Thirty3rdStudio ("we", "us", or "our") built SJ Whales as a mobile app that shows a live map of whale-watching activity around San Juan Island, derived from publicly broadcast AIS vessel positions. This page describes our privacy practices.
The short version: we do not ask for a name, email, account, or any personal identifier. The app uses an anonymous Firebase identity tied only to your installation, and we do not collect analytics, advertising data, or crash reports. The map content comes from public maritime AIS broadcasts — not from you.
SJ Whales is invitation-only. On first launch, the app signs in anonymously with Firebase Authentication. This creates a random, opaque identifier (a "UID") for your install that we use solely to enforce the invitation gate and route push notifications to your device. The UID is not linked to your Apple ID, Google account, email address, phone number, or any other personal identifier.
When you redeem an invitation code, the UID is recorded against that code in our Firestore database so the host who issued the code can revoke or rotate it. No human-readable information is attached to the UID.
If you grant location permission ("While Using the App"), SJ Whales shows your current position as a dot on the map so you can see where boats are relative to you. Your location is used only on your device for that rendering — it is not transmitted to our servers and is not associated with your UID.
Location permission is optional. The app works without it; the map simply does not show your position.
If you choose to report a whale sighting through the app, the following are transmitted to our backend and stored in our Firestore database so other invited users can see the sighting on the live map:
Submissions are tied to your install's UID and are visible to every invited user. They are not attributed to a real name or contact information — only the UID — and remain on the live map for a few hours before fading. Reporting a sighting is entirely opt-in; nothing is sent unless you tap the submit button.
If you allow push notifications, your device's FCM token (an opaque string issued by Firebase Cloud Messaging) is sent to our backend so we can deliver "whales spotted" alerts when a new cluster forms inside one of the detection zones you have enabled in Settings. We send only the cluster's metadata in the notification — never your identity, location, or any personal information. You can change zone subscriptions at any time, or disable notifications entirely from iOS / Android system settings.
SJ Whales writes startup and diagnostic logs to files within your device's app sandbox. These files are accessible to you via the Files app (iOS) or the app's internal storage (Android) but are not automatically uploaded anywhere. We do not use any crash-reporting or analytics SDK.
We do not integrate any advertising SDKs, analytics platforms, or social media trackers.
SJ Whales is intended for users aged 18 and older. We do not knowingly allow anyone under 18 to use the app, and we do not collect personal information from anyone, regardless of age.
If we ever change our privacy practices, we will update this page and revise the effective date above.
Questions? Reach us at:
Thirty3rdStudio —
apps@thirty3rdstudio.com