When you create a Vallow account, we collect the information you voluntarily provide: your display name, email address, date of birth (to verify you are 18 years of age or older), profile photo, country of residence, preferred fishing style (freshwater, saltwater, fly fishing, ice fishing, etc.), and any personal bio you choose to write. If you register via Apple Sign-In or Google, we receive a limited profile dataset authorized by you and that provider.

When you record a catch, we collect the information you manually enter: species name, weight and length, bait or lure used, fishing technique, date and time, and any notes or photos you attach. Catch records form your personal fishing logbook within Vallow. See Section 3 for full details on how catch and gear data is handled.

When you register fishing gear and tackle in the app, we collect information you provide including item name, brand, category, purchase date, condition notes, and any photos you upload of your equipment. Gear log data is stored in your personal tackle inventory within the app.

With your permission, Vallow may access your device location to enable fishing spot recommendations, weather lookups for your current location, and location-tagged catch records. See Section 4 for full details on location data handling.

We automatically collect device model, operating system version, unique device identifiers, IP address, mobile carrier, app version, crash logs, and performance diagnostics to maintain service quality and diagnose technical issues.

We record how you use the Service: features accessed, encyclopedia species you view, catch records created, gear items added, and session frequency and duration. This data informs product improvements and optional personalization.

If you contact our support team, submit a report, or participate in surveys, we retain the content and metadata of those communications for resolution and service improvement purposes.

All payments are processed exclusively by Apple App Store or Google Play. We do not store your payment card details. We receive only anonymized transaction confirmation tokens and purchase entitlement data to activate in-app premium features.

We use your information to authenticate your account, operate your catch and gear logs, deliver weather analysis, serve the fish encyclopedia, sync your data across devices, process purchases, enforce content policies, and deliver all core Service functions.

Your catch records, fishing notes, gear inventory entries, and photos are used solely to build and display your personal fishing logbook and tackle inventory. This data belongs to you and is not shared with fishing brands, tackle manufacturers, or advertisers for commercial purposes without your explicit consent.

Where you grant location access or manually enter a location, we use that information to request current and forecast weather data from third-party weather providers and calculate a fishing suitability score for today's conditions at your location. See Sections 4 and 5 for details.

Your species viewing history and catch records are used to personalize encyclopedia recommendations, surface relevant species guides, and tailor content to the types of fish you pursue. See Section 7 for details on personalization.

We process behavioral signals and user reports to detect and prevent prohibited content, harassment, and policy violations within community features.

Aggregated and de-identified usage data is analyzed to improve catch log usability, weather accuracy integration, encyclopedia depth, and overall platform performance.

With your consent where required by applicable law, we may send promotional communications about new features, seasonal fishing content, and platform offers. You may withdraw consent at any time via in-app settings or email unsubscribe.

We process personal data as necessary to comply with applicable laws, respond to valid legal process, enforce our Terms of Service, and protect the safety of our users and the public.

Your fishing catch records, notes, and gear inventory constitute your personal fishing logbook on Vallow. This data belongs to you. We store and maintain it solely to deliver the logging experience, and we do not sell, license, or transfer your personal fishing records to third parties including fishing brands, bait manufacturers, tackle retailers, or data brokers.

Photos you upload to catch records may contain embedded EXIF metadata including GPS coordinates and camera settings. Vallow handles EXIF data as follows:

• Private catch records: EXIF data is preserved as uploaded and accessible only to you.
• Publicly shared catches: GPS/geolocation EXIF data is automatically stripped before your photo is displayed to other users, protecting your fishing spot location from unintended disclosure.

Anglers value their spots. When you log a catch with a location, you independently control the visibility of that location data for each catch record: full location, approximate area only (region or body of water name), or hidden. The location associated with a catch record is never shared publicly without your explicit action to make it visible.

Tackle and gear items you log are stored in your private inventory and are visible only to you unless you explicitly choose to share specific gear loadouts publicly. Gear data is not used to serve targeted advertising from fishing brands without your explicit consent.

You may export your complete fishing logbook and gear inventory at any time from Settings > Data > Export Logbook. Exports are provided in a structured, portable format (e.g., JSON or CSV) suitable for personal archiving.

Location access is not required to use the core journaling features of Vallow. You may log catches, manage gear, and browse the fish encyclopedia without granting location permission. Location is needed only for automatic weather lookup and GPS-based catch tagging.

When you choose to use GPS-based features, Vallow requests "While Using the App" location permission. We do not request background location access. You may revoke location permission at any time via device settings without losing access to non-location features.

Where Vallow offers community fishing spot features, sharing a spot's location is always a deliberate, explicit action on your part. You may choose to share only a general area (body of water, region, or landmark name) rather than precise GPS coordinates. All spot-sharing controls are accessible from the individual catch or spot record settings.

Precise session GPS data collected during active weather lookups is not retained beyond the session. Location data attached to catch records is retained for the life of the record. You may delete individual catch records or your entire logbook at any time.

