Privacy Policy

Last updated:

CruiseBuddy is a cruise planning app published by Owl Media. This policy explains what information the app and this website collect, how CruiseBuddy’s shared cruise links work, and how to contact us about your data.

Summary

Data the CruiseBuddy app stores

Cruise plans you create, sail dates, ship, ports, excursions, cabin, booking references, documents, payments and notes, are stored locally on your device. Owl Media does not have access to that information unless you choose to share a cruise.

Depending on how you use the app, this local data may include cruise references, booking references, cabin details, onboard credit, cruise costs, deposit and balance dates, traveller names, people profiles, passport details, insurance details, allergies, medical notes, emergency contacts, itinerary notes, excursions, packing lists, to-do lists, cruise notes, journal entries, journal locations, journal photos, reminders, spending, payments, hotels, flights, parking, car hire, travel additions, app settings and saved share-link details.

CruiseBuddy stores this information in the app's private local database and app storage on your device. Your operating system may include app data in device backups or cloud backups depending on your device settings. Removing the app or clearing its app data may remove the local CruiseBuddy data from that device.

Documents, photos and files

If you attach documents, PDFs, images or journal photos, CruiseBuddy only imports the files you choose. The app copies those files into its private app storage and stores related details such as the original filename, stored file path, file type and creation date. CruiseBuddy does not upload those files to Owl Media servers as part of normal app use.

If you open, export or share a file from CruiseBuddy, your device's operating system or the other app you choose may receive the file so it can display, save or send it.

Encrypted cruise sharing

When you share a cruise from CruiseBuddy, the app generates a strong encryption key on your device and encrypts the cruise bundle with it using AES-256-GCM. Only the resulting opaque ciphertext is sent to our share service at https://cruise-buddy.app. The decryption key never leaves your device, it is included in the magic link itself, so only people you give the link to can read the cruise plan.

The share service stores the encrypted bundle, an associated nonce and message authentication code, and the expiry timestamp. Shared cruise records are automatically deleted on or before their expiry date and at most 30 days after creation by default.

A traveller share may include cruise details, itinerary days, excursions, reminders, spending, cruise payments, hotels, flights, parking, car hire and travel additions. A follower share is more limited and includes core cruise and itinerary details. CruiseBuddy does not include attached documents, journal photos, people records, passport details, insurance details, allergies or medical notes in encrypted cruise share bundles.

Anyone with the complete magic link can decrypt and import the shared cruise on their device until the link expires or is deleted. Please only send share links to people you trust.

Backups and exports

CruiseBuddy can create a local JSON backup summary from data stored on your device. The backup may include cruise, payment, travel and journal information, plus references to journal photos. The backup is created locally and is shared only if you choose to send or save it using your device's share sheet or another app.

Location, geocoding and conditions

CruiseBuddy may ask for location permission when you choose to record where a journal entry happened. If you allow it, the app stores the latitude, longitude and a human-readable location label with that journal entry on your device.

CruiseBuddy also uses itinerary ports, countries and coordinates to show weather and marine conditions. To do that, the app may send port names, countries, latitude and longitude values to Open-Meteo services at geocoding-api.open-meteo.com, api.open-meteo.com and marine-api.open-meteo.com. The app may also use your operating system's geocoding service to resolve or label locations. Forecast responses and cached condition snapshots are stored locally in the app.

Reminders and notifications

If you create reminders, CruiseBuddy stores the reminder title, schedule, completion state and local notification identifier on your device. Notifications are scheduled locally through your operating system after you grant notification permission. Owl Media does not receive your reminder contents.

App lock and sensitive traveller details

CruiseBuddy includes an optional app lock and may also ask you to unlock the People area before showing traveller documents or medical details. Authentication is handled by your device using biometrics, PIN or passcode. CruiseBuddy does not receive or store your biometric data. The app stores only the setting that says whether app lock is enabled.

iOS widgets

On iOS, CruiseBuddy can write a small widget snapshot to the app's private App Group storage so home-screen widgets can show upcoming or current cruise information. This snapshot may include cruise name, cruise line, ship, dates, ports, countdown labels, balance summary, itinerary timing and condition summaries. It does not include attached documents, journal photos, people records, passport details, insurance details, allergies or medical notes.

Support and communications

If you contact us for support, feedback, bug reports or privacy questions, we will receive the information you choose to include in your message, such as your email address, screenshots, diagnostic details or a description of the issue. We use that information to reply to you, investigate the request and improve CruiseBuddy.

Website analytics

This website uses Umami-based analytics hosted at stats.codenameowl.com. It records aggregated, anonymous data such as page views, referrer and approximate country. It does not use cross-site cookies, fingerprint your device or share data with advertisers.

Cookies

This website does not set advertising or tracking cookies. The only local storage used is whatever your browser stores by default and any state needed to remember your interactions on the page.

Your rights

If you live in the UK, EU or another region with similar data protection laws, you have rights to access, correct or delete personal data we hold about you, and to object to certain processing. Because shared cruise bundles are encrypted on your device, we may not be able to identify which records belong to you without the share ID from the magic link.

Children

CruiseBuddy is intended for general audiences booking cruises and is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as CruiseBuddy evolves. Material changes will be reflected by updating the “last updated” date at the top of this page.

Contact

For privacy questions, email [email protected]. For general support, email [email protected].