Privacy Policy

Guidepole LLC (“Guidepole,” “we,” “us”) operates the Guidepole mobile app, website, and related services, and is based at 2442 NW Market St, Seattle, WA 98107. If you have any privacy question, contact us at [email protected].

We collect only what we need to run the map, answer your questions, and keep your account secure:

• Account details. Your email address or phone number, used for passwordless sign-in (we send a one-time code). If you sign in with Apple or Google, we receive the basic profile information those services share (such as your name and email, or Apple’s private relay address). We do not collect or store passwords.
• Location data. With your permission, we use your device’s precise location while you use the app to center the map and answer location questions such as “can I fish here.” If you start a feature that needs location while the app is in the background (recording a track, or the anchor-drift alarm), the app keeps using location until you stop that feature, and your device shows that location is in use. We do not otherwise collect location in the background. You can change location permission at any time in your device settings.
• Your content. Things you create and save in the app: tracks you record (the GPS path, time, and distance), saved spots and lists, catch logs and catch photos, notes, reviews, trip and condition reports, and the like. We store them on our servers so they stay with your account and sync across your devices. When you share a spot or a track, the people you send it to can see what you shared.
• People you share with. If you share a spot by picking a friend from your contacts, we receive only the name, email address, or phone number you picked, and use it only to deliver that share. We never upload your address book.
• Your questions to the assistant. The natural-language questions you ask Gary, our in-app assistant, along with the map context needed to answer them, and the responses generated.
• Feedback you provide. Ratings, survey responses (such as an NPS score), and any messages you send us.
• Subscription status. Whether you have an active plan and which tier. Payments are processed by Apple, Google, or Stripe; we do not receive or store your full card number.
• Connectivity data. To warn you when a spot is likely to have little or no cell service, the app notes, while you are using it on cellular data, whether its own requests to our servers succeed, how long they take, and the type of cellular connection (for example 4G or 5G), and it notes when your phone has no service at all. Each note carries a location rounded to about 100 meters on your phone before it is sent, and we store only an anonymous count for an area about 2 kilometers across. These notes are not stored with your account and are never kept as a path. To limit abuse, a short-lived counter caps how many notes one account can add for an area each day; it is stored only in scrambled (one-way hashed) form and deleted within a day of the first note. We do not collect them in the background, and we do not collect the contents of calls, texts, or other communications or access your carrier account.
• Usage and device data. How you interact with the app, plus device type, operating system, app version, general location derived from your IP address, and diagnostic/crash information used to fix problems.

• Provide the service: render the map, answer your access and regulation questions, and remember your preferences.
• Authenticate you and keep your account secure (sending login codes, detecting abuse).
• Operate subscriptions and process payments through the app stores or Stripe.
• Improve Guidepole: understand which features are used and where our data has gaps.
• Map where cell coverage drops out: combine connectivity notes from many users to flag locations with little or no service, so we can warn you and suggest downloading an offline map before you go.
• Communicate with you: service messages (such as login codes) and, only if you opt in, product updates. You can unsubscribe from marketing at any time.
• Comply with the law and protect the rights and safety of our users and the public.

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not use it for third-party targeted advertising.

When you ask Gary a question, your question and the relevant map context are sent to our AI provider (Anthropic) to generate a response. Under Anthropic’s commercial API terms, data sent through the API is not used to train their models. Assistant answers can be incomplete or wrong. Always confirm access and regulations with the official state authority before you fish.

We do not sell your personal information. We share it only with service providers who help us run Guidepole, and only as needed to provide the service. Each provider receives only the data necessary to perform its function, governed by its own privacy policy:

• AI assistant: Anthropic (processes your assistant questions).
• Email and SMS: our email provider (SendGrid) and SMS provider (Twilio) deliver your login codes and any messages you opt into.
• Maps: Mapbox provides the map tiles and geocoding.
• Hosting and infrastructure: our cloud hosting provider (DigitalOcean) stores and serves the app’s data.
• Diagnostics: our error-monitoring provider (Sentry) helps us find and fix crashes. We configure it not to capture the contents of your requests.
• Website analytics: Google Analytics measures how visitors use our website (with IP anonymization; never for advertising).
• App stores and payments: Apple, Google, and Stripe handle billing. RevenueCat manages our subscription entitlements across those platforms.
• Sign-in: Apple and Google, if you choose to sign in with them.

