PRIVACY POLICY: WRAS PILOT APP
Introduction and Background
Your submission of personal information through the WhaleReport Alert System (WRAS) is governed by Ocean Wise Conservation Association’s Privacy Policy. Privacy is important to Ocean Wise Conservation Association (Ocean Wise) and we take care to process personal data in accordance with applicable data protection laws and our contractual obligations. Please take the time to read this Privacy Policy and the Terms and Conditions to understand how the WRAS Pilot App secures personal data, why and how Ocean Wise processes, shares and secures personal data, and to learn more about your rights and preferences.
In this Policy, “Ocean Wise,” “we,” “us” and “our” each means Ocean Wise Conservation Association. The “WhaleReport Alert System” refers to both the WRAS Pilot App and the WRAS Desktop Interface.
Personal Information
When you set up a WRAS account, we will collect and securely store your personal information (name, professional affiliation, email and phone number) so that we can:
a) Set up and manage your personal WRAS account. The email and password provided will be securely stored and will be used by you to log into the WRAS Pilot app and the WRAS Desktop Interface.
b) Identify you as a marine professional or government official who is eligible for a WRAS account. Only marine professionals on large commercial vessels (tugs, freighters, ferries, cruise ships) or government officials are allowed access to the WRAS. Your professional email, along with your professional affiliation, allows us to easily identify you as someone who is eligible for a WRAS account, and allows us to send you information on how to use the WRAS.
c) Identify which marine groups are using the WRAS. We will use information about your professional affiliation to track which marine organizations are using the WRAS for internal research and product development.
d) Send you notifications of whale presence within 10 nautical miles of your location via SMS text. In order for the WRAS to send users alerts of whales in their vicinity, the WRAS Pilot app tracks mobile users’ locations when you are logged in to the app and tracking is activated. This app collects location data to enable the identification of reported whale locations within 10 nautical miles of your current location and subsequently send you an SMS text message alerting you to the presence of the whale(s) to enable mitigating actions as required. For more information about how we use your location data and background polling, please refer to the Location Data and Background Polling section below.
e) Send occasional updates about the WRAS or its associated systems via email, SMS text, or push notifications. By registering for a WRAS account, you are providing us with your implied or express consent to communicate with you about the WRAS. We will not contact you for any promotional/fundraising reasons. We respect your privacy and you may withdraw your consent and unsubscribe at any time. To unsubscribe from WRAS-related emails, please email [email protected] and type “unsubscribe” in the subject line.
If you have any questions or concerns about how your personal information is used, please email us at [email protected]
Location Data and Background Polling
In order for the WhaleReport Alert System to send you alerts of whales in your vicinity, the WRAS Pilot app tracks mobile users’ locations when you are logged in to the app and tracking is activated. This app collects location data to enable the identification of reported whale locations within 10 nautical miles of your current location and subsequently send you an alert to enable mitigating actions as required. Location data is stored on a secure server and may be used by Ocean Wise researchers to understand the efficacy of the WhaleReport Alert System, but will be anonymized to ensure user privacy. Your personal location data will never be shared with any third parties and will not be visible to other WRAS users or on any other platforms. This app collects location data even when the app is closed or not in use. To stop the collection of location data, the user must select “Stop transmitting” on the app home screen. Users should always start and stop tracking at the beginning and end of each trip to ensure location data are not being collected outside of the user’s need for the WhaleReport Alert System during marine operations.
If you do not wish to share your location data but still wish to receive WRAS alerts, you can use the WRAS Desktop Interface. Please email [email protected] for more information.
What you need to know about Consent
By providing personal information to us, you allow “deemed” consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your information in accordance with this policy. When you provide contact information to us to set up a WRAS account, we may contact you occasionally using that information to provide you with updates about the WhaleReport Alert System project, including but not limited to app updates, project advancements, and milestones.
Updating your Consent
We respect your right to control your personal information — please contact us immediately if you want us to stop using it in any particular way. We will fulfill your request in the timeliest way possible. To unsubscribe from WRAS-related emails, please email [email protected] and type “unsubscribe” in the subject line. Upon reasonable request and notice, you may view and have corrections made to the personal
information we hold about you, subject to any legal or contractual restrictions. If you are aware of any inaccuracies in the personal information, we hold about you or to remove all of your information from our databases, please contact [email protected]
How we Keep your Information Secure
We endeavour to maintain appropriate physical, procedural and technical safeguards for your personal information. Some information we collect may be stored and processed on servers located outside your jurisdiction of residence, including outside your country. As a result, this information may be subject to disclosure to governments, courts or law enforcement agencies in those areas, according to their laws,
without notice to us or you.
Information we Share
We do not give, rent, or sell personal information.
We may use the personal information provided to send occasional updates about the WRAS or its associated systems via email, SMS text, or push notifications. In some cases, we will use a third-party to send out our emails. The third-party services that we use have resources dedicated to maintaining security and confidentiality, and we ensure that any third-party partner has written policies about never sharing your information with anyone other than Ocean Wise. In order to communicate with you, we may work with external organizations to help us with our communications or to contact you on our behalf. We only work with organizations that have comprehensive security and confidentiality policies, including written policies to safeguard your information properly and only use it for the purpose specified by us; they are not permitted to use or share your information with anyone other than Ocean Wise.
Policy Updates and Changes
We may change this policy from time to time without notice. Changes will be reflected on this page.
Need more information?
For further information, please contact [email protected]
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
By downloading the WRAS Pilot App and using the WRAS Desktop Interface, you agree to be bound by the following terms and conditions. Please read these conditions of use carefully before using the WhaleReport Alert System.
Accuracy, completeness, and Timeliness of Information
Ocean Wise© Conservation Association will not be held responsible if alerts generated by the WhaleReport Alert System are not accurate, complete, or current. The alerts generated by the WhaleReport Alert System are based on opportunistic observations by the public. Absence of an alert in an area does not mean that whales are absent. As such, alerts should not be relied upon or used as the sole basis for making decisions and the user is responsible for maintaining vigilance at all times on the water. Any reliance on the WhaleReport Alert System is at the risk of the user.
Eligibility and Intentions of Use
The WhaleReport Alert System is intended for the use of commercial mariners. Permission for other uses will be made on a case-by-case basis. Other potential users of the WhaleReport Alert System may include:
- Environmental consultants acting as Marine Mammal Observers for development, construction, or other projects in which physical or acoustic disturbance of cetaceans is a possibility.
- Personnel involved in response and clean-up of marine environmental incidents and spills.
- Military personnel involved in planning and executing operations and test exercises.
- Other marine mammal research or incident response.
The WhaleReport Alert System and associated alerts should not be made available to the public and should only be used for the purposes of avoiding cetaceans to reduce potential physical or acoustic disturbance on these animals. Misuse of the WhaleReport Alert System, including but not limited to forwarding personal passwords, using the system to target cetaceans for viewing, or publicizing or otherwise sharing reported whale locations with unauthorized individuals or organizations, will result in termination of access.
Restricting Access or Terminating Accounts
Ocean Wise reserves the right to deny access to the WRAS and/or suspend your account immediately if:
- You are not eligible for a WRAS account (see Eligibility and Intentions of Use, above).
- Real-time whale location information, obtained via the WRAS, is made available to the public or provided to unauthorized parties.
- Your account information is forwarded to a user who is not authorized by Ocean Wise to have access to WRAS information.
- Ocean Wise has good reason to believe that the personal information provided is fraudulent or inaccurate.
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