Privacy
Privacy policy
Plain words on what Go Paddle collects, why, who sees it, how long we keep it and how to delete it.
Last updated November 15, 2026.
This policy covers the Hydrus: Go Paddle app and this website, run by Hydrus Board Tech, Eagle, Idaho ("Hydrus", "we"). Questions: crew@hydrusboardtech.com.
The short version
- We use your location only while you have a paddle or activity running.
- Your live position goes only to people you pick for Safety check-in, only during that paddle, through a private link that expires.
- We do not sell your data. No ads, no ad tracking.
- Under 13 cannot sign up. Ages 13 to 17 get extra protection.
- You can delete your account in the app or on the web.
Location
The app uses your phone's GPS only while a paddle or activity is recording, to draw your route and measure distance, time and speed. It keeps recording in the background with the phone locked, only while that paddle is running.
You always see your full route. When a route is shown to anyone else, anything inside your Privacy Zones (like home) is hidden, and you can also choose to trim the start and end. Members under 18 never share routes. Your live position is never shown on the Feed, leaderboards, maps or anywhere public.
Safety check-in and your contacts
If you start a Safety check-in, the people you pick get a private link to your live position that works only while that paddle is running. We store the email address (and the name, if you add one) of each contact so we can email them. We email only, never text, from no-reply@notify.hydrusboardtech.com. Replies are not read. The live trail is erased 24 hours after the paddle ends. For members under 18, only a verified parent or guardian can be a contact. Safety check-in is not an emergency service.
Watch and health imports
If you connect them, we import workouts and GPS routes from Apple Health (paddles from your Apple Watch), COROS and Strava, so watch paddles fill your history. Heart rate read from Apple Health stays on your phone. We never sell health or fitness data or use it for ads. Go Paddle does not give medical advice.
Photos, video reviews and messages
Photos you post are stored with Cloudflare. Location data inside photos is stripped on your phone and again on our server. Video reviews (Owners Club, 18 and older) are checked by a person on our team and published only if you allow it. Messages with Friends are private to the people in the conversation; members under 18 cannot send or receive messages.
Children and teens
Go Paddle is not for children under 13. If you tell us you are under 13 at sign up, the account is deleted right away. For ages 13 to 17: the account is always private, there are no messages, routes are never shared, mood sharing is Friends and family only, and only a verified parent or guardian can see a live position. If you think a child under 13 has an account, email crew@hydrusboardtech.com and we delete it.
Everything we collect
This table is the same one we use to answer the Google Play Data safety form and the Apple App Privacy label.
| What | Why | Who sees it | How long | How to delete |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Account: name (or a nickname you choose), @username, email from Sign in with Apple or Google, Apple or Google account ID When you sign up and when you edit your profile. | To run your account, sign you in, and show your name and @username to people you paddle with | Your name and @username show to other members. Your email is never shown to members. | Until you delete your account | Delete your account. Name, username, email and sign in IDs are erased. |
| Birth year At sign up ("What year were you born?"). | Under 13 cannot sign up. Ages 13 to 17 get the minor protections below. | Nobody. It is never shown. | Until you delete your account. Under 13: the new account is deleted right away. | Delete your account |
| Profile: photo, cover photo, bio, city, home water, craft, boards you own When you add them. Optional. | Your profile, leaderboards by craft, and nearby suggestions | Followers, or everyone if your account is public. Accounts of members under 18 are always private. | Until you remove them or delete your account | Edit profile, or delete your account |
| Precise location (GPS) while a paddle or activity is recording: your route, distance, time and speed Only while you have a paddle or activity running. Background location is used only during an active paddle so the route keeps recording with the phone locked.. Optional. | To draw your route and measure distance, time and speed. Also to suggest nearby water and group paddles. | You always see your full route. Shared routes hide anything inside your Privacy Zones, and you can also trim the start and end. Members under 18 never share routes. Your live position is never shown to members, feeds or maps. | Saved paddles stay until you delete them or your account. Deleted paddles wait 30 days in Recently deleted, then they are gone. | Delete a paddle, or delete your account |
| Live position for Safety check-in Only when you start a Safety check-in, only during that paddle. Optional. | So the people you pick can see where you are and get an email if you are well past your back by time | Only the contacts you pick, through a private link that stops working when the paddle ends. For members under 18, only a verified parent or guardian. | The live trail is erased 24 hours after the paddle ends | Erased on its own. Ending the check-in stops the link right away. |
| Safety contacts: the name (optional) and email address of each person you pick When you add someone to a Safety check-in. Optional. | To email them the private link and an alert if you are well past your back by time | Nobody else. We email them; we never text. | Until you remove them or delete your account | Remove the contact, or delete your account |
