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Last updated 4 October 2026. This is the same policy shown inside the app under Menu → Instructions → Privacy Policy.
Your data stays on your boat. SteadyHelm doesn't have a server, there's no account or sign-in, and nothing leaves your phone unless you choose to send it. Everything the app measures is processed on your device, for your eyes only, until you decide otherwise.
What the app reads from your device: motion & orientation sensors (accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer), required for the app's core purpose of measuring Roll, Pitch, Compass heading, Vibration, and the estimated Heave/Yaw/Surge/Sway readings — the magnetometer is used only to calculate the Compass heading, the same way any phone compass works; the microphone, used only to analyse ambient hull/engine noise frequency for the Acoustic reading — audio is processed instantly on-device and discarded, never recorded, saved, or transmitted; and location, used only if you turn on Anchor Watch, to measure how far the boat has moved from the anchor point you set and to include the boat's position in your alert messages — off by default and not used for anything else.
Where your data is stored: logs — the ones you record yourself, and the automatic 4-hour record kept while Listing Alert or Anchor Watch is on — are saved as files in SteadyHelm's own storage on your phone. Logs contain motion readings and alert status only, never your location or any audio. Like your other apps' data, they're included in your phone's own backups (iCloud or computer) if you have those turned on. They stay on your phone unless you choose to export one as a CSV and share it yourself, using your device's own Share sheet.
How long your data is kept, and how to delete it: Logs you record, and the recordings saved when an alert goes off, stay on your phone until you delete them. To delete one, open Menu → Logbook and tap Delete. The automatic 4-hour record deletes its own older parts as it goes, so it never holds more than the last 4 hours. Your Telegram bot token and chat ID stay on your phone until you tap Clear Telegram Settings. Deleting SteadyHelm from your phone deletes all of its data, apart from copies in your phone's backups and anything you have exported or sent yourself.
Listing Alert and Anchor Watch are optional features, included with SteadyHelm. Listing Alert watches your boat's tilt for a persistent lean that could mean water ingress, an uneven load, or running aground. Anchor Watch uses your phone's location to check whether the boat has moved away from the anchor point you set. Anchor Watch can keep running in the background while enabled, even with the screen locked, and Listing Alert keeps running alongside it. On its own, Listing Alert only works while SteadyHelm is open on screen, and keeps the screen on while enabled. Turning on Anchor Watch is the only way this app reads your location. It's used on your device, and the only time it leaves your phone is inside an alert message sent to your own Telegram bot, if you've set that up — as the boat's position with map links — never anywhere else. Both features can sound an on-device alarm, and you can optionally connect your own Telegram bot (created through Telegram's own BotFather, using your own Telegram account, not ours) so an alert message reaches you even if you're not looking at the app. If you set this up, the bot token and chat ID you provide are stored only on your device, and an alert message is sent directly from your phone to Telegram using your own bot — SteadyHelm has no server of its own in that path, and no message is sent unless an alert actually triggers and you've turned Telegram alerts on. If SteadyHelm stops monitoring while an alert is on, this phone can show a "SteadyHelm has stopped monitoring" notification — it's scheduled on the phone itself, with no server involved.
Telegram: Telegram is a separate company. If you turn on Telegram alerts, each alert message goes straight from your phone to Telegram and is delivered to your own chat. The message contains the alert details and, if Anchor Watch is on, the boat's position with map links. During setup, SteadyHelm also asks Telegram for your bot's name and your chat ID. Once a message reaches Telegram, it is handled under Telegram's own privacy policy (telegram.org/privacy), and it stays in your chat until you delete it there. SteadyHelm never sends your logs or any audio to Telegram.
What SteadyHelm doesn't do: no account or sign-in of any kind; no analytics, tracking, or advertising services; no data sold to anyone, ever; nothing shared with a third party except when you choose to export or send it, or turn on the optional Telegram alert described above; and no location data collected unless you turn on Anchor Watch.
One purchase, nothing further to buy. SteadyHelm is a single one-time purchase through the App Store — there's no subscription, no in-app purchase, and no "Pro" unlock to buy later. Every feature described above, including Listing Alert and Anchor Watch, is included in that one purchase, handled entirely through Apple's own purchase system — SteadyHelm never sees or stores your payment details.
Children's privacy: SteadyHelm is a marine instrument tool, not directed at children, and does not knowingly collect information from anyone.
Changes to this policy: If SteadyHelm's data practices ever change, this policy will be updated, both here in the app and at steadyhelm.github.io/privacy.
Questions about this policy? Reach out at steadyhelm@icloud.com.