Privacy

Please note: this English page is a courtesy translation. The binding version is the German Datenschutzerklärung.

Controller

Miaris Engineering Systems
Niko Miaris
Helene-und-Maria-Schieß-Straße 8
78467 Konstanz, Germany
Email: info@miaris-engineering.de

1. This website

Hosting & server logs: the website and the Keelwake server are operated at Strato AG (Berlin) in Germany. When you visit, the host processes — as a technical necessity — your IP address, the time, the page requested and your browser identifier in server log files (Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR — secure and stable operation). A data processing agreement under Art. 28 GDPR is in place with Strato.

No silent trackers: the website loads fonts and images exclusively from its own domain and sets no advertising or analytics cookies without your consent.

Data-minimising reach measurement: to understand which pages and campaigns make Keelwake known, we count page views and specific clicks (for example on “Sign in” or product details) on our own server. We store only daily aggregated counters containing the page requested, the type of click, the referring domain and — if present in the link — the UTM source, medium and campaign. We store no IP address, no device or visitor identifier, set no cookie, build no individual profile and pass none of this to third parties. The counters do not allow any individual to be recognised and are deleted automatically after 25 months. Global Privacy Control and “Do Not Track” are respected. The legal basis is Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interest in developing the product economically and along user needs); you may object to this processing at any time.

2. Cookies & advertising measurement (only with consent)

If we run advertising (for example Google Ads), we ask your permission beforehand via a cookie notice. Only when you choose “Accept all” is Google's measurement tag loaded; Google (Google Ireland Ltd., where applicable transferring to Google LLC, USA — safeguarded under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework) then sets cookies in order to measure whether an ad click led to a visit. The legal basis is your consent (Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR, § 25 (1) TDDDG); we use Google Consent Mode v2, and without consent all measurement stays disabled. We store your choice locally in your browser for 12 months (technically necessary, § 25 (2) TDDDG). You can change or withdraw it at any time via the “Cookie settings” link in the footer. As long as no cookie notice appears, no advertising measurement is active.

3. Keelwake account & device sync (optional)

For the web app and for syncing between devices you can create a free account. We then process the following on our server in Germany:

• Account data: email address, name (freely chosen), password (only as a bcrypt hash — never in plain text).
• Your content, insofar as you use it with the account: logbook (voyages, legs, distances, GPS tracks and leg photos), crew entries (names and, where given, email addresses of the people you sail with — please inform them), boats, reminders, checklists, shared expenses, milestones and learning progress.
• Purchase unlocks: which courses you have bought through the web app or the App Store. For an App Store purchase we additionally process the signed Apple receipt so that the unlock also applies on the web after you sign in.
• Direct web purchases: product, price, currency, payment provider and its order reference, the time of your consent to immediate provision, the delivery status of the contract confirmation, and the version and checksums of the terms of sale and cancellation policy that applied. For the invoice we additionally take the name, email address and billing address from the payment process. We neither receive nor store card, account or security details of your payment method.
• Electronic cancellation: name, email address, order or invoice reference, optional product, time of receipt, processing status and the delivery status of the acknowledgement. To match the case reliably it may be linked to the corresponding payment. We store no IP address, device identifier or cookies for this.

The legal basis is performance of the contract (Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR). The native app works entirely without an account; syncing is expressly voluntary.

Web app storage: the web app keeps your session and a working cache in your browser's localStorage — technically necessary for signing in and for offline display (§ 25 (2) TDDDG); it is cleared when you sign out.

Emails: at your request we send you an email to reset your password. After a direct web purchase you receive the legally required contract confirmation and, where issued, your invoice as a PDF. After using the electronic cancellation function you receive an acknowledgement immediately. Delivery goes through our authenticated STRATO mailbox info@keelwake.de. We do not send newsletters or advertising emails without separate consent.

