Privacy Policy

01Scope and who is responsible

This policy applies to HelmScope’s hosted workspace, onboard recorder connections, and related backup, import, and support features. “HelmScope,” “we,” and “us” mean the operator of the HelmScope service you use.

If a vessel owner, employer, club, or other organization provided your access, that organization may control the vessel records in its account and may have its own privacy obligations and policies.

02Information we handle

• Account and access information: name, email address, password authentication records, sessions, account memberships, roles, invitations, and sharing permissions.
• Vessel records: vessel profiles and identifiers, home port, engines, tank capacities and fuel records, inventory, gear, maintenance notes, documents, photos, and vessel layouts.
• Passage and recorder data: trip dates and routes, GPS positions, speed, depth, wind, engine and system readings, AIS targets, annotations, recorder identity, health, software version, synchronization status, and local-access details.
• Files and derived information: recorder trip bundles, uploaded files, backups, receipt images, extracted document text, OCR suggestions, searches, and analyses generated from your records.
• Technical information: IP address and request metadata available to our hosting systems, security and error logs, timing information, session cookies, and preferences such as your selected theme.

03How we use information

We use this information to authenticate users; connect recorders; import, organize, replay, search, analyze, share, back up, and restore vessel records; show recorder and service health; secure and troubleshoot the service; respond to support requests; and maintain and improve HelmScope.

04Sharing and service providers

We disclose information to people you authorize through account membership, direct sharing, invitations, or visibility settings. We also use providers that process information for the service, including Fly.io for application hosting, Neon for hosted database storage, Cloudflare R2 for object storage, and—only when you enable or use the relevant feature—Google Drive for backup storage and OpenAI for receipt text extraction. Weather overlays may use NOAA or Environment and Climate Change Canada data.

Map tiles are requested from OpenStreetMap and Esri World Imagery by your browser. Those providers can receive normal web-request information such as your IP address and the requested map tile coordinates.

We may disclose information when reasonably necessary to comply with law, protect people or the service, investigate abuse, or complete a business transfer. We do not sell personal information, run third-party advertising, or use third-party ad trackers.

05Google Drive and Google API data

If you connect Google Drive backup, HelmScope requests the narrow https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.file scope. This lets HelmScope create and manage the backup files and folders it creates in your Drive; it does not grant general access to all files in your Drive. HelmScope receives basic connected-account details such as the Google display name and email address and stores an encrypted OAuth refresh token so scheduled backups can run.

HelmScope’s use and transfer of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.

Disconnecting Google Drive revokes HelmScope’s authorization and removes its stored connection credentials. Backup files already created in your Drive remain there until you delete them in Google Drive.

06Retention and deletion

Account and vessel records generally remain while the relevant account is active or until an authorized user deletes them. Deleted records and copies in backups may remain for a limited period for recovery, security, audit, or legal needs. Temporary export and restore-staging files expire on bounded schedules. Files stored in your own Google Drive remain under your control.

You can use authenticated controls to disconnect Google Drive, export available data, or delete supported records. Ask your account administrator or the HelmScope operator to access, correct, export, or delete other account information. We may retain limited information when required by law or needed to protect the service and its users.

07Security

HelmScope uses safeguards designed for the sensitivity of vessel records, including encrypted network connections, access controls, private object storage, hashed authentication secrets, and encrypted Google OAuth refresh tokens. No service or transmission method is completely secure, so keep independent backups of records you cannot replace and protect your account and recorder credentials.

08Your choices and rights

You can manage trip visibility and account sharing, disconnect optional integrations, export supported records, and request correction or deletion through the operator or account administrator. Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights to access, correct, delete, restrict, or receive a copy of personal information.

09Children

HelmScope is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided information to HelmScope, contact us so the operator can investigate and remove it as appropriate.

10International processing

HelmScope and its providers may process information in the United States and other locations where they operate. Those locations may have data-protection rules different from those where you live.

11Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as HelmScope changes. We will post the revised policy here and update its date. If a change materially affects how existing information is used, we will provide additional notice when reasonably practical.

12Contact

Contact the HelmScope operator, or the account owner or administrator who provided your access.