1. About this policy
VesselReady is operated by Bulldog Marine Pty Ltd ("VesselReady", "we", "us" or "our").
This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, hold, use and disclose personal information in connection with VesselReady.
We aim to handle personal information consistently with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles (APPs) where they apply to us, and to apply comparable privacy practices where they do not legally apply.
This policy is intended to be read with our Terms of Use.
2. Personal information we collect
Depending on how you use VesselReady, we may collect and hold:
Account information
- name, email address, phone number and profile image;
- authentication and account identifiers;
- account roles, onboarding status and preferences.
Vessel and ownership information
- vessel name, registration, HIN and technical details;
- ownership, co-owner, skipper and viewer information;
- ownership percentages and invitation information;
- insurer name, policy details and renewal dates;
- vessel storage or mooring information.
Operational and maintenance records
- logbook and trip records;
- engine hours, fuel information, crew or passenger notes and weather notes;
- maintenance history, service schedules, defects, To Dos and parts;
- safety equipment, expiry dates and pre-departure check records;
- bookings, availability and shared-vessel calendar information.
Documents and media
- vessel photographs;
- registration papers, insurance documents, invoices, receipts, survey reports, certificates and other files you upload;
- document categories, expiry dates and sharing history.
Shared costs and contacts
- expense records, receipts, ownership allocations and settlements;
- organisation, contractor and service-provider names and contact details.
Billing information
- Stripe customer and subscription identifiers;
- subscription status, billed-boat quantity, invoice/payment status and billing address information made available to us by Stripe.
VesselReady does not store full card numbers or card security codes. Payment details are entered into and handled by Stripe.
Location information
- GPS coordinates collected while you actively record a trip;
- location data contained in GPX files you choose to import;
- place-name information associated with trip records.
Device and technical information
- browser and device information;
- push-notification subscription identifiers;
- notification settings, time zone and quiet-hour preferences;
- diagnostic and error information;
- IP address and similar technical information that may be processed by hosting, security or third-party services.
Usage analytics
- a random first-party session identifier stored in your browser (not linked to your identity before you sign up);
- the app pages (routes) you visit and key actions such as starting sign-up, adding a first boat or starting checkout;
- coarse device category (mobile, tablet or desktop);
- campaign tags (such as utm_source or utm_campaign) and the domain of the referring website;
- once you are signed in, your account identifier with these events.
We do not use fingerprinting, do not store your IP address in our analytics records, and do not record form contents, document or vessel details, notes or location in analytics. Activity from before you sign up is not attached to your account.
Feedback and support information
- comments and support requests;
- optional screenshots or images;
- the page, browser and screen information associated with submitted feedback.
3. How we collect information
We collect personal information:
- directly from you when you create an account, enter records, upload files, record a trip, subscribe or contact us;
- from other VesselReady users who invite you to a vessel or add information about shared ownership or vessel use;
- from third-party authentication providers when you choose a sign-in option such as Google;
- from Stripe in connection with subscriptions and billing;
- from your device when you choose to use location, push notification or file-upload features;
- from documents you choose to process using optional AI-assisted extraction; and
- from connected services or AI assistants where you expressly authorise the connection.
4. Why we use personal information
We may use personal information to:
- create, authenticate and administer accounts;
- provide vessel-management, maintenance, safety, scheduling, cost-sharing, document and logbook features;
- calculate owner-facing reminders, status indicators and the Boat Health Score;
- process subscriptions and maintain paid access;
- send service, safety, maintenance, billing and account notifications;
- allow vessel owners to invite and manage authorised users;
- carry out document sharing or distribution requested or configured by an authorised user;
- provide trip mapping and place-name features;
- provide optional AI-assisted document extraction;
- respond to support, feedback and privacy requests;
- secure, monitor, diagnose and improve the service;
- detect misuse, fraud or security incidents;
- meet legal, regulatory, accounting and dispute-resolution obligations; and
- with appropriate consent, send marketing communications.
