Privacy Policy

Effective April 25, 2026

Pipeline is a surf forecasting app made by an independent developer. We built Pipeline because we surf and we wanted a tool that respects your time and your data. This policy explains what Pipeline collects, what it doesn't, and how we handle the small amount of information needed to give you a forecast.

Short version: Pipeline doesn't have user accounts, doesn't use analytics, doesn't track you, and doesn't sell anything to anyone. Your personal data never leaves your phone.

What Pipeline collects

The following information is stored locally on your device only, in standard iOS preferences storage:

• The name you enter during onboarding — used to greet you in the app. Optional.
• Your skill level and preferred surf time — used to tune recommendations.
• Your home break and any saved spots — so we know which breaks to forecast for you.
• Your sound and alert preferences — toggle states for splash sound, FIRING alerts, and morning briefs.

This information is stored exclusively on your device. It is never uploaded to a server, never shared with third parties, and never linked to any external account.

Location

If you grant location permission, Pipeline uses your approximate location (city-level, not precise GPS) to suggest nearby surf breaks during onboarding. Your location is not stored, not transmitted to any server, and not retained after the suggestion list is generated. You can deny or revoke location permission at any time in iOS Settings — Pipeline will still work, you'll just need to add spots manually.

What Pipeline does not collect

• Your email address (Pipeline has no accounts).
• Your contacts, photos, microphone, or camera.
• Your browsing or app usage history.
• Behavioral analytics or telemetry of any kind.
• Any advertising identifiers.
• Crash reports or diagnostic data sent to us (iOS may collect aggregate crash data on Apple's behalf — see Apple's privacy policy for details).

Third-party services

Pipeline uses one external service to function:

• Surf forecast data — When you view a forecast, Pipeline sends the latitude and longitude of a pre-defined surf spot to a forecast data endpoint hosted on Supabase, which returns oceanographic data (wave height, wave period, wind speed, wind direction, swell direction). The endpoint receives only spot coordinates from a fixed list. It does not receive your name, your device identifier, your live GPS location, or any other identifying information. The underlying forecast data is sourced from Stormglass; their privacy policy is at stormglass.io/privacy-policy.

Notifications

Pipeline uses iOS local notifications only. Alerts (such as FIRING surf alerts and morning forecast briefs) are scheduled and delivered entirely on your device. Pipeline does not use Apple Push Notifications and does not register a remote device token. No notification content is ever sent to a server.

How your data is stored

All preferences, saved spots, and profile information are stored locally on your iPhone using iOS standard storage (UserDefaults). Pipeline does not run a user-data server, so there is nothing to back up, sync, or transfer. If you delete the Pipeline app, all of this information is permanently removed from your device.

Your choices

• You can deny or revoke location permission at any time in iOS Settings.
• You can disable notifications in iOS Settings or in Pipeline's profile screen at any time.
• You can delete all of your Pipeline data instantly by deleting the app.

Children's privacy

Pipeline is not directed at children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect information from children under 13.

Changes to this policy

If we change this policy, we'll update the effective date at the top of this page. Continued use of Pipeline after a change constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

Contact

Questions or concerns about this policy? Email hello@pipelinesurf.app and we'll respond.