Privacy policy
The short version: Med Sailing Weather keeps your boat profile, position fixes, log and anchor watches on your phone. There is no account, no server of ours storing your data, no tracking and no advertising. To fetch weather and maps, the app sends positions, with nothing that identifies you, to a few public services listed below.
Effective 21 October 2026. This replaces the policy of 12 October 2026.
Who this covers
Med Sailing Weather is developed by Bernard O'Donnell. This policy covers the Med Sailing Weather app on iPhone, iPad and Android, and this support website.
What the app stores, and where
Everything you enter or the app records is kept in the app's own storage on your phone or tablet: your boat profile and limits, position fixes, the log, passage plans, the anchor position and swing radius, the anchor watch's recent positions, and barometer readings taken during the weather watch. None of it is uploaded to a server run by Med Sailing Weather, because there is none. Deleting the app deletes this data. If you export a trip summary, it leaves the phone only through your phone's own share sheet, to wherever you choose to send it.
Location
With your permission, the app uses your phone's GPS to fill in your position when you log a fix and to centre map searches on where you are. You can decline and type positions in by hand instead.
In the background, only at anchor. If you switch on the anchor alarm or the weather watch, the app asks to use location "Always" (iPhone) or "All the time" (Android). It then checks the boat's position while the phone is locked, only until you stop both watches. These positions are compared with the anchor position on the phone and are not sent anywhere, unless you switch on Telegram messages (below). While a watch is running, iPhone shows the location indicator and Android shows a "Watching at anchor" notification.
Barometer and battery
While the weather watch is on, the app reads the phone's own barometer, if it has one, to spot falling air pressure. While either watch is on, it reads the battery level to warn you before the phone runs flat. Both readings stay on the phone.
Services the app talks to
These are public data services that the app contacts directly from your phone. No server of ours sits in between. Requests carry coordinates and a time window, never your name, email or any account.
| Service | Used for | What is sent |
|---|---|---|
| Open-Meteo | Weather, wave and pressure forecasts | Coordinates, time range |
| aviationweather.gov (NOAA) | Live airport weather reports | An area around the position, to find the nearest airports |
| OpenStreetMap services (Overpass) | Nearby anchorages, place names, and marinas outside the Mediterranean (the Mediterranean marina list is built into the app) | Coordinates, search radius |
| OpenStreetMap and OpenSeaMap map tiles | The maps for choosing a destination or the anchor position | The map squares being viewed, which reveal the area shown |
| Telegram (only if you set it up) | Sending anchor, weather and battery alarms to a Telegram chat you choose | The alarm message, the boat's position and a map link, through your own Telegram bot |
Telegram messages are off unless you set them up. If you do, you create your own Telegram bot and choose the chat it writes to. The app then sends the alarm messages from your phone straight to Telegram's servers, which deliver them to that chat. Med Sailing Weather never sees the messages, the bot token or the chat. The token and chat are stored on your phone only, and removing the set-up in the app deletes them. Telegram handles the messages under its own privacy policy.
Like any website, these services see your phone's internet address when it connects. They are independent and have their own privacy policies.
Subscriptions and payments
The subscription, its free trial and the lifetime unlock are bought through Apple's App Store or Google Play, under their terms. Apple or Google handle the payment and your payment details; the app never sees them. The app only asks the store, on the phone, whether this store account has an active subscription or the lifetime unlock, and remembers the answer on the phone so it keeps working without a signal. No account with Med Sailing Weather is needed.
Notifications
Fix reminders, pre-departure checks, man overboard alerts, anchor and weather alarms and low battery warnings are all created on your phone. They do not go through a push notification service. Nothing about them is sent anywhere, except the Telegram messages described above if you switch them on.
What the app never does
- No analytics or usage tracking.
- No advertising and no ad networks.
- No accounts, sign-in or passwords.
- No selling or sharing of your data. There is no copy of it anywhere except your own device, and the Telegram chat you choose if you switch on Telegram messages.
- Not designed for or marketed to children.
Emergency contacts
The Help screen lists maritime search and rescue numbers by country. The app only displays them. It does not place calls or send anything to a rescue service; calling is something you do yourself, as with any number.
Your choices
You can turn off location, notifications or background location at any time in your phone's settings, and stop the anchor watches in the app. Because your data is only on your device, you can see, change or delete it in the app, or delete it all by deleting the app.
Changes
If this policy changes, for example because a new data service is added, this page is updated and the date at the top changes.