Privacy Policy

Effective date: August 9, 2026

Introduction

FishHogs is a marine chartplotter app designed for anglers. It provides GPS position overlay on NOAA nautical charts, bathymetry contour visualization, and marker management for your favorite fishing spots. You can optionally create a FishHogs account to sync your markers across your devices, share with a fishing group, and unlock premium features. This Privacy Policy explains what data the app collects, how it is used, and how it is stored.

What Data We Collect

Precise Location Data

FishHogs uses your device's GPS location to display your position and heading on nautical charts. By default, location data is processed on-device for real-time map display and is not stored on our servers. The one exception is opt-in group live-position sharing: if you turn on position sharing for a fishing group you belong to, your current location is transmitted to Google Cloud Firestore and visible to the members of that group until you turn sharing off. Sharing is off by default, and you choose when to enable it.

  • Outside of group sharing, location data is not linked to your identity. When you enable group live-position sharing, the position you share is associated with your account for the members of that group.
  • Location data is not used for tracking you across other apps or websites.
  • Location data is used primarily for app functionality — showing your position on the chart.
  • Our ad provider (Google AdMob) may access approximate location to serve relevant ads. On iOS, you can control this through the App Tracking Transparency prompt. See the Third-Party Services and Your Choices sections below for details.

Markers

When you drop markers (fishing spots, waypoints, hazards), the marker coordinates and any labels you provide are stored locally on your device. If you are signed in, your markers also sync to your account in Google Cloud Firestore so they follow you across your devices. Markers — and catches — you choose to share with a fishing group are visible to the members of that group; markers you keep private are not shared with other users. If you use FishHogs without an account, your markers stay on your device only.

System APIs

The app accesses standard system APIs for normal operation. These are not used to collect personal data:

  • UserDefaults — stores your app preferences (e.g., selected chart layers) on device.
  • File timestamps — used for cache management of downloaded chart tiles.
  • System boot time — used internally by frameworks for performance measurement.
  • Disk space — checked to ensure sufficient storage is available for cached chart data.

Account Information

If you choose to create a FishHogs account, we collect the following information through the sign-in provider you select:

  • Email address — used to identify your account. If you sign in with Apple and choose to hide your email, we receive Apple's private relay address instead.
  • Display name — your name as provided by Google or Apple, used for your account profile.
  • User ID — a unique identifier assigned by Firebase Authentication to link your account data.

Account data is linked to your identity and is used for app functionality (authenticating you and enabling account-gated features). Account data is not used for tracking you across other apps or websites.

Server-Side Account Data

When you create an account, your data is stored in Google Cloud Firestore. This includes your account profile and entitlement (premium) status, your synced markers and catches, and — if you use Groups & Sharing — your group memberships and any content you share with a group, such as shared markers and catches, your live position while sharing is on, and the group chat messages you send. This data is encrypted at rest and in transit by Google Cloud infrastructure.

Local Auth State

Your authentication token and entitlement status are cached locally in SQLite on your device to support offline functionality. This cached data is cleared automatically when you sign out.

Photos & Documents

With your permission, FishHogs accesses your device camera and photo library so you can attach photos to your catches and store images of your fishing licenses and documents. These images are currently stored only on your device and are not uploaded to our servers. If optional cloud photo backup is added in a future release, this policy will be updated to describe how those images are stored and deleted.

How We Use Your Data

Your data is used to provide the FishHogs app experience and to support the free tier through advertising:

  • Display your real-time GPS position and heading on nautical charts.
  • Render bathymetry contours relevant to your current map view.
  • Store your markers on your device and, when you are signed in, sync them to your account so they follow you across your devices.
  • Power Groups & Sharing — sharing your markers, catches, live position, and chat messages with the fishing groups you join, only when you turn sharing on.
  • Remember your app preferences such as active chart layers.
  • Authenticate your account and determine your access tier for premium features such as Tackle Box fishing tools.
  • Issue secure tokens via Cloud Functions so your device can access chart tiles from the FishHogs CDN.
  • Display ads via Google AdMob to support the free tier of the app.

We do not sell your personal data. Third-party ad services may collect device identifiers and usage data as described in the Third-Party Services section below.

Data Storage

Your markers, preferences, and cached chart tiles are stored locally on your device. If you create an account, your account profile and entitlement status, your synced markers and catches, and any content you share with a group are stored in Google Cloud Firestore, encrypted at rest and in transit. Authentication tokens and entitlement data are also cached locally in SQLite for offline access and are cleared on sign-out.

Third-party services integrated into the app (such as Google AdMob) may collect and transmit their own data as described in the Third-Party Services section.

