Privacy policy
Last updated: September 2026
The short version
LakePulse UK has no user accounts, no sign-up, and no personal-data database. We set no cookies and run no analytics, ad pixels, or trackers. Anything you personalise — saved lakes, your sailor profile, wind alerts — is stored in your own browser and never leaves your device. Clearing your browser data erases it completely; there is nothing to delete on our side because we never had it.
On your first visit we ask whether we may store forecast data in your browser to make pages load faster. "Essential only" turns that off; you can change your choice any time via Privacy choices in the footer.
Who is responsible (the controller)
LakePulse UK is a free, non-commercial hobby site operated by the LakePulse project. For any privacy question or request under the UK GDPR or EU GDPR, contact us by opening an issue at github.com/dewanganlakhan/lake-pulse — the project is developed in the open there.
What data is processed, and why
1. Requests your browser makes to data providers
Pages fetch live data directly from public services — we do not proxy the requests, so we never see them. Your browser's IP address and the coordinates of the lake you are viewing reach:
- Open-Meteo — wind and weather forecasts (served globally, including from the EU).
- Environment Agency flood-monitoring API — river and lake levels (UK public sector).
- RainViewer — rain-radar tiles.
- OpenStreetMap — map tiles, plus launch ramps, marinas, and sailing clubs via the Overpass API (community-run mirrors, including overpass-api.de in Germany).
Legal basis: legitimate interest (Article 6(1)(f) UK/EU GDPR) in answering your request — showing live conditions for the lake you opened. Only technical metadata (your IP, the query) is involved; no name, email, or account exists. These providers are controllers for their own purposes under their own policies (linked above).
2. Storage in your browser
Your choices and caches live in your browser's localStorage/sessionStorage for this site only. Nothing in this table is ever transmitted to us.
| What | Stored where | Kept until | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your privacy choice | lakepulse:consent | until you clear it | strictly necessary (recording consent) |
| Saved lakes | lakepulse:saved:v1 | until you unsave or clear data | strictly necessary (feature you asked for) |
| Home lake | lakepulse:home:v1 | until you change or clear it | strictly necessary (feature you asked for) |
| Sailor profile | lakepulse:profile:v1 | until you change or clear it | strictly necessary (feature you asked for) |
| Wind alerts | lakepulse:alerts:v1, :alerts:fired | until you remove them or clear data | strictly necessary (feature you asked for) |
| Recent searches | lakepulse:recent-lakes | until you clear data | strictly necessary (feature you asked for) |
| Forecast & level cache | lp1:… (sessionStorage) | when the tab closes | your consent — off under "Essential only" |
| Ramps / marinas / clubs cache | lakepulse:amen:v1:… | 1 week | your consent — off under "Essential only" |
Choosing Accept allows the two consent-based caches. Choosing Essential only keeps the features you explicitly use working (they only store data when you act — saving a lake, setting a profile) and permanently disables the automatic caches; any cached data already stored is deleted immediately. You can reopen the banner any time with Privacy choices in the footer, and clear everything via your browser's "clear site data" for this domain.
3. Location
The Discover page and distance sort use your browser's geolocation API when — and only when — you click the location button. Your coordinates are used in memory to rank lakes and are never stored or transmitted anywhere.
4. Browser notifications
Wind alerts use your browser's notification permission. Checking happens inside your browser; there is no push server and no message content ever passes through us.
Embeds
The shareable widget (Add to your site) sets no cookies and stores nothing on your visitors' devices. If you embed it, your page's own consent tooling governs your site; our widget adds nothing to manage.
International transfers
Some data providers above operate globally, so your IP address may be processed outside the UK/EEA when your browser fetches the data you asked for. The transfer is limited to that technical metadata; we send no personal identifiers because we hold none.
Your rights
Under the UK/EU GDPR you have rights of access, rectification, erasure, restriction, objection, and portability. Because we hold no personal data on any server, all of these are satisfied on the spot: your data lives only in your browser, where you can view, change, or delete it (in-app controls or your browser's site-data settings). If you are unhappy with how your data is handled, you may complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), or — if you are in the EEA — your local data-protection authority.
Children
The site is aimed at sailors and boaters generally, collects no personal data, and is not directed at children.
Changes to this policy
If anything about how the site works changes materially — for example advertising or analytics being added — this page will be updated and the date above bumped before the change goes live.
Contact
Privacy questions or requests: open an issue at github.com/dewanganlakhan/lake-pulse. This page is plain-language information, not legal advice.