We do not sell personal information to advertisers.
5. Boat Health Score and automated processing
VesselReady uses rules and calculations to create reminders, status indicators, priority levels and a Boat Health Score from information stored about a vessel.
These automated outputs are currently for owner-facing information and organisation. They do not make binding decisions about insurance, underwriting, subscription pricing, vessel access, legal compliance, seaworthiness or safety certification.
If we later introduce automated processing that makes, or is substantially related to making, decisions that could significantly affect an individual's rights or interests, we will update this policy and provide information required by applicable privacy law.
6. Precise location and trip recording
VesselReady does not continuously track your location in the background.
Precise GPS information is collected only when you choose to start trip recording, or when you import a file containing location information. Trip tracks may be saved with your vessel logbook.
When map or place-name features are used, relevant coordinates or map requests may be sent to mapping providers such as OpenStreetMap/Nominatim to display maps or identify nearby place names.
You can choose not to use trip recording or location-based features.
7. AI-assisted document processing
If you choose an AI-assisted feature, relevant document content may be sent to AI-processing services used by VesselReady for that task.
At the date of this policy, these features may use Lovable's AI infrastructure and Google Gemini models to extract or interpret information from documents such as invoices, registration papers and survey reports.
AI processing is optional. AI output may contain errors, and you should verify extracted information before relying on it.
We do not use AI document processing to make binding insurance, safety, eligibility or pricing decisions.
8. Who we disclose information to
We may disclose personal information to the extent reasonably necessary to:
Authorised vessel users
People with access to a shared vessel may see information permitted by their role.
Recipients you choose
If you share a document or configure distribution to an insurer, marina, service provider or other organisation, the relevant material may be disclosed to that recipient.
Service providers
We use service providers for hosting, database and file storage, authentication, payment processing, mapping, push notifications, error reporting and optional AI processing. Current services include Lovable, Stripe, Google services and OpenStreetMap-related services.
Connected AI assistants
If you deliberately connect an external AI assistant through VesselReady's authorised integration, that assistant and its provider may receive information covered by the permissions you approve.
Professional advisers and authorities
We may disclose information to professional advisers, regulators, courts, law-enforcement bodies or other parties where reasonably necessary to comply with law, protect rights or security, respond to legal process, or resolve disputes.
Business transactions
If all or part of the VesselReady business is sold, reorganised or transferred, information may be disclosed to advisers and a purchaser subject to appropriate confidentiality and legal requirements.
9. Overseas disclosures
Some technology and service providers may process or store personal information outside Australia.
Depending on the feature and provider, overseas processing may occur in the United States and other countries in which our service providers operate. The countries involved can change as provider infrastructure changes.
Where applicable, we take reasonable steps required by Australian privacy law in relation to overseas disclosures. We will update this policy where it is practicable to identify material changes to overseas processing locations.
10. Document and media security
Vessel documents, vessel media and feedback attachments are stored in private storage areas by default.
Access is controlled by account and vessel permissions. Where VesselReady creates an external document-sharing link, the link is time-limited. The current standard expiry for document-sharing links is 14 days.
No internet service can guarantee absolute security. We use reasonable technical and organisational safeguards appropriate to the service, but you should also keep copies of important vessel documents and protect your account credentials.
11. Data breaches
We maintain processes to respond to suspected unauthorised access, disclosure or loss of personal information.
Where the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme under the Privacy Act applies and a breach is likely to result in serious harm, we will take the notification steps required by law, including notifying affected individuals and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner where required.
12. Retention
We retain personal information for as long as reasonably necessary to provide VesselReady, administer accounts and subscriptions, maintain security, resolve disputes and meet legal, tax and accounting obligations.
