analytics, no advertising and no third-party SDK that tracks anything, and you do not need an account to use it. Almost everything stays on your iPhone. Only what is essential to show you the map, the depth and the forecast leaves it; your route only if you share it, ask for help with the SOS or publish it in the community. The only account that exists is the one for the route community, and only if you want to publish.

What stays on your iPhone

Recorded trips, saved routes, points (fishing grounds, anchorages, sightings), favourites and your boats are stored on the phone and, if you are signed in to iCloud, are copied automatically to your own iCloud, in the private database of your Apple account. That copy is yours: Apple stores it, it does not go through our servers and we cannot see it. It means that if you delete the app or change iPhone, your logbook comes back when you reinstall it with the same account. Without an iCloud sign-in, or with iCloud turned off for Embarca in iPhone Settings, everything stays only on the phone and is deleted if you delete the app. In the app's Settings you will see whether the copy is active; to delete it, go to iPhone Settings, your name, iCloud, Manage Storage, Embarca.

Your name, your boating qualification and your emergency contacts are stored only on the phone and are not copied to iCloud. If you delete the app, they are deleted with it.

The app uses GPS for speed, heading, distance to the coast and the logbook. You can withdraw the location permission at any time in iOS Settings: you lose those features, not the rest.

The connections the app makes to work

None of these requests carries your name or an account (except the iCloud copy, which goes to your own Apple account). The ones that go to our server (sigue-embarca.codelabs.studio) also carry a random installation identifier and your IP address, as explained just below the table.

The detailed chart of Spain, the guide, the dictionary and the species are built into the app and work offline.

Installation identifier and IP address

Every request to sigue-embarca.codelabs.studio, including simply exploring the route community, carries a random identifier that the app generates when installed (the X-Embarca-Install header) and arrives from your IP address. They serve a single purpose: limiting abuse (for example, how many SOS alerts or reports are accepted per day). The identifier is not linked to your name or your account, and the abuse counters delete themselves after one day. It is deleted when you uninstall the app.

“Always” location in the background

Embarca asks for the “Always” location permission for two reasons: to record your trip and its speed even when the screen is locked, and, if you share your route live and iOS closes the app, to be able to reopen it when you move so sharing can resume. It is only used in the background while you record, navigate with guidance or share live; otherwise it is not. You can leave it on “While Using the App” or withdraw it in iOS Settings at any time: you lose recording with the screen locked, not the rest.

Technical server logs

The Cloudflare server keeps, for one in ten requests (10% sampling), a technical log with the path requested, the result and the time, to detect failures. It is not analytics: it is not used to measure or profile you and is not shared with anyone.

When you share your route live

Only if you turn it on (it is an Embarca Pro feature):

• What is sent: your position, speed, heading, the chart depth under the boat and the time of each point, plus the name you have entered and, if you provide them, your destination and your estimated return time. If you also choose to alert a contact, their name and phone number, for 24 hours at most.
• To whom: to our server (Cloudflare, with the data stored in the European Union) and, from there, to whoever opens the link you share. Nobody else; we do not use it for anything. The link is long and random and cannot be guessed.
• How long: everything is deleted automatically 24 hours after the last data point. A single session does not accept points for more than 72 hours.
• How to delete it sooner: with “Stop sharing and delete the route”, which removes it immediately.

The link page has no accounts, no cookies and no analytics, and the map is served without third-party trackers (the tiles are from OpenStreetMap).

Route community

Viewing and exploring other boaters' routes needs no account and sends nothing of yours except the area of the map you are looking at, the installation identifier and your IP address (section “Installation identifier and IP address”).