Vallow's fishing weather feature uses your current location (if permitted) or a manually entered location to retrieve weather data from third-party weather APIs. This data is used to calculate a daily fishing suitability assessment covering wind speed, atmospheric pressure, temperature, precipitation, moon phase, and cloud cover — factors that affect fish activity.

Weather data is sourced from third-party meteorological API providers. When you request a weather lookup, your location is transmitted to these providers solely to retrieve current and forecast weather data for that location. These providers process location data in accordance with their own privacy policies and are engaged as data processors under our agreements.

If you choose to attach weather data to a catch record, the recorded weather conditions are stored as part of that catch entry in your private logbook. This feature is entirely optional and controlled by you on a per-catch basis.

Where you choose to share catch records or fishing spots publicly, they appear in Vallow's community feed for other anglers to view and engage with. Public entries include your display name, photos (EXIF location data stripped), species information, gear used (if you choose to include it), and any notes you have not marked as private.

Other users may comment on or react to your public catch entries. Comments are associated with the commenter's display name and are visible to all viewers of that entry. You may moderate and delete comments on your own entries at any time.

Where Vallow offers species-specific or technique-based community discussion spaces, your display name and post content are visible to all participants. Community posts are subject to our Community Guidelines.

By publishing content publicly on Vallow, you grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable license to host, store, reproduce, display, and distribute your content within the Service and in connection with promoting Vallow, subject to your visibility settings. You retain full ownership of all original content you create.

Vallow uses your catch history, species viewing patterns in the fish encyclopedia, preferred fishing style, and general geographic area to personalize the encyclopedia species you are shown, surface relevant fishing tips and techniques, and highlight seasonal content relevant to your typical fishing activities.

Your catch data, gear inventory, and fishing style preferences are not used to build an advertising profile or shared with fishing brands, gear manufacturers, or advertising networks for behavioral targeting without your explicit consent.

You may disable personalized content recommendations at any time in Settings > Privacy > Personalization. Core logging and weather features are unaffected by this setting.

We share personal information with trusted third-party service providers supporting our operations: cloud infrastructure providers, CDN services, weather API providers, payment processors, analytics platforms, customer support tools, and content moderation systems. All providers are contractually bound to process your data only on our instructions and in compliance with applicable data protection law.

We do not sell your personal information, your catch records, your gear inventory, or your fishing location data to any third party, including fishing brands, tackle retailers, sporting goods companies, or data brokers.

In the event of a merger, acquisition, or asset sale, your data may transfer to the acquiring entity. We will notify you in advance before your data becomes subject to a materially different privacy policy, giving you the opportunity to request account deletion.

We may disclose your information to law enforcement or government authorities when required by applicable law, valid legal process, or where necessary to protect the safety of any person. Where legally permitted, we will notify affected users prior to such disclosure.

Your display name, profile photo, and any publicly shared catch entries, fishing spots, or community posts are visible to all Vallow users. You may set any content to private at any time from its record settings.

Vallow integrates third-party weather APIs to provide current conditions, forecasts, and fishing suitability scores. Your location (GPS coordinates or manually entered location) is transmitted to these providers when you request a weather update. They process this data to return weather data in accordance with their own privacy policies and our data processing agreements.

Where Vallow displays maps for fishing spot viewing or community spot browsing, third-party mapping services process location data to render map tiles. These providers are governed by their own privacy policies.

Mobile analytics SDKs measure app performance and feature engagement, configured with privacy-preserving settings including anonymized event collection and suppression of advertising identifiers absent your consent.

Apple Sign-In and Google authentication are governed by their own terms and privacy policies. Our use of data from these services is limited to account creation and basic profile population.

Catch photos and gear images are stored on cloud infrastructure and delivered via CDN providers to ensure fast, reliable loading. These providers process delivery metadata as technical intermediaries under data processing agreements.

We retain your personal information and fishing logbook for as long as your account is active. Accounts with no login activity for 24 consecutive months will receive a dormancy notice; following the notice period, inactive data may be anonymized or deleted.

Your catch log entries, gear inventory, and associated photos are retained for the life of your account. You may delete individual records or your entire logbook at any time from account settings. Deleted data is removed from production servers within 30 days and from backup archives within 90 days.

Financial transaction records are retained for a minimum of seven years to comply with applicable accounting, tax, and consumer protection obligations.

Records of content moderation actions, user reports, and enforcement decisions are retained for up to 36 months after account closure.

Aggregate, irreversibly anonymized usage data may be retained indefinitely for product research and development.

We implement TLS 1.2+ encryption for all data in transit, AES-256 encryption for sensitive data at rest, strict role-based access controls, and automated anomaly detection to flag unusual access patterns for review.

Data access is restricted on a need-to-know basis, requires multi-factor authentication, and is comprehensively audit-logged. All personnel with data access receive regular data protection training and sign confidentiality agreements.

We conduct regular security assessments and third-party penetration testing. Report security vulnerabilities responsibly to service@vallow.us.

In the event of a personal data breach posing risk to your rights and freedoms, we will notify relevant supervisory authorities within 72 hours where required by law and inform affected users without undue delay.

Vallow uses session tokens, local storage, and analytics SDKs (not traditional browser cookies) to maintain your authenticated session, remember preferences, and sync your logbook data across devices.

