Privacy policy

Who we are

FishGauge is an app and website that helps anglers photograph, measure and log their catches, and take part in fishing competitions. It is run by Swell Technology Limited ("FishGauge", "we", "us").

This policy explains what personal information we collect, why, who can see it, and what you can do about it. It follows the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020.

Our privacy officer is Paul Olson. You can reach them at info@fishgauge.co.nz.

What we collect

When you create an account

• Your email address and a password. The password is handled by our sign-in provider and stored in a scrambled form; we never see it.
• If you sign in with Google or Apple (coming soon), the name and email address that service gives us.

Details you choose to give us

• A display name, if you set one.
• Your full name, address and phone number, if you enter them in Entry details. Club competitions need your full name and address before you can join.

Your catches

• The photo of each catch. We keep a copy up to 1400 pixels wide. That copy carries no location.
• The full-size original photo, unless you turn off Send full-size originals to FishGauge in Settings (it is on unless you turn it off). We remove its location before sending it. The camera's make and model and the time the photo was taken stay in the file.
• The species, the length the app read from the mat, the length you confirmed or typed, and an estimated weight.
• When the fish was caught. This is the time stored in the photo, or the time you added the catch.
• Where it was caught: the photo's GPS location, or your phone's location if you have already allowed the app to use it. We look up a nearby place name from it. The app never asks for your location just to save a catch.
• Anything you add: technique, bait, weather, tide, notes, and whether you released or kept the fish.

How the app measured and identified it

• A record of how your phone read the mat: the numbers it read, where it found the tail, how long each step took, and whether it asked you to take another photo.
• The species the app suggested, and a numerical summary of the photo (a list of numbers, not a picture). The app suggests a species by comparing the summary with a set of checked photos that comes with FishGauge; the summaries of your own catches only help it hold back a suggestion it is unsure of.
• The make and model of the camera that took the photo, and the type of browser or phone software you used.

Competitions

• The competitions you are invited to, join, organise or judge, and your role in each.
• Your entries, any judge's ruling on them, and the results once they are published.
• A history of what happened in each competition (for example, who joined, which fish were ruled and when results were published). The history cannot be edited.

Notifications

• If you turn on notifications, the address your browser gives us for sending them, with the keys that encrypt them. If your browser tells us the address no longer works, we delete it.

On your phone or computer

• Your sign-in, your settings, and catches that have not been sent yet (with their photos) are kept in your browser's own storage on that device. While Send full-size originals is on, the 40 most recent originals are also kept there.
• We do not use cookies. We use no advertising or tracking tools.

Technical logs

• The services that host FishGauge keep technical logs, such as the internet address a request came from and the browser that sent it, to run and secure the service. They keep them for no more than a week.

How we use your information

We use it to:

• measure your catches, suggest the species and estimate the weight;
• keep your logbook, personal bests and catch details;
• run the competitions you enter: boards, judging, results and notifications;
• look up the weather, tide and a place name for a catch;
• check and improve how accurately FishGauge measures fish and recognises species. To do this we look at catches, photos and the app's measurement records;
• help you when you contact us, and keep FishGauge secure;
• meet our legal obligations.

We do not sell your information, and we do not show advertising.

The app never sends your photos to an artificial intelligence (AI) service. The species and measurement models run on your own phone. When we check and improve FishGauge, we may use AI tools to help us look at catches and photos.

Who can see your information

You

You can see everything you have added: your catches, photos and details.

Other people in your competitions

• Members of a competition (anglers and approved judges) see the fish that count on its boards: your name as the board shows it, the species, the length, when the fish was caught, and its photo. They never see where you caught it, your notes, your bait or technique, or the weather and tide.
• Your name on a board is your display name. If you haven't set one, it is your first name and the first letter of your surname from Entry details, or from your Google or Apple sign-in. If none of those exists, it is the part of your email address before the @.
• Judges see a catch's photo, species and times when it needs a ruling. They do not see your name or the lengths while judging.
• Organisers of a club competition see what members see. They also see the entry details of the people in their competition: full name, address, phone and email. They can download them as a list.
• People you have fished with (in earlier competitions) see your name when they start a mates comp and choose who to invite.
• Anyone with an invitation link can see the name of the person who made the competition, so they know who invited them.
• Published results stay as the competition's record, with your name and your fish. See "When you delete your account" below.

FishGauge

People who run FishGauge (administrators) can see accounts and catches, including locations and photos. We do this to support you, check how accurately the app measures, rule on lengths, and look after the service.

Companies that help us run FishGauge

• Supabase stores our database, photos and sign-ins. The database is in Sydney, Australia.
• Vercel hosts the app and website. It is a United States company.
• OpenStreetMap's place-name service (Nominatim) receives a catch's coordinates to find a nearby place name. For places that match our own built-in list of New Zealand places, it is not used.
• Open-Meteo receives a catch's approximate location (to about 100 metres) and date to look up the weather.
• NIWA will receive a catch's location to look up the tide, once that feature is switched on.
• Your browser's notification service (for example Apple's, Google's or Mozilla's) delivers notifications. The content is encrypted on its way there.
• Google and Apple handle the sign-in if you choose to sign in with them.
• When you share an invitation by WhatsApp or text message, that service carries the message.

We may also share information if the law requires it.

How long we keep it

• Your account and catches: until you delete them, or delete your account.
• A catch you delete: removed with its photos. A catch whose length FishGauge has reviewed is kept, but hidden from every screen and every board.
• Rulings and competition history: kept, because they record how competitions were decided.
• Published competition results: kept as the competition's record, with your name and fish.
• Weather and tide lookups: kept by area and hour, not linked to you.
• Backups: our database provider keeps daily backup copies for up to 7 days.

When you delete your account

You can delete your account in the app: Settings › Your account › Delete my account. This removes your photos, your catches, your entry details, your profile and your sign-in.

Some records stay, without your contact details:

• Published results of competitions you entered keep your name and your fish. They are the competition's historic record, and you agree to this when you enter a competition.
• Rulings and competition history keep the record of what happened.
• A catch FishGauge has reviewed for measurement accuracy keeps its species, length and time, without its photo, location or notes.

Your rights

• See your information. Your catches are in the app, and you can download them as a spreadsheet file (Settings › Your account). For anything else we hold about you, email us.
• Correct it. Edit your catches and details in the app, or email us.
• Delete it. Delete a catch, or your whole account, in the app.
• Complain. Contact our privacy officer first. If you're not satisfied, you can complain to the Privacy Commissioner: www.privacy.org.nz.

Keeping your information safe

• Everything travels encrypted.
• The database lets each person read only their own information, except what this policy says others can see.
• Links to photos stop working within an hour.

If a privacy breach is likely to cause someone serious harm, we will tell the people affected and the Privacy Commissioner, as the law requires.

Children

FishGauge is for people aged 13 and over. Younger anglers may use FishGauge with a parent's or guardian's permission.

Changes to this policy

When we change this policy, we will update the date below. If a change matters, we will tell you in the app before it takes effect.

Contact

Email info@fishgauge.co.nz, or write to 14 Konini Crescent, Waikanae Beach, Waikanae 5036.

Last updated: 17 October 2026.