Privacy Policy for DiveConnect.io

Last Updated: November 8, 2026

1. Introduction

This Privacy Policy explains how Dive Connect, LLC ("DiveConnect," "we," "us," or "our"), a limited liability company based in St. Petersburg, Florida, USA, collects, uses, shares, and protects personal information through Diveconnect.io, our iOS and Android mobile apps, and related services (the "Service"). It applies to visitors, divers who book ("Users"), and dive shops and professionals ("Providers"). For data processed inside DiveConnect.ai, our software for dive shops, see the DiveConnect.ai Privacy Policy.

2. Information We Collect

A. Information you give us

• Account information: your name, email address, and password, or the basic profile details from Google or Apple if you sign in with them; optionally a phone number.
• Profile, dive log & community content: what you add to your diver profile and dive log (including certifications, dives, and photos), and what you post or send through community, buddy, review, and messaging features.
• Booking information: the dives you book, dates, party size, notes to the Provider, the checkout confirmations you give (that you are 18 or older and accept the risks of diving), and your balance-payment status and any payment reference you enter when you tell a Provider you have paid.
• Payment information: card details are entered into Stripe's secure payment form and go directly to Stripe. We never receive or store your full card number; we keep a record of each charge and refund.
• Provider information: business name, address, contact details, listings and prices, balance-payment details you choose to show Divers (for example a payment link or bank details), and settlement settings.
• Provider identity verification: Providers verify their identity with Stripe Identity by photographing a government-issued ID and taking a selfie, which Stripe compares to the ID photo (a biometric check). Stripe collects and holds those images and the biometric comparison; we receive only the result. Providers who verify manually send us the documents we request, which we keep only as long as needed to complete and evidence the verification.
• SMS consent: if you opt in on our SMS consent page, we record your mobile number, the time, your IP address and browser, and the exact consent wording you agreed to.
• Communications: what you send us when you contact support or report content.

B. Information we collect automatically

• Usage data: pages and listings viewed, searches, and access times. On the website this is collected for analytics only after you consent; in the mobile apps, usage analytics is off until you opt in (see "In the mobile apps" below).
• Device & log data: IP address, browser or device model, operating system, app version, and error/crash diagnostics.
• Places you search for: the locations you type into search. The website does not read your device location.
• Cookies & similar technologies: see our Cookie Policy. Analytics run only after you consent.

C. In the mobile apps

• Approximate location (while using the app, with your permission): to show dive sites, shops, trips, clubs, events and divers near you. The app only uses your approximate area: it rounds your position on your device (to about 1 km) before anything is sent to us, and we do not store it. To name the city you are in, the app asks your phone's built-in place lookup (Apple or Google) with that rounded position. We never collect location in the background. If you turn location off, you can still search by typing a place.
• Home base: the city you enter in your profile. We look up its coordinates on our servers (with the geocoding providers in Section 5) to show things near home.
• Finding other divers (opt-in): only if you turn on "Show me to other divers", signed-in divers can find you near your home base. They see your name, profile and your area name with a rounded distance (about 10 km), never your exact location or coordinates.
• Travel area (opt-in): if you turn on "Show me while travelling" and confirm a trip, we store an approximate area (about 10 km) and its city name for up to 7 days so divers there can find you. It is deleted when the trip ends or you turn the setting off.
• Precise location (only when you ask): when you suggest a new dive site, the app can ask separately for your precise position to place the pin. It is sent only with that suggestion.
• Camera and photos (with your permission): only when you choose to add a photo to your profile, dive log, or a post.
• Push notifications (with your permission): we store a device push token to send booking, balance, message, and account notifications. You can turn them off in your device settings.
• Microphone: diver features do not use the microphone. Shop staff using the app's shop mode with a DiveConnect.ai subscription may use the microphone for phone calls and the live conversation translator; that audio is processed as described in the DiveConnect.ai Privacy Policy.
• Usage analytics (optional, off until you opt in): the apps include PostHog product analytics, which is off by default. It starts only if you tap "Allow analytics" on the first-run privacy screen or turn on Settings → Privacy → Usage analytics, and you can turn it off again there at any time; turning it off stops collection and clears the app's analytics identity and unsent data on your device. When it is on, we collect the names of the screens you open, when the app is opened or sent to the background, a few product events (a search was made, with its length but never the text you typed; a listing was viewed; a booking was started or completed), and crash and error events. These events are linked to your DiveConnect account user ID, not to your name, email, or phone number. Analytics does not use your advertising identifier, does not track you across other companies' apps or websites, does not record your screen or touches, and does not collect location from your IP address; PostHog discards the IP address of these requests. Analytics is not collected in the apps unless you opt in.
• No tracking: the apps do not track you across other companies' apps or websites and do not use the advertising identifier.