On iOS, we request ATT consent before accessing your IDFA. On Android, we respect your opt-out via device advertising settings. Advertising identifiers are used only to measure our own user acquisition campaigns and are not shared for third-party behavioral advertising.

Our website may use standard browser cookies for session management and analytics, manageable via your browser settings.

Vallow serves anglers worldwide and operates cloud infrastructure across multiple regions. Your personal data and fishing logbook may be stored and processed in countries other than your country of residence, which may have different data protection standards.

For transfers from the EEA, UK, or Switzerland to countries lacking an adequacy decision, we rely on EU Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) and, where applicable, the UK International Data Transfer Addendum (IDTA). Equivalent safeguards apply to other cross-border transfers including weather data processing.

Where applicable national laws impose mandatory data localization requirements, we take reasonable steps to store and process the required data categories within the mandated territory.

Request a copy of personal data we hold, including your full fishing logbook and gear inventory metadata, via in-app settings or by emailing service@vallow.us with subject "Data Access Request."

Correct inaccurate personal information directly in account settings. For data that cannot be self-corrected, contact us and we will action the correction within 30 days.

Request deletion via Settings > Account > Delete Account or by emailing us. See Section 20 for full account deletion details.

Request your complete fishing logbook and gear inventory in a structured, machine-readable format (JSON or CSV) suitable for archiving or transfer to another platform.

Object to or request restriction of processing in certain circumstances. We pause relevant processing while assessing your objection.

Withdraw consent for marketing or personalization at any time via in-app settings or by contacting us, without affecting prior lawful processing.

Email service@vallow.us with "Privacy Rights Request" in the subject, your registered email, and a description of your request. We verify your identity and respond within applicable legal timeframes (generally 30 days).

For EEA and UK users, Vallow acts as the data controller of your personal information under the GDPR and UK GDPR respectively.

We process your data under: (a) contractual necessity (to provide the Service); (b) legal obligation (regulatory compliance); (c) legitimate interests (safety, fraud prevention, service improvement), where not overridden by your rights; and (d) consent (for marketing and optional personalization).

You may lodge a complaint with your national data protection supervisory authority if you believe your data has not been handled lawfully. We encourage you to contact us first to attempt direct resolution.

California residents have rights under the CCPA as amended by the CPRA, including the right to know, delete, correct, and opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information. Vallow does not sell personal information and does not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising.

Exercising your California privacy rights will not result in denial of services, different pricing, or reduced quality of experience on Vallow.

California residents may designate an authorized agent by providing written proof of authorization. We verify both agent and resident identity before processing any request.

Brazilian users have rights under the Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados (LGPD) including confirmation, access, correction, anonymization, deletion, portability, and withdrawal of consent.

We process Brazilian users' data based on contract performance, legal obligation, and consent where applicable.

Brazilian users may lodge complaints with the Autoridade Nacional de Proteção de Dados (ANPD) where they believe data processing violates the LGPD.

Vallow is designed for users who are 18 years of age or older. We implement date-of-birth verification at registration and apply additional detection measures to accounts suspected of being operated by minors. Confirmed underage accounts are immediately and permanently terminated with all associated data deleted.

If you are a parent or guardian and believe a minor has created a Vallow account, contact us immediately at service@vallow.us. We will investigate and, where confirmed, permanently delete the account and all associated data without delay.

All in-app purchases are processed exclusively through Apple App Store or Google Play. Vallow does not store your payment card details. We receive only anonymized transaction confirmation tokens and entitlement data to activate premium features.

If Vallow offers premium features (such as expanded logbook storage, advanced gear management, detailed weather forecasts, or full encyclopedia access): access is non-transferable between accounts; non-refundable except as required by applicable law or app store policy; and may be discontinued with reasonable advance notice.

Transaction records are retained for a minimum of seven years to satisfy applicable accounting, tax, and consumer protection requirements.

Delete your account at any time via Settings > Account > Delete Account, or by emailing service@vallow.us with subject "Account Deletion Request."

Your profile, fishing logbook, gear inventory, community posts, and all associated data are removed from public view within 48 hours and from production servers within 30 days. Backup archives are purged within 90 days of the next scheduled rotation.

Certain data is retained where required by law: transaction records (up to 7 years); safety and moderation records (up to 3 years); data subject to a legal hold. All retained data is isolated and processed only for the purpose requiring its retention.

Material changes are communicated at least 14 days before taking effect via in-app notice, push notification, and/or email to your registered address. Non-material corrections may be made without advance notice.

Continued use of Vallow after any revised Policy's effective date constitutes acceptance. If you do not agree, delete your account before the changes take effect.

Prior versions are available upon request at service@vallow.us.

For questions, data rights requests, or privacy concerns:

• Email: service@vallow.us
• Subject: "Privacy Inquiry — [Your Name]"

We acknowledge inquiries within 5 business days and respond within 30 days.

Use the in-app Report function on any content or user profile, or email service@vallow.us immediately with subject "CSAE Report." These are our highest-priority safety matter, actioned without delay.