Privacy policy

DeckVakt is built so that the passage, the crew list, the rota, the deck log and the rest-hours records live on the device that holds them. We do not operate a DeckVakt cloud account for that data, and we do not receive a server copy of it. This policy explains the few things that do leave a device, who is responsible for what, and how EU data protection law applies to us as an Estonian-operated service.

Who we are

DeckVakt is the trading name of the operator of the DeckVakt website and apps, established and operated from Estonia (European Union). Privacy requests and complaints: everything@deckvakt.com. A person reads that inbox. English is the language of this policy; Estonian may be used for official correspondence with Estonian authorities where required.

We process personal data under the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and applicable Estonian law, including the Personal Data Protection Act. Our lead supervisory authority in Estonia is the Data Protection Inspectorate (Andmekaitse Inspektsioon).

What this policy covers

It covers:

• the marketing and guide pages on deckvakt.com;
• the optional desk chart table web app at deckvakt.com/app;
• the DeckVakt iPhone and Android apps (when published), including optional in-app support contributions;
• the waitlist and other contact forms on this site.

It does not cover third-party sites you leave us for (for example the App Store, Google Play, Apple Maps geocoding, or your own cloud drive when you export a file). Those services have their own policies.

Features may change as DeckVakt develops. If we ever introduce DeckVakt-operated cloud storage of passage or crew data, we will say so clearly in this policy before that happens — not quietly.

Who is the controller

For data we receive — for example a waitlist email, website analytics, error reports from this site or the desk app, and the fact that an optional contribution completed — DeckVakt is the controller.

For the passage file on a device — including crew names, roles, experience, berth, lifejacket and tether notes, seasickness notes, sleep and rest patterns derived from the rota, the deck log, standing orders, positions and waypoints you enter — the skipper or organisation that creates and holds that passage is the controller. DeckVakt supplies software that stores that information on the device. We do not receive a copy of it in the ordinary running of the product, so we are not the controller of that on-device file.

If you put other people’s personal data into a passage, you are responsible for having a lawful basis to do so and for telling them what you record. A briefing card or standing orders sheet is a practical place to do that.

What stays on your device

There is no DeckVakt user account for passages. The following typically stays only on the phone, tablet or browser that holds it:

• Passage and boat. Name, waypoints, dates, places, boat name, clock changes, passage phase.
• Crew. Names, initials, roles, experience, berth, MOB job, lifejacket and tether settings, pairing constraints, seasick-prone flags, per-person alarm lead times.
• Rota and fairness. Watch intervals, system choice, fairness scoring derived from the rota.
• Operational record. Deck log, handovers, standing orders, unavailable spans, briefing material.
• Navigation and boat tools you use in-app. Dead-reckoning legs, fixes, anchor watch inputs, compass checks, provisioning lists, and similar tool state.
• Local preferences. For example night mode, who “this phone” is on the crew list, onboarding completion, and whether optional support prompts have been dismissed.

How it is stored:

• iPhone. A DeckVakt JSON file in the app’s private storage, plus small preference flags in UserDefaults. Alarms are scheduled with the system notification centre.
• Android. A DeckVakt JSON file in the app’s private storage, plus small preference flags in SharedPreferences. System backups of the app are disabled so Google backup does not silently take a copy of the passage file.
• Desk chart table. The passage library in IndexedDB in that browser; support, onboarding and error-report preferences in localStorage. Clearing site data removes it.

Some of that information is personal data under the GDPR. Notes such as seasickness can be health-related special-category data in the hands of the skipper. Because it stays under the skipper’s control on-device, DeckVakt does not process that category of data on our servers.

What we process

Aside from on-device passage data (which we do not receive), we may process:

• Waitlist and contact email. If you join the waitlist or email us, we process your email address and the message content you send.
• Website technical and usage data. Page address, referrer, approximate country, browser and device type, and selected interaction events (for example waitlist or store clicks), as described under Analytics.
• Campaign attribution tags. Short codes from campaign links (UTM fields and, where present, a route tag such as an Atlantic crossing). These are not free text and are not joined to your email address.
• Error reports from this website and the desk chart table, as described under Error reports. The mobile apps do not currently send crash reports to us.
• Support contribution status on the device. After an optional contribution, the app remembers locally that someone contributed so it can stop routine prompts. We do not receive card numbers. Apple, Google or (when desk card payments ship) the card processor holds payment credentials.
• Server logs of our website host. Like any website, the host may retain standard connection logs (IP address, time, requested URL) for security and operation of the site.