We may also disclose information if required by law, subpoena, or government request; to enforce our Terms; in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets (with notice to you); or to protect the safety of any person.

Guidepole displays government and public-record data: water bodies, public land, boat launches, regulations, and, where the law allows, parcel boundaries and owner names. This information comes from federal, state, and county sources.

We show an owner name only where doing so is legally permitted, and we never display a private owner’s mailing address or contact information. If you are a property owner and want to ask about how your parcel appears in Guidepole, email [email protected].

Our app uses on-device storage to keep you signed in. Our website uses minimal cookies and browser storage for authentication.

We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors find and use our website: pages visited, referral source, general location derived from your IP address, device and browser type, and similar usage data. Google Analytics sets cookies and processes this information on our behalf as a service provider, as described in Google’s privacy policy. We have IP anonymization enabled, and we do not use Google Analytics or its data for advertising, ad personalization, or Google Signals. Where required, we ask for your consent before non-essential analytics load, and you can decline.

We do not use third-party advertising cookies, cross-site tracking pixels, or cookie-based retargeting, and we do not sell cookie or analytics data or share it with advertisers. You can also block analytics cookies in your browser settings or with a browser opt-out extension.

Our apps do not track you across other companies’ apps or websites, and they contain no advertising SDKs.

Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control. Browsers’ Do Not Track signals have no common standard, so we do not respond to them. We treat a Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal as a valid request to opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information, although we do not sell or share it, or use it for targeted advertising, in the first place.

• Account data: retained while your account is active. When you delete your account, we disable it immediately and permanently delete or de-identify your personal information after a 30-day grace period (during which you can restore the account by signing back in), except where we must retain certain records to comply with the law.
• Inactive accounts: if you don't use Guidepole for about three years, we notify you by email and then delete the account to keep the data we hold to a minimum.
• Login codes: expire within minutes of being sent.
• Assistant history and feedback: retained while your account is active; removed or de-identified on account deletion.
• Your content (tracks, saved spots and lists, catch logs, photos, notes): kept until you delete it or delete your account.
• Connectivity counts: anonymous and aggregated per area from the start, so they are kept to maintain the coverage map.
• Financial records: billing records may be retained as required by law (for example, tax rules).
• Diagnostic and usage data: kept for a limited period and then deleted or aggregated.
• Anonymized, aggregated data that cannot identify you may be retained indefinitely to improve the service.

• Location: grant or revoke location access any time in your device settings. Guidepole still works with location off, but location-specific answers will be limited.
• Marketing: opt out of promotional email using the unsubscribe link; you will still receive essential service messages such as login codes.
• Access, correction, export, and deletion: request a copy of your data, fix inaccurate details, or delete your account by emailing [email protected], or delete your account directly in the app.

California and a growing number of other states give their residents rights over their personal information, including the rights to know, access, correct, delete, and take a portable copy of it, and to opt out of its sale, sharing, or use for targeted advertising. We extend these rights to every Guidepole user in the United States, whatever state you live in.

Our US State and Regional Privacy Notice (guidepole.com/legal/privacy/regional) sets out the categories of personal information we collect, where it comes from, why we use it, who receives it, how to exercise your rights, and how to appeal a decision. To make a request, email [email protected].

Some state laws treat precise geolocation as sensitive information. We use your precise location only to provide the features you ask for and to build our anonymous cell-coverage map (see Connectivity data above), only with your device’s location permission, and never to infer characteristics about you or for advertising.

We use industry-standard measures (encryption in transit, passwordless login, encrypted backups, and access controls) to protect your information. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security. For details, see our Security page.

Guidepole is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. If you believe a child has provided us information, contact [email protected] and we will delete it.

Guidepole is operated from the United States. Guidepole Fish is intended for use in the United States; Guidepole Fire also covers Canada, and we welcome Canadian users of that service. Wherever you use Guidepole, your information is transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States, where privacy laws may differ from, and may offer less protection than, those in your own country or province. By using Guidepole you consent to this transfer and to the processing of your information in the United States.

If you are in Canada, you may have rights under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and applicable provincial privacy laws, including the right to access and correct your personal information and to withdraw consent. To exercise them, contact [email protected].

We may update this policy as Guidepole evolves. We will change the “Last updated” date above and, for material changes, provide additional notice in the app or by email.

Guidepole LLC, 2442 NW Market St, Seattle, WA 98107. Reach us at:

• Privacy requests: [email protected]
• General support: [email protected]
• Security reports: [email protected]