Summary
Helm Aware does not transmit, sell or share personal data. Location, speed, course, trip, alarm, anchor and Man Overboard data is processed locally on your iPhone. The app uses no account, advertising, analytics or tracking.
1. App provider
Helm Aware is provided by Jonas Hedberg. Privacy questions can be submitted through GitHub Issues.
2. Information the app uses
When you grant location permission, iOS may provide position, timestamp, horizontal accuracy, GPS-derived speed and speed accuracy, plus course over ground and course accuracy.
Helm Aware uses these measurements locally for current, maximum and average speed, GPS status, course, trip distance and time, the rolling 60-minute history, speed alert, course alarm, anchor alarm, and the Man Overboard marker and return guidance.
3. Live Activity and background location
If you explicitly enable Live Activity, iOS shows only current speed and the selected unit on the Lock Screen and, on compatible iPhone models, Dynamic Island. Coordinates, course, trip data, alarm status, anchor position and Man Overboard position are not included in Live Activity.
To keep current speed updated, Helm Aware may continue receiving location updates in the background while Live Activity is active. If a trip is active, active time and accepted distance may also continue updating locally. Background updates end when Live Activity is disabled or ended.
Information shown on the Lock Screen may be visible to people with physical access to your iPhone.
4. No network transmission or tracking
Helm Aware contains no feature that sends measurement or safety data to the developer or a third party. It uses no advertising, analytics, tracking, accounts, login, cloud sync or third-party SDKs. Live Activity is updated locally and uses no external push server.
5. Local storage
The following may be stored in the app’s private local settings:
- selected speed unit and main-screen display choices,
- GPS smoothing and cockpit appearance,
- speed-alert state and threshold,
- course-alarm state, target course and tolerance,
- anchor-alarm state, locally stored anchor coordinate and radius,
- locally stored Man Overboard marker coordinate and timestamp,
- maximum and average speed plus the state used to calculate the average,
- speed history from the latest 60 minutes,
- active-trip status, distance and accumulated time.
The app does not retain the continuously changing GPS position as a route or location history. Coordinates for an active anchor alarm or Man Overboard marker may, however, be stored locally until you clear them. This data is not synced to an account or external server.
6. Deletion and retention
The rolling history is continuously limited to the latest 60 minutes. You can clear history, reset maximum and average speed, clear the anchor, and mark a Man Overboard event as resolved or clear its marker. Deleting the app causes iOS to remove its local settings and measurements.
7. Location permission and your choices
You can deny, limit or revoke location access at any time under Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services → Helm Aware. You can also turn off Precise Location. Without usable location access, the app cannot measure live speed, course or trip distance and cannot provide current anchor or Man Overboard guidance.
You choose whether Live Activity, the speed alert, course alarm and anchor alarm are enabled and whether a Man Overboard position is stored.
8. Alarms, sound and haptics
The speed, course and anchor alarms compare local GPS measurements with your settings. When a threshold is crossed, the app may play a local sound and provide haptic feedback. These alarms are evaluated for sound/haptics while the app is active. No alarm information is sent off the device.
9. Children’s privacy
The app requires no account and transmits no personal data. It is not designed to collect information from children or other users.
10. Security
Keeping measurement and safety data on the device reduces exposure. You are responsible for your device passcode, iOS updates, Lock Screen settings and other device security controls.
11. Apple services
Apple and iOS manage system location permission, Live Activities, Dynamic Island, sound, haptics and local device storage under Apple’s own terms and privacy policies.
12. Changes to this policy
This policy may be updated if the app’s features or data practices change. The latest update date is shown at the top of this page.
13. Contact
Privacy questions: GitHub Issues