Privacy Policy

Last updated: August 14, 2026

BaitVibe LLC (“BaitVibe,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), a Massachusetts Limited Liability Company, operates the website baitvibe.com (the “Site”), the BaitVibe mobile application for iOS and Android (the “App”), and the related bait-recommendation, tackle-planning, and e-commerce services offered through them (together, the “Services”). This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use and share it, and the choices you have.

By using the Services, you agree to the collection and use of information as described here. If you do not agree, please do not use them.

Two things worth knowing up front. BaitVibe uses artificial intelligence to generate bait recommendations, guides, tackle suggestions, and chat assistance; information you enter into those features is sent to a third-party AI provider. And the App and the Site do not collect the same things — the App contains no analytics or advertising trackers of any kind. Both are explained below.

1. Who We Are

BaitVibe LLC is the data controller responsible for your information. For any privacy question or request, contact us at hello@baitvibe.com.

2. Information We Collect

Information you provide directly

  • Search and planning inputs. When you use Find Your Bait, Build Your Tackle Box, the Tide Planner, the Trip Planner, or the discovery map, you provide details such as fish species, body of water, town or city, state, fishing method, time of day, date, and budget.
  • Chat assistant messages. Questions and messages you send to our chat assistant on the Site.
  • Account information. If you create an account, we collect your name, email address, username, password (stored in encrypted form), and your saved searches, saved tackle boxes, saved tide plans, your saved fishing area, and preferences.
  • Order and payment information. When you make a purchase, we collect your name, billing and shipping addresses, email, phone number, and order details. Payment card details are entered directly into our payment provider’s secure component and sent from your device or browser to that provider. We never receive, process, or store your full card number, and it does not pass through our servers.
  • Communications. Information you provide when you contact us or sign up for emails.

Information collected automatically

  • Usage and device data. IP address, browser or app version, device information, pages or screens viewed, and interactions with the Services.
  • Location information. Location details you type in — a town, state, body of water, or ZIP code — and coordinates we derive from them so we can find the nearest tide station or weather forecast. If you are signed in, the fishing area you type is saved to your account so it is available on your other devices; you can change or clear it at any time.
  • Device location, only if you ask for it (App). The App’s map has a Use my location button. Tapping it asks your phone for permission and, if you allow it, centres the map on your approximate area — roughly your neighbourhood, not your exact position. We never ask for this on our own initiative, only when you tap the button, and the App works fully without it. Your position is used on your device to move the map and is not sent to us or stored. If you would rather not share it, or you decline, you can type a ZIP code instead and the App will centre the map the same way. A ZIP code you type is sent to us, so we can look up its coordinates.
  • Cookies and similar technologies (Site only). See section 7.

Information stored on your device (App only)

The App keeps a small amount of information in your phone’s own storage so it does not have to ask you the same things repeatedly. This stays on your device, is not readable by other apps, and is removed when you uninstall the App:

  • A sign-in token, so you stay signed in between visits. It expires after seven days, and signing out deletes it immediately — on every device signed in to that account, not only the one you are holding.
  • Your fishing area — the town and state you last searched, so the App can open where you fish.
  • Your appearance preference — whether you chose the light or dark theme.
  • Your biometric unlock preference — whether you have turned on Face ID, Touch ID, or fingerprint unlock. This records only your on/off choice.
  • An assistant conversation token, so you can close the App mid-question and come back to the same conversation. It identifies the conversation, not you, and the conversation itself is held on our servers. Starting a new conversation replaces it. Note that signing out does not clear it, so that signing out mid-question does not lose your place — if you are using a shared device and would rather not leave it behind, start a new conversation before you hand the phone over.

3. AI-Powered Features

BaitVibe’s recommendation, guide-generation, tackle-planning, and chat features are powered by third-party artificial intelligence services (currently Anthropic’s Claude API).

