Ship Lens — Privacy Policy

Last updated: 9 June 2026

Ship Lens is a Chrome extension and backend service that lets you look up AIS vessel positions and ask questions about ships in natural language. This policy explains what we collect, why, and who we share it with.

Information we collect

• Account information. If you sign in with Google, we receive your Google account identifier and email address. We use these to identify your account and apply your subscription tier.
• Usage and rate-limiting data. For users who are not signed in, we use your IP address to apply anonymous usage limits. We also record per-user daily lookup counts to enforce quotas.
• Queries. The vessel names, MMSI numbers, and chat messages you submit are processed to answer your request.
• Feedback. If you send feedback or a bug report, we store your message, your browser's user-agent string, and an email address if you choose to provide one.
• Billing. If you subscribe to a paid tier, payment is handled by Stripe. We do not receive or store your card details.

How we use information

• To resolve vessel names and return position and tracking data.
• To authenticate you and apply the correct subscription tier and quotas.
• To prevent abuse and control the cost of upstream paid APIs.
• To respond to feedback and fix bugs.

Third-party services

To provide the service, your queries may be shared with:

• OpenAI — chat messages are sent to OpenAI to power the natural-language assistant.
• VesselAPI — vessel names and identifiers are sent to retrieve live AIS positions.
• Google — used to verify your identity when you sign in.
• Stripe — used to process subscription payments.

Each provider handles data under its own privacy policy.

Data retention

Vessel positions returned to you are cached and stored to build position history and reduce repeat lookups. Account, usage, and feedback records are retained while your account is active or as needed to operate the service.

Your choices

You can use core lookups without signing in. To request access to, or deletion of, data associated with your account, contact us at the address below.

Children

Ship Lens is not directed to children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect their personal information.

Changes

We may update this policy. Material changes will be reflected by the date at the top of this page.

Contact

Questions about this policy? Email squadran2003@gmail.com.

Ship Lens