Slowsea (漫海) is an app developed and operated by an individual developer (“we”, “us”). This policy explains what data we handle, why, where it is stored, how long we keep it, and what you can do about it. We only describe what the app actually does.
In short
You can start without signing up or giving a name. We don’t ask for access to your contacts, photos, microphone, or location. There are no ads, and we don’t track you across other apps.
Data we handle
The first time you open Slowsea, the app gets an anonymous identifier from Google Firebase. It stands for your raft. The following data is linked to that identifier and stored in the cloud:
Data
Why
Anonymous identifier
So your raft is still there next time you open the app
Your raft’s position and speed on the virtual sea
A position in the game world — not your real-world location
The station you’re tuned to and when you last opened the app
So people drifting nearby can see a light on
Letters you send and receive, delivery records, your responses to letters, and who you correspond with
To deliver letters and keep your logbook
Private names you give the people you write to, blocks, and ended connections
So they come with you to a new phone. The other person never finds out
Your raft’s look, stations you’ve found, and settings that can be restored
So you can pick up where you left off on a new phone
The Apple or Google sign-in you choose to link
To bring the same raft to a new phone (see “Linking Apple or Google”)
A push notification token for your device
Used only to tell you that someone wrote back
Feedback and requests you send us: the message, its category, and any email you provide
To reply, and to handle account recovery and deletion. General feedback doesn’t require an email
Content safety decisions, reports, and enforcement records
To prevent harassment and abuse
Technical reports of playback success or failure (station, time, platform, error type)
To find out which station is broken. No letter content
Counts of letters sent and requests made
To prevent spam and abuse
We handle this data to provide Slowsea itself, to keep people safe, and to reply when you contact us.
What a letter contains
A letter to a stranger contains nothing you typed yourself. It is one line you choose from sentences we have written, plus context the app adds automatically: the distance across the virtual sea, the station you’re listening to, the in-game weather, the time of day, and the stretch of sea.
Only after you and someone have written to each other can you add a short line of your own (up to 30 characters) in a reply. That line is stored on our servers and delivered to the other person, and:
It is checked automatically before delivery: first by rules that look for contact details and links, then by OpenAI’s content moderation service for things like harassment and threats. When the system isn’t sure, the operator looks before deciding. A letter that is stopped is not delivered.
The other person can report or block you, and you can report or block them. Reports come to us.
Once sent, it can’t be taken back.
Access by the operator
A letter addressed to someone reaches only that person; a letter set adrift can reach several people. Neither is “readable only by you and the recipient.”
The operator may read the letters involved when handling a report, when you ask us for help, during account recovery, for content safety checks, and when investigating a specific problem. Every access and action is logged. We never use your letters for advertising, for training AI models, or for promotion.
Linking Apple or Google
Linking is optional, and it has one purpose: bringing the same raft to a new phone.
Google: the sign-in service (Firebase Authentication) receives your Google account identifier and email address from Google, along with the name and profile photo Google provides.
Apple: the account identifier Apple provides. If you choose to hide your email, we only receive Apple’s relay address.
We use this only to recognize that it is the same person. We don’t use it to email you (unless you write to us first), show it to other users, use it for advertising, sell it, or share it with third parties.
Slowsea’s use and transfer of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements.
It is deleted along with your account.
What we don’t collect
No access to your contacts, photos, microphone, or location.
Sunrise and sunset in the game are estimated from your device’s time zone. We don’t read GPS.
No advertising identifiers (IDFA/AAID), no ads, and no tracking across other apps.
We don’t currently use any third-party analytics. If that changes, we’ll update this page first.
Please don’t put passwords, verification codes, or payment details in feedback. The form has no fields for them.
Notifications
Slowsea sends two kinds of notifications. Reminders such as a letter from the lighthouse or passing a landmark are scheduled on your phone. “Someone wrote back” is sent by our server through Apple’s or Google’s push service. Notifications never include the text of a letter.
We don’t ask for notification permission the moment you open the app, and you can turn notifications off in your system settings at any time.
Radio streams
The stations in the app are provided by broadcasters around the world. When you play one, your phone connects directly to that station’s server, which may see your IP address, just as when you visit a website. Each station’s privacy practices are outside our control.
Storage and service providers
Google Firebase (authentication, database, cloud functions, push). Data is stored in Google’s data center in Taiwan (asia-east1). Google Privacy Policy
Apple Push Notification service: used only to send “someone wrote back.”
Cloudflare and Gmail (email): mail sent to hello@slowsea.app is forwarded by Cloudflare to our Gmail inbox, and we reply from there.
OpenAI (content moderation): only the short line you wrote yourself in a reply is sent, without who you are or who it’s to, and only to decide whether it can be delivered. It is processed on OpenAI’s servers in the United States. Under OpenAI’s API data policy, content sent through the API is not used to train its models by default. OpenAI Privacy Policy
How long we keep data
Your raft and related data: until you ask us to delete it. Uninstalling the app or not opening it for a long time doesn’t delete anything — your raft stays at sea.
Feedback and requests: 180 days after the case is closed.
Reports, enforcement records, and necessary evidence of abuse: up to one year after the matter is closed.
Records of operator access and actions: up to one year.
Playback technical reports: up to 90 days.
Children
Slowsea is not designed for children and is rated 17+ in the app stores. We don’t knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child is using Slowsea, please email us and we will delete the related data.
Your rights and deletion
Under Taiwan’s Personal Data Protection Act, you may ask us to let you access or review your personal data, give you a copy, supplement or correct it, stop processing it, or delete it. Email hello@slowsea.app.
How to delete your account is described on the Delete your account page. You can ask from inside the app or without installing it. After deletion:
Your raft, linked sign-in, settings, private names, and blocks are deleted, and letters not yet delivered stop being delivered.
Letters already delivered to someone else stay in their logbook in de-identified form — they are what that person received. We can’t delete copies already saved on someone else’s phone.
The necessary records listed under “How long we keep data” are kept for the periods stated there and then deleted.
Changes
If we make a significant change, we’ll let you know in the app and update the effective date on this page.