Lawful bases

Where the GDPR applies to processing we carry out as controller:

• Consent — waitlist signup and similar requests you initiate; where required for non-essential cookies or similar technologies (we do not set analytics cookies today).
• Legitimate interests — operating and securing the website; understanding aggregate demand for the product (analytics); diagnosing faults (error reports); answering email you send us; keeping a local “already supported” flag so we do not keep asking. We balance that against your rights and offer GPC/DNT honouring and, on the desk, an error-report opt-out.
• Contract / steps prior to contract — where needed to provide something you ask for (for example responding to a support request about the service).
• Legal obligation — where we must keep or disclose information (for example tax or regulatory requirements that may apply once payments are live).

You may withdraw consent where processing is based on consent, without affecting the lawfulness of processing before withdrawal.

Sharing between devices

DeckVakt is designed for handoff without uploading to us:

• Join codes and QR. A phone can show a join code or QR so another phone can attach to the same passage. The handshake identifies the passage; the full file is exchanged by file, desk beam, or (on iPhone) a local saloon session — not by a DeckVakt server.
• File export and import. A .deckvakt.json (or related backup) file contains the passage data you put into it. Whoever receives that file can read it. Treat it like the boat’s other records.
• iPhone saloon mesh. When enabled, nearby iPhones can exchange the live passage over Apple’s Multipeer Connectivity (Bluetooth and/or local Wi‑Fi). That traffic stays on the local network between those devices. We are not a party to it.
• Desk beam. The chart table can show chunked QR frames or use the browser share sheet so phones can take a copy. Again, that is device-to-device or user-chosen sharing, not an upload to DeckVakt.
• Android live mesh is not yet equivalent to the iPhone saloon session; cross-platform crews use QR and file today.

Crew who join do not need a DeckVakt account. They pick their name on their own device after receiving the passage.

Exports, backups and loss

Because we do not hold a server copy, we cannot restore a passage for you. Export after every trip. Save the file somewhere you control (cloud drive, computer, memory device). Deleting the app, clearing browser storage, losing a device, or overwriting a file without a backup can permanently destroy the only copy.

PDF exports (deck log, rest-hours record, briefing cards) and calendar exports are created on the device and shared only if you choose a share target. Once you send a file to email, AirDrop, a cloud provider or another app, that destination’s rules apply.

Device permissions and location

Depending on platform and feature, the apps may ask for:

• Camera — to scan join QR codes. Frames are processed on-device for that purpose.
• Local network / Bluetooth (iPhone) — for the saloon mesh described above.
• Notifications / Critical Alerts — to schedule watch alarms on that phone. Alarms are local; we do not push them from a DeckVakt server.
• Location — where you use helpers that need a position (for example placing a start position). On iPhone, resolving a coordinate to a place name may use Apple’s reverse geocoding, which sends the coordinate to Apple. DeckVakt does not receive that location on our servers. Location is not used for advertising.

You can refuse or later revoke permissions in the system settings. Features that need them will then be limited or unavailable.

Website analytics

The marketing and guide pages on this website use Umami Cloud to produce aggregate statistics: page views, referring sites, approximate country, browser and device type, and selected events such as waitlist joins and clicks toward product or store pages. Umami is configured not to set cookies for that purpose and not to build advertising profiles or track you across unrelated websites.

Your browser loads the analytics script from cloud.umami.is. We do not send crew names, passage contents, log entries or waitlist email addresses into Umami. Form contents are not attached to analytics events.

The desk chart table and the mobile apps do not use Umami.

If your browser sends a Global Privacy Control or Do Not Track signal, this website does not load Umami or error reporting.

Error reports

When something breaks on this website or in the desk chart table, a technical report may be sent to Sentry, which processes it for us on servers in the European Union. A report may include the fault, stack location, release version, and browser or environment details needed to fix it.

We configure Sentry with personally identifying defaults off. Before send, reports are filtered: user objects and free-form extras are stripped; URLs are cut at the query string so share codes cannot travel; and, in the desk app, values the app knows are yours (crew names, boat, ports, codes) are redacted if they appear. Click, typing and console breadcrumbs are not kept for that purpose.

Desk opt-out. In the chart table, Settings → Error reports. Turning reports off takes effect immediately for that browser.

