Privacy policy
Effective 2026
1. Who we are
The Crew Guard app is provided by Maritime TOP Ltd (“we”, “us”). We are the controller of the personal data described here. Contact: hi@maritime.top.
2. What stays on the crew's phones
Crew Guard works between the phones of your crew, over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi (Google Nearby Connections), without our server. While the guard is on, the phones of one crew exchange:
- each member's display name and a random member ID;
- how recently each phone was heard, and its battery level and charging state;
- the boat's position, from the phones that use GPS, and the last known position of a member who is lost.
This data goes only to the other phones of your crew. Settings, the crew list and a log of alarms are stored on each phone; uninstalling the app deletes them. Only the reports for watchers, a lost phone's position and presence over the internet (section 3) reach our server.
3. Data we receive
| Feature | Data | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Reports from the crew aboard | While the guard is on and a phone aboard has internet: the crew's random ID and a key derived from the crew's secret (we keep only its hash), the crew's name and activity (boat, paddling or on foot), the members' display names, whether the guard is on and armed, and alarms (the member's display name, the kind of alarm, the position where the phone was last heard, when it started and ended, and who ended it). The boat's latest position is sent only while the crew has a watcher; each new position replaces the previous one. | Alerting the crew's watchers |
| A lost phone's position | While a phone hears none of the crew with the guard armed, or the crew has an alarm about it, and it has internet: its member's display name and its own position and accuracy, every 10 seconds. We keep only the latest one. | Showing the crew aboard and its watchers where the lost phone is now |
| Presence over the internet | Underway, while a crew member's phone is out of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi range of the others: each phone's random member ID, position, accuracy and speed, every few seconds. Kept in memory only, for 60 seconds, never stored. | Letting the crew's phones tell a phone below deck from a person overboard, to avoid false alarms |
| Watchers | The watcher's display name, a random watcher ID, the Firebase Cloud Messaging token of their phone and whether their Premium subscription is active. The crew's members see the watchers' names. | Sending the crew's alarms to the watcher's phone |
| Watcher invites | The invite code, the crew's ID and name, and when the invite was created, expires and was used. | Letting the person a crew member invited join as a watcher |
| Server operation | IP address and technical connection data in server logs; IDs are shortened in logs. | Security, abuse prevention (rate limits) and troubleshooting |
| Crash reports | When the app crashes or hits an error: the error details, app version, phone model and Android version, free memory and disk, a random Crashlytics installation ID, and a short log of recent app events (such as "guard started" or "alarm sounding"). No positions, names or messages. | Finding and fixing crashes and errors (Google Firebase Crashlytics) |
We do not ask for your email or real name and do not need an account: display names are whatever the crew types in. The app has no analytics or advertising SDK and does not use the Advertising ID. A crew without watchers sends only occasional reports without positions.
4. Legal bases
Where the EU/UK General Data Protection Regulation applies:
- alerting watchers: performance of the service the watcher signed up for (Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR) and our and the crew's legitimate interest in the safety of the people aboard (Art. 6(1)(f));
- a lost phone's position: protecting the vital interests of the person who may be in the water (Art. 6(1)(d)) and the crew's legitimate interest in finding them (Art. 6(1)(f));
- presence over the internet: the crew's legitimate interest in an alarm that is reliable and not false (Art. 6(1)(f));
- server logs and crash reports: legitimate interests in the security and reliability of the app (Art. 6(1)(f)).
5. Service providers
- Google Firebase: push notification delivery to watchers (Cloud Messaging) and crash reports (Crashlytics).
- Google Play services: the Nearby Connections link between the crew's phones and location.
- Google Maps: the crew map in the app. Google receives the map area shown and your IP address; the crew's positions on it stay on the phone.
- Google Play: subscriptions and payments. We do not receive your payment details.
- Hosting provider: operation of our server.
Google may process data outside your country, including in the United States. Where required, transfers are covered by appropriate safeguards such as the EU Standard Contractual Clauses.
6. How long we keep data
- A crew, its watchers and its alarms: deleted when the crew has not reported for 12 months; alarms also 12 months after they started.
- A lost phone's position: 24 hours.
- Presence over the internet: 60 seconds, in memory only.
- A watcher who stops watching or is removed: 30 days.
- Invites: 30 days after they expire (24 hours after creation).
- Server logs: up to 30 days.
- Crash reports: 90 days (Firebase Crashlytics).
7. Your rights
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct or delete your data, to restrict or object to its processing, and to data portability. To use these rights, write to hi@maritime.top. You can also lodge a complaint with a data protection authority. A watcher can stop watching in the app at any time; any crew member can remove a watcher.
8. Security
A phone joins a crew by scanning a QR code shown on a phone already in the crew. Anyone who joins can see the crew's names and the boat's position while the guard is on, so let only your crew scan it. A watcher invite link lets one person follow the crew's alarms, so share it only with someone you trust. Connections to our server are encrypted (HTTPS); the crew's secret never leaves the crew's phones.
9. Children
The app is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect their data.
10. Changes
We will update this policy when the app's features change. The current version is always available on this page. See also our terms of use.