Retention periods vary by type of information. For example:
- active vessel and account records are generally retained while the relevant account or vessel relationship remains active;
- billing and transaction records may be kept for legally required accounting periods;
- security, audit and diagnostic records may be retained for a reasonable period;
- raw first-party analytics events are deleted after 13 months;
- backups may retain deleted information for a limited period until overwritten; and
- records of sharing, consent or legal acceptance may be retained to demonstrate actions taken or permissions given.
We may de-identify information where appropriate instead of deleting it.
13. Access, correction and deletion
You can update some personal information directly in VesselReady.
You may ask us to:
- provide access to personal information we hold about you;
- correct inaccurate or out-of-date personal information; or
- delete personal information or close your account where deletion is appropriate and not prevented by legal, security, accounting or shared-record obligations.
VesselReady does not currently provide a self-service "download all my data" or account deletion button. Requests can be made through the in-app Feedback/Support function or by contacting the Privacy Officer using the details below.
Where another vessel owner controls a shared record, we may need to preserve that record while removing or limiting your personal information where reasonably possible.
14. Cookies, local storage and analytics
VesselReady may use cookies, browser storage and similar technologies that are necessary for authentication, security, preferences and service functionality.
VesselReady uses its own first-party analytics (described in section 2) to understand how visitors find and use the service and to improve it. This uses browser storage for a random session identifier and campaign tags; it is not shared with advertising platforms.
We do not currently use third-party advertising pixels or behavioural advertising trackers in the VesselReady application.
Our hosting and infrastructure providers may process standard operational logs and basic traffic information for security, reliability and service operation.
15. Push notifications and email
If you enable push notifications, a push subscription identifier is provided through your browser or device push service. Depending on your device, this may involve services operated by Google, Apple, Mozilla or another platform provider.
Service and transactional communications may include account, subscription, maintenance, safety, booking or document-related messages.
We will not treat acceptance of the Terms or Privacy Policy as consent to unrelated marketing. If we send commercial electronic messages, we will obtain or rely on consent as permitted by law, identify the sender and provide a functional unsubscribe method as required.
16. Google sign-in and other authentication
If you choose Google sign-in or another third-party authentication option, that provider processes information under its own privacy terms and provides VesselReady with information needed to create or authenticate your account.
You can choose another available sign-in method if you do not want to use Google sign-in.
17. Stripe payments
Subscriptions are processed by Stripe.
Payment card details are provided directly to Stripe rather than stored by VesselReady. We receive information needed to manage the subscription, such as customer and subscription identifiers, payment or invoice status, billing address and tax information.
Stripe processes personal information under its own privacy terms.
18. OpenStreetMap and mapping services
Trip maps may use OpenStreetMap map tiles and Nominatim or related services for place-name lookup.
Using these features may disclose coordinates, IP address and technical request information to those providers. Their handling of information is governed by their own terms and privacy practices.
19. Marketing
We may send marketing only where we have consent or another lawful basis to do so.
You can withdraw marketing consent or unsubscribe at any time using the method in the message. We will process unsubscribe requests in accordance with applicable Australian spam laws.
Turning off marketing does not stop essential service or transactional messages that are necessary to operate your account or subscription.
20. Children
VesselReady accounts are intended for people aged 18 and over.
We do not knowingly invite children to create accounts. Information about passengers or crew should only be recorded where the user has a legitimate reason and authority to do so, and users should avoid recording unnecessary personal information.
21. Complaints
If you believe we have mishandled your personal information, please contact our Privacy Officer.
We will consider the complaint and aim to respond within a reasonable period, generally within 30 days.
If Australian privacy law applies and you are not satisfied with our response, you may be entitled to complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.
22. Changes to this policy
We may update this Privacy Policy as our services, technology or legal obligations change.
We will update the effective date and, where a change is material, take reasonable steps to notify affected users.
23. Contact
Privacy Officer
VesselReady
c/o Bulldog Marine Pty Ltd
140 Clontarf Road
Hamilton Hill WA 6163
Australia
You can also submit a privacy, access, correction or deletion request through the Feedback/Support function in VesselReady.