| Phone contacts (only if you allow it) When you pick a Safety check-in contact from your phone, or look for friends from your contacts. Optional. | To fill in a contact you choose, and to show which people you know already use the app | Nobody. For friend finding, numbers are matched as one way hashes, not readable numbers. | Contact hashes are erased after 30 days | Turn off contacts access in your phone settings, or delete your account |
| Watch and fitness imports: workouts and GPS routes from Apple Health, COROS and Strava. Heart rate read from Apple Health stays on your phone. Only after you connect a source. Optional. | So paddles recorded on a watch fill your history and count for streaks, challenges and leaderboards | Same as your other paddles | Until you delete the paddle, disconnect, or delete your account | Disconnect the source in the app, delete paddles, or delete your account |
| Before and after paddle mood check and private notes If you answer it. Optional. | Your own mood trend. Shared only if you turn on "Show my mood" for a paddle. | Only you, unless you share it on that paddle. Never on leaderboards, search or marketing. | With the paddle | Delete the paddle, or delete your account |
| Posts, photos, comments, shakas, tips about places, group paddles and groups you create When you post or create them. Optional. | To share with the people you follow and paddle with | Followers, or everyone if your account is public. Spot tips show to everyone in Explore. | Until you delete them or your account | Delete the post, or delete your account. Spot tips and edits, group paddles you hosted and board reviews are not yet removed with the account: email us and we remove them. |
| Messages with Friends When you send them. Optional. | Private messages between Friends (people who follow each other) | Only the people in the conversation. Messages are for adults only; members under 18 cannot send or receive them. | Until you delete your account | Delete your account |
| Video reviews of your board (Owners Club, 18 and older) Only if you record one. Optional. | To help other people pick a board. A person on our team checks each one before it is published. | Public on hydrusboardtech.com and Hydrus social, only if you allow it when you record. Published reviews (stars, text, and your order email for verification) go to Yotpo, our review platform. | Until you delete it or your account | Your video reviews in the app, or delete your account |
| Hydrus orders, store credit, Board Fund, referrals and commission records When you connect your Hydrus orders, earn in a challenge, or someone buys with your link. Optional. | To verify Owners Club membership and to pay credit, Board Fund and referral rewards | Only you and our team | Money records (credit, commission, referrals) are kept after you delete your account, without your name, for accounting. Orders stay in our store records. | Delete your account removes your name from them. Ask us about anything else. |
| Push notification token If you allow notifications. Optional. | To send the notifications you turned on | Nobody | Until you turn off notifications or delete your account | Turn off notifications, or delete your account |
| App events and error reports (which screens open, what failed) While you use the app. | To fix bugs and see which features help people get on the water. No advertising, no ad tracking. | Our team only | 30 days | Erased on its own after 30 days |
| Messages you send us (texts, email, bug reports) When you contact us. Optional. | To answer you | Our team | As long as needed to help you | Email crew@hydrusboardtech.com |
Who we share with
No. We do not sell personal data. We use these companies to run the app. They handle data for us, not for their own marketing:
- Cloudflare: Hosting, database and photo and video storage
- Apple and Google: Sign in, Apple Maps and Google Maps, Apple Health on your phone, push delivery
- Expo: Push notification delivery
- Resend: Safety check-in emails
- Shopify: The Hydrus store, orders and Owners Club verification
- UpPromote: Referral and commission payouts
- Yotpo: Published board reviews
- COROS and Strava: Only if you connect them, to import your workouts
- Open-Meteo and the National Weather Service: Weather and water conditions (they get a location, not who you are)
- OpenStreetMap (Nominatim and Overpass): Place names and search (they get a place, not who you are)
- Gorgias and Quo: Our support inbox and text line
Other members see only what the table above says. We may share data if the law requires it, or to protect someone's safety.
Ads and tracking
No advertising and no ad tracking. The app does not use the advertising ID and does not track you across other companies' apps or websites (Apple: "Data Used to Track You": none). We keep app events and error reports for 30 days to fix bugs.
Security
All traffic uses HTTPS. Data is stored with Cloudflare. No system is perfect; if something goes wrong that affects you, we will tell you.
Deleting your account
In the app: Me, then Menu, then Settings, then Delete my account. Or use the delete account page or email crew@hydrusboardtech.com. See that page for what is deleted and what we must keep.
Your choices
- Turn location, contacts, photos, Apple Health and notifications on or off in your phone settings.
- Make your account private, add Privacy Zones, and keep your mood private.
- Ask us for a copy of your data or to correct it: crew@hydrusboardtech.com.
Changes
If we change this policy in a way that matters, we will tell you in the app before it applies.
Contact
Hydrus Board Tech, Eagle, Idaho. crew@hydrusboardtech.com.