• Account: to publish you sign in with Apple. We do not ask for your name or your email. We store only a fingerprint (hash) of the identifier Apple provides so we can recognise you next time, the alias you choose and the sign-up date. We do not store any Apple token.
• What is published: the track of the trip you choose, the title, the description, the type of outing, the difficulty, the sea state, the distance, the duration, the month and year, the photos you choose and your alias. It is public: anyone with the app can see it.
• What does not leave your phone: the first and last 300 metres of the track are trimmed on the phone before it is sent, so the place where you moor or live never reaches the server. The times and the point-by-point speed are not sent either, nor is the name of your boat.
• Photos: they are downsized and re-encoded on the phone, and the server strips any metadata again (camera, time, GPS). Their position on the map is only published if you leave it enabled; if the photo was taken near the departure or arrival, it is published without a position.
• Where: on our server (Cloudflare), with the database and the photos stored in the European Union. Photos are only served while the route is visible.
• Reports and moderation: anyone can report a route, with or without an account. With three reports from different people it is hidden until we review it. For a report we store the reason, the text if you write one and a fingerprint of your account or your IP address so it does not count twice; they are deleted along with the route. We may hide or delete content that breaks the rules and block the account that published it. Blocking an author from the app only affects your phone.
• Deletion: each of your routes is deleted immediately from the app, with its photos. “Delete my account and my routes” removes the account, the alias, all your routes and photos and your sessions. A draft that was never published deletes itself after 24 hours.

SOS and emergency contacts

The SOS is free for everyone. If life is in danger, call 112 first (or your country's emergency number), in Spain Salvamento Marítimo (Spanish Maritime Rescue, 900 202 202), or use VHF channel 16: Embarca alerts your contacts, not the emergency services.

• When you add a contact: our server sends them an SMS, through Telnyx, to let them know they are your emergency contact. For that, their number and your name are sent. The contact list lives on your phone; when you use the SOS or share with a contact, a temporary copy (name and number) goes to the server, as explained below.
• If you trigger an SOS: each contact receives an SMS with your name, your position, the link to follow you live and your route plan if there is one; if you choose what has happened, a second short SMS with the reason.
• What the server stores: the name and phone number of your emergency contacts, and your name, remain on the server only while the SOS or contact-sharing session lasts: 24 hours at most after the last data point. After that they delete themselves.
• Without mobile data: the SMS is sent by your own phone and does not go through us.
• Against abuse: for one day we keep counters associated with the IP address, a random installation identifier and a fingerprint (hash) of the destination number. They delete themselves.

Who is the controller and on what legal basis

The controller is Codelabs Studio S.L. (CIF B88708797), registered at Pasaje Federico García Lorca, 6, 3º E, 29130 Alhaurín de la Torre (Málaga), Spain; contact: [email protected]. The legal basis is the performance of the service you request (sharing your route, alerting your contacts) and, in the case of the SOS, vital interests. In the route community, the basis is your consent when publishing, which you withdraw by deleting the route or the account. The processors involved are Cloudflare (server) and Telnyx (SMS delivery); sign-in is handled by Apple.

Your rights

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) gives you the right to access your data, correct it, delete it and object to its processing. What is on your phone you control yourself; live-tracking data deletes itself within 24 hours or immediately from the app, and what is published in the community you can delete from the app whenever you like. For any request, write to us and, if you are not satisfied, you can complain to the Spanish Data Protection Agency (Agencia Española de Protección de Datos).

Cookies and the Meta pixel

The iOS app does not use cookies. This website does store two things, and only the second needs your permission:

• Cookie preference (technical). It is stored in your browser's local storage (localStorage, key embarca-consent-v1) to remember whether you accepted or rejected. It is not sent to any server or used to identify you. It lasts until you delete it or change your choice.
• Meta pixel (marketing). Provider: Meta Platforms Ireland Ltd. It is used to measure how many visits come from our ads on Facebook and Instagram and to improve them. It installs the first-party _fbp cookie, which lasts 90 days, and sends Meta the address of the page visited and technical browser data. It only loads if you press “Accept” in the notice; if you press “Reject” or ignore it, nothing from Meta is loaded and that cookie is not written.

You can change your mind at any time with “Cookie settings”, at the bottom of any page of embarca.app. When you withdraw permission we stop sending data to Meta and delete the _fbp cookie; you can also delete it from your browser settings. The legal basis is your consent. The controller is Codelabs Studio S.L., Málaga. To exercise your rights write to [email protected].

Minors

The app is not aimed at children under 13.

Changes

If this policy changes, the date above will change with it. If the app were to collect any additional data, you would be asked for permission first.

Contact

Any questions: [email protected]