Backups & deletion periods: the server creates encrypted backups daily (AES-256) which are overwritten after 7 days. Content deleted in the app or web app is first marked as deleted on the server (so that all your devices adopt the deletion) and removed permanently after 90 days. If you delete your account (app: Settings → Account, web: Settings), the active account and its content are deleted immediately; copies in encrypted backups disappear with their rotation after at most 7 days. Invoices that must be retained for tax purposes, and the billing data they contain, are kept for the statutory retention period regardless of account deletion and deleted afterwards.

4. Personal content in the app (without an account)

Without an account, your logbook, voyages, crew, reminders, learning progress and the associated files are stored exclusively on your device. You can delete this content in the app or export it via the data backup; nothing is transmitted to us.

5. Location

If you use the position display on the nautical chart or GPS voyage recording, the app processes your location — including in the background while a recording is running. The recorded track stays local on your device; only if you use the optional account sync is it transferred to our server as part of your logbook (see section 3). The legal basis is Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR, providing the function you requested.

6. Requests to third parties

Only when you use the respective function does your device make requests to external services. We neither receive nor store these request data.

Weather (app): for wind and forecast, the coordinates of the selected area and — as a technical necessity — your IP address are transmitted to MET Norway (api.met.no). The weather data is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Weather (web app): in the web app we request the forecast from MET Norway through our own server; your IP address is not transmitted to MET, only the coordinates. The response is cached briefly on our server. Nautical chart (web app): the chart loads map tiles from OpenStreetMap (tile.openstreetmap.org) and the seamark layer from OpenSeaMap (tiles.openseamap.org). Your IP address is transmitted to these services in the process. The map only loads after your explicit click (“Load nautical chart”) — before that no such transmission takes place. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Seamarks & base map (app): when the seamark layer loads, tile requests carrying your IP address go to tiles.openseamap.org; the base map and harbour search run through Apple MapKit under its privacy terms. Purchases (App Store): in-app purchases in the Apple App Store are handled by Apple (Apple Distribution International Ltd., Hollyhill Industrial Estate, Cork, Ireland) as the seller under its own privacy terms; we receive no payment data. If the app reports a receipt to your optional Keelwake account so that the unlock also applies on the web, we verify its signature exclusively on our server in Germany — no data is transmitted to Apple in the process. The legal basis is Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR (performance of the contract). Purchases (web app): if you buy SKS or FKN directly in the web app, we process the payment through Stripe (Stripe Payments Europe Ltd., Ireland; where applicable Stripe Inc., USA). The data required for processing is transmitted to Stripe (among others your Keelwake account identifier, the selected product and the amount); you enter your payment details exclusively on Stripe's own secure payment page — we neither see nor store card or account data. We receive billing and order data after a successful completion as described in section 3. The legal bases are Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR (performance of the contract) and, for legally required invoicing and retention duties, Art. 6 (1) (c) GDPR. A possible transfer to the USA is safeguarded by EU standard contractual clauses and/or the EU-US Data Privacy Framework. Stripe's privacy notices apply in addition. We embed no Stripe scripts or cookies on our own pages; the redirect happens only when you click “pay”.

The legal basis for these requests is Art. 6 (1) (b) and (f) GDPR — providing the function you requested and our legitimate interest in a working app.

7. Retention

Content without an account stays on your device until you delete it or remove the app. For account content and backups the periods in section 3 apply. Invoices and the associated billing data required for tax purposes are retained for eight years from the end of the year of issue in accordance with § 14b UStG; deleting your account beforehand does not shorten this statutory period. Cancellation declarations and the associated acknowledgements are stored for the duration of the statutory limitation and evidence periods and deleted afterwards. Anonymous reach aggregates are deleted after 25 months. The host's server log files are subject to its own deletion periods.

8. Your rights

You have the statutory rights to information, rectification, erasure, restriction of processing, objection and data portability, as well as the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. Content without an account is managed directly in the app (Settings → Data backup). Account content can be exported in the web app, and you can delete your account yourself at any time; for anything else an email is enough.

Contact

For questions about data protection you can reach us at info@miaris-engineering.de.