Privacy Policy
Swell Check
Effective Date: March 1, 2026
Overview
Swell Check is a surf forecasting app. We are committed to protecting your privacy. This policy explains what information the app uses, how it is used, and what is shared.
Short version: We do not collect your personal information, sell your data, or use third-party analytics or advertising. The app uses your location solely to fetch surf and weather forecasts for nearby beaches.
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Information We Use
Location
Swell Check requests access to your device's location (when the app is in use) only when you tap "Use Current Location." Your coordinates are used to find nearby beaches and to fetch localized wave, tide, and weather data from public sources. Your location is never stored on our servers — we do not operate any servers.
Your location coordinates are sent to the following public data services solely to retrieve forecast information:
• Open-Meteo (open-meteo.com) — wave and weather forecasts
• NOAA National Data Buoy Center (ndbc.noaa.gov) — real-time buoy readings
• NOAA Tides and Currents (tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov) — tide predictions
• CDIP / UC San Diego (cdip.ucsd.edu) — coastal wave data
• National Weather Service (weather.gov) — surf zone forecasts (US only)
• Apple MapKit — local beach search
These are all public government or academic data sources. None of them associate your coordinates with a personal identity.
Favorites
Beaches you save as favorites are stored on your device and, if you are signed into iCloud, synced across your Apple devices using iCloud Key-Value Storage. This data stays within your Apple account and is not accessible to us.
Notifications
If you enable swell arrival alerts, the app schedules local notifications on your device. No data related to notifications is sent to any external server.
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Information We Do Not Collect
• We do not collect your name, email address, or any account information
• We do not use advertising identifiers (IDFA) or track you across apps
• We do not use analytics services (no Firebase, Crashlytics, or similar tools)
• We do not build user profiles or track behavior within the app
• We do not share any information with third parties for marketing purposes
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Third-Party Services
The app contacts the following external services to display forecast data. Each request includes the beach's coordinates. No personal account information is required or sent.
| Service | Purpose | Privacy Info |
|---|---|---|
| Open-Meteo | Wave & weather forecasts | open-meteo.com/en/terms |
| NOAA / NWS | Buoy data, tides, surf forecasts | noaa.gov/protecting-your-privacy |
| CDIP / UC San Diego | Coastal wave observations | cdip.ucsd.edu |
| Apple MapKit | Beach location search | apple.com/legal/privacy |
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Data Retention
All forecast data is cached locally on your device for between one hour and seven days depending on the data type, to reduce network requests. This cache is stored in your app's standard cache directory and may be cleared at any time by deleting the app.
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Children's Privacy
Swell Check does not knowingly collect information from children under 13. The app does not require any account creation or personal information to use.
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Changes to This Policy
If this policy changes materially, we will update the effective date above. Continued use of the app after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
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Contact
If you have questions about this privacy policy, you can reach us at pweissrd@gmail.com
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