Effective 12 August 2026
Who we are
Paddle Routes provides route discovery, trip planning, activity recording, safety, community and membership features. Paddle Routes is the controller of personal information processed for these services. Contact us at hello@paddleroutes.io.
Information we process
- Account information such as your name, email address, authentication provider and profile settings, including a display handle and a town or area you enter yourself.
- Routes, saved items, photos, reviews, posts, reports, event participation and other content you submit.
- Precise location, and fitness and activity data, when you record a paddle, use Live Beacon, join group tracking or use location-based features. This includes the full GPS track of a recorded paddle.
- Float-plan details, which include your launch and take-out points, expected finish time, craft description, and, where you provide them, your vehicle description, vehicle registration and where you parked.
- Safety contacts and expedition crew you add, which means another person’s name, email address and phone number. We email them on your behalf. Please only add people who are expecting to hear from us.
- Paddling preferences and comfort thresholds you set, which we use to tailor conditions wording and route suggestions to you.
- If you use buddy matching: an approximate paddling area (rounded to roughly 11km, never your exact position), your skill level and preferences, a contact note released only to a matched buddy, and any accessibility notes you choose to write. Accessibility notes are optional, may reveal health-related information about you, and are processed only with your explicit consent. Leave the field blank if you would rather not provide it.
- Gear and equipment records, which may include purchase price, current value, retailer, serial number and warranty dates, plus receipt or serial-number photographs you upload to private storage.
- Purchase and entitlement status. Apple and RevenueCat process payments; Paddle Routes does not receive your full card details.
- A push notification token for your device, if you enable notifications.
- Activities you import from a connected service, including the full route of each imported activity.
- Device, request, error and security information needed to operate and protect the service.
How we use information
We use information to provide requested features, maintain accounts and memberships, sync and display content, operate safety and sharing tools, prevent abuse, support users, improve reliability and comply with legal obligations. We also personalise parts of the service to you, using your location, stated preferences and comfort thresholds. That covers the routes and paddling buddies we suggest, and how conditions are described. We look at how the service is used in aggregate to understand which features are working and to plan new ones. Our legal bases are performance of our contract with you, legitimate interests in operating, securing and improving Paddle Routes, consent where required, including your explicit consent for any health-related information you choose to enter, and compliance with law.
Sharing and service providers
We do not sell personal information or use it for third-party advertising. We share information only as needed with service providers and features you choose to use, including Supabase for hosting, database and authentication; Vercel for web hosting; Expo for app updates and push notification delivery; RevenueCat and Apple for subscriptions; Resend for email, including the emails we send to your safety contacts; MapTiler and OpenStreetMap-based services for maps; Google for place search when you look up a location; weather, tide, river and marine data providers for conditions; Anthropic when you request an AI feature; Google Analytics for website usage measurement, where you have accepted it; and Strava when you connect a Strava account, which imports your activity history into Paddle Routes. Some providers process information outside the UK using appropriate contractual or legal safeguards where required.
Cookies and website analytics
The Paddle Routes website uses Google Analytics to understand which pages and features people find useful. It is not loaded and sets no cookies unless you accept it when asked, and you can decline without losing any functionality. We do not use it for advertising, and advertising and personalisation signals are switched off. Two limits apply by design: page addresses are recorded without their query strings, and the live Beacon, safety-contact verification and escalation acknowledgement pages are excluded from analytics entirely, because their links carry secret tokens. To change your choice, clear this site’s data in your browser and answer the banner again.
Visibility and safety sharing
Your profile, including your name, handle, the area you entered and your public activity, is visible to anyone, including people who are not signed in. You can change this in your privacy settings. Content you publish as public or community content can be seen by others. Live Beacon creates a secret link that can be opened without an account while the session is active; anyone holding that link can see your live position, so do not share it with anyone who should not. Group tracking shares recent location with participants.
Retention and deletion
We retain account information and user content while your account is active and as needed to provide the service. Expired Beacon sessions are scheduled for deletion after seven days. Security, transaction and safety records may be retained longer where needed to prevent abuse, resolve disputes or meet legal obligations. You can delete your account from Settings. Account deletion does not cancel an Apple subscription or erase records Apple or RevenueCat must retain under their policies.
Your choices and rights
You can update privacy settings, revoke device permissions, disconnect integrations, export account data and request account deletion in the app. Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, erase, restrict or object to processing, and to data portability. Email hello@paddleroutes.io to exercise a right or raise a concern. UK users may also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office.
Children and changes
Paddle Routes is not directed to children under 13. Where local law requires parental consent for a young person to use an online service, that consent must be obtained. We may update this policy as the service changes and will provide appropriate notice of material changes.