  • What is sent. The inputs you provide — species, location, conditions, budget, and chat messages — are transmitted to our AI provider to generate a response, along with relevant product-catalog information.
  • What we do with the results. Generated guides and recommendations may be stored on our servers and reused to serve the same or a similar request efficiently. This means a guide you generate may be viewable by others searching for the same species and location. Please do not enter personal or sensitive information into these features.
  • Third-party processing. Your inputs are processed by the AI provider under its own terms and privacy practices, which we encourage you to review. We do not control, and are not responsible for, that provider’s independent data practices.
  • No professional advice. AI-generated content is for information only and may be inaccurate or incomplete.

4. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

  • Provide, operate, and improve the Services, including generating bait recommendations, guides, tackle boxes, tide and trip plans, and chat responses;
  • Process and fulfil orders, payments, shipping, and returns;
  • Create and manage your account, saved searches, saved tackle boxes, saved tide plans, and saved fishing area;
  • Send transactional messages and, where you have opted in, a weekly email digest and other updates;
  • Track demand and inventory gaps so we can stock what people are actually asking for. We record which recommended items are not currently in stock; this is aggregate operational data and is not used to identify or contact you;
  • Analyse usage to improve performance and content;
  • Detect, prevent, and address fraud, abuse, security issues, and technical problems;
  • Comply with legal obligations.

5. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell your personal information for money. We share information with:

Service providers who perform functions on our behalf:

  • AI provider (Anthropic) — processes your search and chat inputs to generate responses;
  • Mapping and geocoding (Google Maps Platform) — converts the place names you type into coordinates for the map and nearby-spot features. On iOS the App uses Apple Maps rather than Google Maps;
  • Weather and tide data (NOAA, Open-Meteo) — supplies the forecasts and tide predictions the planners are built on. We send only a location; nothing about you is sent with it;
  • Payment processor (Stripe) — processes card payments on the Site and in the App. Your card details go directly to Stripe. Stripe also collects device information and interactions with its payment software, which it uses for fraud prevention and to improve its own products, and processes under its own privacy policy. Where a payment requires additional bank verification, some information may also be sent to your card issuer as part of that check;
  • Shipping and fulfilment providers — fulfil orders;
  • Email delivery provider — sends transactional and digest emails;
  • Hosting, caching, and security providers — operate and protect the Services.
  • Analytics and advertising partners — on the Site only. See section 7.
  • Legal and safety — when required by law, to enforce our terms, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of BaitVibe, our users, or others.
  • Business transfers — in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.

6. The Mobile App

The App and the Site are not the same, and this section says how.

  • The App contains no analytics or advertising trackers. None of the cookies, pixels, or advertising integrations described in section 7 exist in the App. We do not track you across other companies’ apps or websites, and the App contains no software that would allow us to. Our payment provider’s software collects information for fraud prevention and its own product improvement as described in section 5; it is not used for advertising and we do not use it to track you.
  • The App asks for location only when you tap “Use my location” on the map, never on its own, and never on opening. It requests approximate location rather than precise, because it is centring a map rather than navigating. Your position is used on the device and is not transmitted to us. Declining costs you nothing — type a ZIP code instead. Every other part of the App works entirely from what you type.
  • You can pay inside the App. Checkout happens in the App rather than opening a browser. Card details are entered into our payment provider’s own secure component and sent from your device directly to that provider — they are never seen, handled, or stored by BaitVibe. We receive confirmation that a payment succeeded, along with your billing and shipping details and what you ordered.
  • Face ID, Touch ID, and fingerprint unlock are optional. If you turn this on, the App asks your device to confirm it is you before opening your signed-in account. Your face or fingerprint never leaves your phone and is never seen by us or sent anywhere — your device answers only yes or no. The feature protects the sign-in already stored on that phone; it is not a way to sign in, and turning it off changes nothing about your account. If your sensor stops working or you lose your enrolment, you can always sign in with your password instead.
  • The App requests no other device permissions — no camera, microphone, contacts, and no access to your photos.
  • You can delete your account from inside the App. See section 8.