Marketing site. There is no separate Settings toggle yet; Global Privacy Control and Do Not Track stop collection, as does our internal “do not collect” flag for our own testing.

Mobile apps do not currently send Sentry (or equivalent) crash reports to us. If that changes, this policy will be updated first.

Payments and support

DeckVakt’s core features are free. Optional one-time contributions may be offered:

• on iPhone through Apple In-App Purchase;
• on Android through Google Play Billing;
• on the desk by card payment when that path ships (shown as Coming soon until then).

A contribution unlocks no feature, entitlement or content. It is not a subscription. Apple, Google or the card processor is the merchant of record for the payment and holds card details. We may learn that a contribution completed so the product can stop prompts; we do not store full payment card data.

Refunds follow the rules of the store or processor that took the payment.

Processors and international transfers

We use service providers who process data on our instructions or as independent controllers for their payment products:

• Web3Forms — relays waitlist form submissions to our inbox. We do not run a DeckVakt database of waitlist addresses beyond what arrives in email.
• Umami Cloud — website analytics as described above.
• Sentry (EU region) — error reporting for the website and desk.
• Website hosting — serves deckvakt.com and may process connection logs.
• Apple / Google — app distribution and in-app purchases; geocoding where you use Apple place lookup.
• Card processor (future desk payments) — when enabled, named here before go-live.

Where personal data is transferred outside the European Economic Area, we rely on an appropriate GDPR safeguard (for example an adequacy decision, the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses, or the provider’s certified transfer tools). Sentry error processing for DeckVakt is configured to the EU. Ask us if you need a current list of sub-processors for a formal request.

If you are in the United Kingdom, the UK GDPR may also apply to our offering of the service to you. In that case you may complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office as well as to the Estonian Data Protection Inspectorate; we still treat Estonia as our establishment and lead authority for EU GDPR.

Retention

• On-device passage data — until you delete the passage, clear storage, or uninstall. We cannot delete it remotely because we do not hold it.
• Waitlist and correspondence — until you ask us to remove it, or it is no longer needed for the purpose you contacted us (for example after launch notifications), whichever is sooner, unless we must keep it longer by law.
• Analytics — retained in Umami according to that service’s retention settings for aggregate statistics; we do not use it to build profiles of named individuals.
• Error reports — retained in Sentry for as long as needed to investigate and prevent recurrence, then deleted or minimised under our project settings.
• Host logs — according to the host’s operational retention, typically short periods unless needed for security investigation.

Security

We design so that the most sensitive operational data never reaches us. On-device storage uses each platform’s private app storage or browser storage. Exports and local sharing are under your control — protect them as you would paper crew lists and logs.

No method of transmission or storage is perfectly secure. If we become aware of a personal-data breach affecting data we control, we will assess it and notify the Estonian Data Protection Inspectorate and affected individuals where the GDPR requires.

Your rights

Under the GDPR, you may have the right to access, rectify, erase, restrict or object to processing, and to data portability, and not to be subject to certain automated decisions. Those rights apply to personal data we hold.

For data only on your device, you can access, correct or delete it yourself in the app or by clearing storage — you do not need to ask us. For a waitlist email or other correspondence we hold, email everything@deckvakt.com. We may need to verify the request. We aim to respond within one month, as the GDPR requires.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. For us that is primarily the Estonian Data Protection Inspectorate (Andmekaitse Inspektsioon). If you live elsewhere in the EEA you may also contact your local authority; if you are in the UK you may contact the ICO.

Rest-hours and flag-state records

DeckVakt can generate MLC-style hours-of-rest summaries and exports from the rota you run. If you keep such records for compliance, you (or your company) are the keeper of those records. Retention and form are set by your flag state and employment arrangements, not by this policy. We do not file them with any authority on your behalf.

Children

DeckVakt is aimed at skippers and adults standing watches. It is not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children via our website forms. If a child is listed as crew in a passage file, that is information the skipper holds on their device; the same controller responsibilities apply as for any other crew member. If you believe a child has sent us personal data directly, contact us and we will delete what we hold.

Changes

We will update this page when our practices change. The “Last updated” date at the top will change. Material changes — especially any move to DeckVakt-operated storage of passage or crew data — will be described prominently here.

Contact and complaints

Privacy questions, data-subject requests and complaints: everything@deckvakt.com.

Related: Terms of use.

This is the official privacy policy of DeckVakt. If anything here conflicts with mandatory consumer or data-protection law that applies to you, that law prevails.