Third-Party Services

The app communicates with the following external services:

  • Firebase Authentication — to manage user accounts. Email and name are collected via your chosen sign-in provider and processed by Firebase Auth. All data is encrypted in transit.
  • Google Sign-In — a third-party OAuth provider used for account authentication. See Google's Privacy Policy.
  • Apple Sign-In — a third-party OAuth provider used for account authentication. Apple offers an option to hide your email address using a private relay. See Apple's Privacy Policy.
  • Google Cloud Firestore — to store your account profile and entitlement status, your synced markers and catches, and any content you share with a group (shared markers and catches, live position while sharing, and group chat messages) server-side.
  • Google Cloud Functions — to perform server-side processing such as issuing secure tokens for chart tile access.
  • Google AdMob — to display advertisements within the app. AdMob may collect device identifiers and usage data for ad personalization and measurement purposes. For details on what data AdMob collects and how it is used, see Google's Privacy Policy.

Your Choices

  • Ad tracking (iOS) — when you first open FishHogs, iOS will show an App Tracking Transparency prompt. If you choose “Ask App Not to Track,” AdMob will serve non-personalized ads and will not link your data with data from other apps or websites.
  • Ad tracking (Android) — you can opt out of personalized ads in your device settings under Google > Ads.
  • Location permissions — you can revoke location access at any time in your device settings. The chart will still work, but your GPS position will not be displayed.
  • Group sharing — sharing your position, markers, and catches with a group is off until you turn it on, and you can stop sharing at any time. Turning off sharing or leaving a group stops new data from being shared.
  • Account — signing in is optional. All chart, GPS, and marker features work without an account. If you create an account, you can sign out at any time to clear locally cached credentials.

Data Retention and Deletion

If you delete your FishHogs account, your Firestore account data — your account profile and entitlement status and your synced markers and catches — is permanently deleted within 30 days. Content you have already shared into a group (such as shared markers, catches, and group chat messages) may remain with that group; you can remove shared items or leave the group to stop sharing. Locally cached authentication data is cleared immediately upon sign-out. Markers stored on your device are not affected by account deletion and remain under your control.

To request account deletion, use the “Delete Account” option in the app settings, or contact us through the feedback option in the app.

Your Rights Under the GDPR (EEA and UK)

If you are in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, the General Data Protection Regulation gives you the following rights over your personal data. We do not charge for exercising them, and we will respond within one month.

  • Access (Art. 15) — obtain a copy of the personal data we hold about you, including your account profile, entitlement status, synced markers and catches, group memberships, and any live-position or chat data still retained.
  • Portability (Art. 20) — receive that data in a structured, machine-readable format. You can export your markers and catches yourself at any time as a GPX file from within the app; a subject-access request covers everything else.
  • Rectification (Art. 16) — correct inaccurate data. Your email address and account name come from the Google or Apple account you sign in with, so they are changed there. The name your crew sees inside a fishing group is yours to change at any time: open the group, find yourself in Members, and tap Edit name. Anything else, ask us using the request route below and we will correct it.
  • Erasure (Art. 17) — delete your account and its cloud data, self-serve, via Settings → Delete Account. See Data Retention and Deletion above for exactly what is removed and what remains with a group you shared into.
  • Restriction (Art. 18) and Objection (Art. 21) — ask us to limit how we use your data, or object to a particular use. You can turn off live position sharing, decline location and photo permissions, and decline ad tracking at any time without losing access to the app.
  • Withdraw consent (Art. 7(3)) — where we rely on your consent, such as the App Tracking Transparency prompt for personalised ads, you can withdraw it in iOS Settings. Withdrawing consent does not affect processing carried out before you withdrew it.
  • Complain to a supervisory authority — you may lodge a complaint with your national data protection authority.

How to make a request: email support@ndl.cc with the subject “Data Subject Request”, from the email address associated with your account so we can verify it is you.

Your Rights Under the CCPA/CPRA (California)

If you are a California resident, you have the right to know what personal information we collect and how we use it, to request a copy of it, to request its deletion, and to correct inaccurate information. You also have the right not to be discriminated against for exercising these rights — we will not degrade the app or change your pricing because you made a request.

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioural advertising in exchange for money. We do show ads to non-premium users through Google AdMob, and if you grant the App Tracking Transparency prompt those ads are personalised using your device advertising identifier — which some California regulations treat as “sharing”. Declining that prompt, or turning off tracking in iOS Settings, opts you out; you keep full access to the app either way.

To exercise these rights, use the same request route described above. An authorised agent may submit a request on your behalf with written proof of authorisation.

Children's Privacy

FishHogs is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the effective date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we protect your data.

Contact Us

If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or the data practices of FishHogs, please contact us at support@ndl.cc or through the feedback option in the app.