Privacy Policy

Effective date: June 20, 2026 · Kylee Davis

Hooked ("the app") is an anchor alarm for iPhone and Mac. This policy explains what data the app collects, how it is used, and your choices. Hooked does not require an account or email address, and never sells your data.

1. Data we collect

Location

The app collects your device's GPS position continuously while an anchor watch session is active. Each position fix (latitude, longitude, accuracy, and timestamp) is called a tracking point. Tracking points are stored locally on your device and, if you have a subscription, synced to our cloud database so that a second device can monitor the session remotely.

Your anchor position is also sent to Apple's reverse-geocoding service (Apple Maps) to automatically name the session (for example, "Simpson Bay"). Apple's privacy policy governs that request.

Anchor session data

When you start an anchor watch, the app creates a session record containing:

Anchor position (latitude and longitude)
Watch radius and optional bearing restriction
Session start time, end time, and last-update time
Session name (derived from reverse geocoding)
The full GPS track for the session

Instrument & sensor data

If you connect a chartplotter, AIS receiver, or other NMEA instrument, the app reads and stores the following sensor values as part of the session record:

Wind speed (latest and maximum)
Water depth
Nearby AIS vessel identities and positions

Device information

Battery level — recorded in the session record so remote viewers can see the host device's battery status.
Device name — your device's network hostname (e.g., "Scott's iPhone") is stored in the session record so you can identify which device is hosting the watch.
Anonymous device ID — a randomly generated UUID created on first launch and stored in device settings. It is never tied to your name, email, or Apple ID.
Anonymous user ID — a randomly generated UUID used to associate sessions with your device. Free users store this ID locally; Premium users store it in iCloud so that the same ID is shared across their devices.

Push notification tokens

When remote monitoring is active, Hooked subscribes your device to a Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) topic keyed to the session ID. This lets the host device send drag alerts to remote watchers. No personal identifiers are sent to FCM — only the session UUID is used as the topic name.

Aggregate anchorage data

When a session ends, the anchor position is added to an anonymous heatmap that shows popular anchorages in the map view. The heatmap records only a coarse geohash of the location (roughly 100 m resolution) and a count; no session details, user IDs, or timestamps are stored in the heatmap.

2. How we use your data

Core alarm function — location data is used solely to compare your boat's position to the anchor point and trigger an alarm if the watch radius is exceeded.
Remote monitoring — session data (position, sensor readings, battery level) is synced to our cloud database so authorised remote viewers can see the same information as if they were on board.
Push alerts — when a drag, wind, depth, or battery event is detected on the host device, an alert record is written to our database and delivered to remote viewers via FCM.
Session history — past sessions are stored so you can review your track, timing, and max wind speed.
Heatmap — aggregate, anonymous anchorage location data is used to render the popular-anchorages overlay in the map view.

We do not use your location data for advertising, profiling, or any purpose beyond operating the app.

3. How your data is stored

On your device. Tracking points and session data are stored locally using iOS/macOS system storage. Settings are stored in UserDefaults (free) or iCloud Key-Value Store (Premium).

In the cloud. Session records and alert records are stored in Google Firebase Firestore (a Google Cloud service). Access is restricted so that only devices whose user ID appears in the session's "viewers" list can read a session. Alert records are write-only from the app and deleted after delivery.

iCloud. Premium users' anonymous user ID and certain settings are synced via Apple's iCloud Key-Value Store, governed by Apple's privacy policy.

4. Data sharing

We do not sell, rent, or share your data with third parties for their own purposes. Data is shared only in the following limited ways:

Remote viewers you authorise. If you share a session with another device (Premium feature), that device can read the live session record including position, sensor data, and battery level.
Google Firebase. Session data is stored on Firebase Firestore infrastructure. Google acts as a data processor under our instructions. See Firebase's privacy information.
Apple. Location data is processed locally by Apple's CoreLocation framework. The anchor position is sent to Apple's reverse-geocoding servers to generate a place name. In-app purchase receipts are processed by Apple. See Apple's privacy policy.

5. Your choices & deletion

Location permission. You can revoke location access at any time in iOS Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services. Without location access the alarm cannot function.
Deleting sessions. You can delete individual sessions from the History view. Deleting a session removes your GPS track and session data from the cloud database. The anonymous anchor position may still be reflected in the aggregate heatmap count.
Notifications. You can disable notifications at any time in iOS Settings → Notifications → Hooked. Remote alert delivery requires notification permission.

6. Data retention

Session records remain in the database until you delete them. Alert records are kept for the purposes of delivery and removed from the database after processing. Aggregate heatmap tiles are updated weekly and contain no personal data.

7. Children

Hooked is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

8. Changes to this policy

If we make material changes, we will update the effective date above. Continued use of the app after a change constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

9. Contact

Questions? Chat with us on the support page.