3. How We Use Your Information

• To provide the Service (performance of our contract with you): create accounts, take and manage Bookings, process payments, refunds and credit, send booking confirmations, balance reminders, and notifications, and run community features.
• For safety and trust (legitimate interests and legal obligations): verify Providers, screen uploads for malware and unsafe images, handle reports, prevent fraud and abuse, and enforce our Community Standards.
• To provide features you ask for: translate a chat message when you tap "Translate," identify a marine species from a photo you submit, and answer searches and community questions.
• For legal, tax, and accounting compliance.
• To improve the Service (with your consent, for analytics): understand how features are used.
• Marketing: only with your consent where the law requires it. You can opt out of marketing email at any time with the unsubscribe link.

4. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell your personal data, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising.

• With the Provider you book: the details it needs to deliver your dive — your name, contact details, party size, dates, notes, and payment status. If the Provider uses DiveConnect.ai to run its shop, your booking is synced to the Provider's DiveConnect.ai workspace. The Provider handles that data as an independent controller.
• With other users: what you choose to make public on your profile, posts, reviews, and dive log, according to your visibility settings.
• With our service providers (subprocessors) listed in Section 5, who process data on our behalf under contract.
• For legal reasons: where required by law or valid legal process, or to protect the safety of any person.
• In a business transfer: in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, subject to this policy.

Text-messaging originator opt-in data and consent are not shared with any third parties except the SMS provider that delivers our messages.

5. Service Providers (Subprocessors)

6. International Data Transfers

We are based in the United States and our service providers process data in the United States and other countries. Providers you book may be anywhere in the world, and the booking details they need are sent to them there. Where the GDPR or UK GDPR applies, we rely on the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses (and the UK addendum) or another lawful transfer mechanism.

7. Your Rights and Choices

• Everyone: you can view and update your account information in your profile, change your profile visibility, withdraw analytics consent from the "Cookie preferences" link in the footer (website) or Settings → Privacy → Usage analytics (mobile apps), turn off push notifications, unsubscribe from marketing email, and delete your account.
• EEA/UK (GDPR): you can access, correct, erase, restrict, and port your personal data, object to processing based on legitimate interests, withdraw consent at any time, and complain to your local data-protection authority.
• California (CCPA/CPRA) and other U.S. states: you can know, access, correct, and delete your personal information, and you will not be discriminated against for doing so. We do not sell or share personal information as those laws define it, and we do not use sensitive personal information for purposes that would require an opt-out.

To exercise any right, email privacy@diveconnect.io. We will verify your request and respond within 30 days (or the period your law requires).

8. Deleting Your Account

You can delete your account in the app (Account → Delete Account) or on the website (Profile → Settings), or by emailing us. What is deleted, what is kept, and how long it takes are explained on Deleting Your Account.

9. Security & Retention

We use administrative, technical, and physical safeguards — including encryption in transit, access controls, and row-level security on our database — though no method of transmission or storage is completely secure. We keep personal data while your account is open and as long as needed for the purposes above. After you delete your account, we keep only what we must (for example payment and refund records held by Stripe, tax and accounting records, records of SMS consent and opt-outs, and security or audit logs) for as long as the law or the purpose requires. Uploaded images that fail our safety screening are deleted and never published.

10. Children's Privacy

The Service is for adults 18 and older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe a minor has given us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy. We will post the new version here and update the "Last Updated" date, and we will notify you of material changes by email or in the app.

12. Contact Us

Dive Connect, LLC
7901 4th St N, Ste 27295
St Petersburg, FL 33702, USA
Privacy requests: privacy@diveconnect.io
Support: support@diveconnect.io