DublinBayBuoy.com

Last updated: 19 September 2026

Privacy

Dublin Bay Buoy is a free marine weather service. We try to keep data collection minimal and self-hosted.

What we collect

If you use the Telegram bot:

• Wind alert preferences - your Telegram user ID and threshold, only while your alert is active. Send /alert off to delete.
• /feedback messages - text only, with a daily session hash. Not tied to your identity.
• Anonymous command counts - which command, when, and a daily session hash.

If you visit the website or Mini App:

• Aggregate visit counts only. Our hosting provider (Cloudflare) counts requests and page views at the network edge: how many, from which country, on which pages. We see totals, never individual visitors. No analytics script runs in your browser, no cookie is set, no visitor ID is created and there is no session replay.
• Your own settings (theme, text size, favourite views) stay in your browser's localStorage and are never sent to us.
• Until September 2026 we ran a self-hosted analytics tool with a random visitor ID and masked session replays. That tool and all its data are gone; the app removes the old ID from your browser the next time it loads.

If you use GPS race tracking on the Mark Calculator (racing.dublinbaybuoy.com):

• GPS tracking is experimental, optional and off by default. It only runs after you press Enable GPS, and your phone will ask for location permission on top of that. It exists to help build sail race performance statistics for Dublin Bay racing.
• Your track is recorded on your device: in your browser's localStorage and in any GPX file you choose to save.
• When you stop a recording, we store a completely anonymised copy of the track: positions, speeds and times only, with no account, name, IP address, device identifier or anything else that could link it to you. Anonymised tracks are used for feature improvement and race performance statistics and for nothing else, and are never shared with anyone.

Why we collect it

Legitimate interest under GDPR Art 6(1)(f): keeping the service usable and knowing roughly how many people rely on it. We don't run ads, sell data, or share with third parties.

How long we keep it

• Aggregate visit counts: kept by Cloudflare as totals; they contain nothing about you.
• /feedback messages: indefinite (anonymous text).
• Wind alerts: while active.
• GPS race tracks: on your device until you clear them. Anonymised tracks, if stored for feature improvement, indefinitely; they contain nothing that identifies you.

Opt out

There is nothing to opt out of: no analytics script runs on your device and nothing identifies you. If you want to be sure, your browser's Do Not Track setting changes nothing here because there is no tracking to switch off.

Your rights (GDPR)

You can ask to see what we have, correct it, or delete it. Most data is pseudonymous so the most useful action is usually deletion. Email [email protected] with your request.

Children

Not aimed at under-13s. We don't knowingly collect data from children.

Terms of Service

Dublin Bay Buoy provides marine weather information for general reference only.

• Not a safety service. Do not rely on this bot for navigation or safety-critical decisions. Always consult official forecasts and Coast Guard channels.
• Data accuracy. Buoy data is sourced from Irish Lights. We display it as received and cannot guarantee accuracy or availability.
• Data licensing. Irish Lights MetOcean data is published on data.gov.ie under the CC BY 4.0 licence; Open-Meteo forecasts are CC BY 4.0. Full source and licence list on the developers page.
• Availability. Best-effort, no uptime guarantee.
• No warranty. Provided "as is".

Data Deletion

If you have an active wind alert, send /alert off to the bot to delete your Telegram user ID immediately. For anything else, email [email protected].

Contact

Dublin, Ireland
[email protected]