Privacy policy
Marine Rescue UAE is a free, volunteer, peer-to-peer “help at sea” map for the UAE coast and Musandam. A boat with a problem can ask nearby boats for help, and boats that can help can say so. There are no accounts, no advertising and no payments, and we do not sell or rent anyone's data.
Who we are
Marine Rescue UAE (“we”) is a volunteer project. Write to help@marinerescue.ae with any privacy question or request.
What we collect and why
What we collect, and what we use it for:
- A random device identifier and an access token, created by the app on first launch
- To recognise your phone as one boat without an account, and to secure your requests.
- Boat name, captain name, phone number, VHF channel and cruising speed, which you enter in “My Boat”
- So that other boaters can identify and contact you when you ask for help or offer help.
- Precise location (GPS position, accuracy, speed and heading), also while the app is in the background when location sharing is on or a status is active
- To place your boat on the shared map, to check that you are inside the service zone, and to calculate distances and how far you can get in one hour.
- Your status (“I'm in distress” or “Ready to help”) and the short message you write for a distress call
- To show other boaters what help you need.
- App version, platform, operating system version, device model and language
- To keep the app compatible and to show text in your language.
- The IP address of each request, from the apps and from the website
- Only to limit abuse (rate limiting) and to keep the service secure.
We do not collect your contacts, photos, email address, payment data or advertising identifiers. The apps contain no advertising and no third-party analytics.
The website needs no account. When you choose a language, it sets one cookie, mr_lang, which remembers that language for one year. The “Locate me” button uses your position only inside your browser, to show you on the map and to calculate distances; it is not sent to us. Apart from the maps, the website loads nothing from other sites: no third-party scripts, no analytics and no advertising.
What other people can see
When you start a status, your boat name, captain name, phone number, VHF channel, your message and your position are shown on the public map, in the apps and on marinerescue.ae, so that nearby boats can reach you by phone or WhatsApp. They are shown only while your status is active: every status ends automatically after 6 hours, or earlier when you cancel it. Without an active status your boat is not shown to anyone.
Telegram channel. A distress call (never a “Ready to help” status) is also posted automatically to our public Telegram channel t.me/marinerescue, so that more boaters see it: the date and time, your message and a Google Maps link to your current position. Your boat name, captain name and phone number are never posted there. When the status ends, the post is marked as ended and the position link is removed from it. If you use “Delete my data” while the call is active, your message is removed from the post too. People who saw the post while it was active may have kept a copy.
How long we keep data
- Position: we keep only your latest position, with no location history, and erase it automatically within 24 hours.
- Status records: the type, the start and end times and the message, without any coordinates; used for anonymous statistics.
- Rate-limit records: they contain IP addresses and are deleted within one day.
- Inactive boats: if the app has not been used for 180 days, the boat's personal data is erased automatically.
- Telegram posts: they stay in the channel as a record of the call, without the position once the status has ended. Write to help@marinerescue.ae to have a post removed.
Delete your data
In the app, open Settings → Delete my data. This immediately erases your boat name, captain name, phone number, position and the texts of your messages, ends any active status and revokes the app's access token. The app then starts again as a new, empty boat. You can also write to help@marinerescue.ae.
Location permissions
The iPhone app asks for location access “While Using the App” and “Always”, so that your position stays up to date while the app is in the background. The Android app shares your position while the app runs and through a visible notification (“Marine Rescue UAE is sharing your position”); it does not ask for background location permission. You can turn location sharing off in “My Boat” or in your phone's settings at any time; you then cannot start a status.
Security
All communication uses encrypted HTTPS. Each phone has its own secret access token, and the server keeps only the data described here. Only the project's administrators can see the stored data, in a password-protected admin area.
Children
The service is meant for boat owners and crews. It is not directed to children, and we do not knowingly collect data from children under 13.
Changes
If we change this policy, we will update this page and the “Last updated” date at the top.
Contact
For any question or request about your data:
- help@marinerescue.ae
- instagram.com/marinerescue
- Telegram
- t.me/marinerescue
- Website
- marinerescue.ae