7. Cookies and Tracking — Website Only

Everything in this section applies to the website at baitvibe.com. None of it applies to the mobile App, which contains no analytics or advertising software of any kind.

On the Site we use cookies and similar technologies for essential functions such as your cart and login session, and for analytics and advertising. The following third-party services may set their own cookies or tracking pixels on the website:

  • Google (Site Kit, Google Analytics, Google for WooCommerce) — website analytics and product and advertising integration;
  • TikTok — advertising pixel and commerce integration;
  • Reddit — advertising pixel and commerce integration.

These partners may collect information about your activity on our Site and across other sites over time. You can control cookies through your browser settings, and you may be able to opt out of certain advertising tracking through the partners’ own tools or through industry programmes such as the Digital Advertising Alliance or the Network Advertising Initiative.

8. Your Choices and Rights

Deleting your account

In the App: open the account screen and choose Delete account. You will be asked for your password to confirm, because the action cannot be undone. Deletion happens immediately — it is not a request we process later.

On the website: sign in and use the Delete account option on your account page, or email hello@baitvibe.com from the address on the account.

Either way, your account, saved searches, saved tackle boxes, saved tide plans, saved fishing area, and preferences are permanently deleted. Past orders are kept — we are required to retain transaction records for tax and accounting purposes — but your name, email, and addresses are removed from them, leaving only the anonymous record of the sale.

Other choices

  • Account information. Review and update your details and saved searches by signing in, or by contacting us.
  • Marketing emails. Unsubscribe using the link in any digest or marketing email, or contact us. We will still send transactional messages such as order confirmations.
  • Signing out everywhere. Signing out of the App invalidates every session for that account on all devices, not only the one you are using. Changing your password does the same.
  • Biometric unlock. Turn it off at any time from the account screen in the App, or by removing your enrolment in your device’s own settings.
  • Cookies. Disable cookies in your browser, though some parts of the Site may stop working.

If you are in the European Economic Area or United Kingdom (GDPR)

You have the right to access, correct, delete, restrict, or object to our processing of your personal data, and the right to data portability. Our legal bases for processing include performance of a contract (to provide the Services), your consent (for marketing and certain cookies), our legitimate interests (to operate and improve the Services), and compliance with legal obligations. You may lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority. To exercise your rights, contact hello@baitvibe.com.

If you are a California resident (CCPA/CPRA)

You have the right to know what personal information we collect, to request deletion, to correct inaccurate information, and to opt out of the “sale” or “sharing” of personal information as those terms are defined under California law. We do not sell your personal information for money; however, some advertising cookie activity on the website may be considered “sharing” under California law. The App does not share information for advertising purposes. You may exercise these rights, without discrimination, by contacting hello@baitvibe.com.

9. Data Retention

We retain personal information for as long as needed to provide the Services, fulfil the purposes described in this policy, comply with legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. Generated guides may be retained to serve future requests efficiently; you may request removal of content associated with your account by contacting us. Order records are retained after account deletion as described in section 8, with personal details removed.

10. Security

We use reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect your information. Passwords are stored using one-way encryption and are never readable by us or recoverable in their original form. Card payments are handled by our payment provider rather than on our servers, and we never receive your card number. Sign-in sessions expire automatically and can be revoked from any device. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, however, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

11. Children’s Privacy

The Services are not directed to children under 13 (or the equivalent minimum age in your jurisdiction), and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

12. International Users

We operate from the United States, and your information will be processed and stored in the United States and potentially in other countries where our service providers operate. These countries may have data protection laws different from those in your own. By using the Services, you consent to this transfer.

13. Third-Party Links

The Services may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for their privacy practices, and this policy does not apply to them.

14. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will post the updated version with a new “Last updated” date. Your continued use of the Services after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

15. Contact Us

BaitVibe LLC Email: hello@baitvibe.com