Privacy Policy

Effective date: April 5, 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 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. Location data is processed on-device for real-time map display and is not stored on our servers.

  • Location data is not linked to your identity.
  • 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. Marker data is not transmitted off your device.

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, a user document is stored in Google Cloud Firestore containing your account tier, billing status, and sync metadata. This data is encrypted at rest and in transit by Google Cloud infrastructure.

Local Auth State

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

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 locally on your device so they persist across app sessions.
  • 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 tier information are stored in Google Cloud Firestore, encrypted at rest and in transit. Authentication tokens and tier 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 account profile and tier information 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.
  • 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 user document (account tier, billing status, and sync metadata) will be permanently deleted within 30 days. 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.

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.