HOREF LABSHofWave 1.0 · Updated 2 October 2026
Privacy information
This page describes the HofWave app for iPhone and Apple Watch. If the app starts handling data differently, this page will be updated first.
On your devices
Favorites, selected beach, preferences and recent dashboard snapshots are stored on your devices. Location permission is optional and used to arrange nearby beaches. The app does not transmit your location to the marine API; it requests data for a selected catalog beach.
Companion synchronization shares selected settings and beach information between your paired iPhone and Apple Watch. Widgets use the app’s shared local storage.
Marine requests
When you open a beach, the app requests its forecast from our server with the beach identifier; your server request carries ordinary network metadata such as the IP address. The app does not contact forecast providers directly and does not send your location to them. Our server collects forecasts for catalogue beach coordinates on its own schedule. Provider and infrastructure logging may apply.
Closure alerts
Alerts are off until you turn them on in the app. When you do, the app sends our server its Apple push token, the app language and the identifiers of your favourite beaches, so it can notify you when the Ministry of Health closes one of them or lifts the closure. No name, email or location is sent. Messages are delivered through Apple Push Notification service. The stored token and favourites are deleted when you turn alerts off, when Apple reports the token as no longer valid, or after 180 days without renewal. Queued messages are deleted after seven days. Alerts can arrive late and do not replace lifeguards or local notices.
Public data sources
Our server itself fetches public data that contains no information about you: bathing status from the Ministry of Health public beach-status map, sea forecasts generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information, wind forecasts from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0), and historical jellyfish seasonality from the Meduzot Ba’am citizen-science archive (Edelist, Angel & Nakar, CC BY 4.0, doi:10.25607/lverbw). Satellite observations used in research are not a sanitary measurement.
Jellyfish reports
Public submission is currently disabled. The following describes the implemented reporting service that will apply when reporting is enabled.
A report contains the selected beach, sighting level, observation time, submission time and a random report identifier. We do not ask for your name, email, photograph, health information or precise GPS location when you report a sighting. Reports enter a private moderation queue. Only reports approved for display contribute to the public recent-report count; that review does not independently verify the sighting or establish swimming safety.
Abuse prevention
Cloudflare Turnstile processes verification and network information to limit automated submissions. The server sends the verification token and IP address to Cloudflare for validation. We also derive a daily pseudonymous identifier from the IP address, date and a server secret to enforce submission limits. Raw IP addresses and verification tokens are not stored in the HofWave report database. Hosting and security providers may keep their own network logs and use security cookies under their policies. See Cloudflare’s privacy policy.
Report retention and access
Reports, including their daily pseudonymous identifiers, are eligible for deletion 90 days after submission. Moderator decisions, reviewer identifiers and review notes are eligible for deletion 90 days after the decision. Separate daily quota records are eligible for deletion after seven days. Scheduled cleanup performs these deletions; service interruptions may delay cleanup. A newer moderation record can therefore remain after its associated report is removed.
Access to the moderation queue and decisions requires a separate private credential. We do not publish moderation notes or daily pseudonymous identifiers. For a report-related privacy request, contact support@horef.app with the beach and approximate submission time. Without an account or a stored contact address, we may be unable to reliably identify which submission is yours. Do not send passwords or health records.
Research observations
Hidden prospective validation concerns environmental satellite observations and model predictions. It does not require personal health information. Research probabilities are not exposed as swimming-safety advice.
Accounts and tracking
The app has no advertising or analytics SDK and does not require a personal account. It does not use HealthKit. The support website has no analytics script, registration form or newsletter.
Support messages
Emailing support sends the content you choose to include through your email provider and our support mailbox. Do not send passwords, health records or precise location history. Contact us at support@horef.app for questions or deletion requests concerning support correspondence.
Removing local data
Remove saved favorites or uninstall the app on the relevant devices to remove its local data, subject to your device and backup settings. Paired-device copies and backups may need separate removal.