Sea Lawyer Privacy Policy

Effective date: October 5, 2026

Sea Lawyer is an independent reference app. It is not endorsed by, sponsored by, or affiliated with the U.S. Navy, the Department of Defense, the Department of War, or any other government agency.

Scope

This policy covers the public App Store release, version 1.0.7 (build 27). Its public configuration disables Expo update telemetry while retaining the existing public source-status and public-question downloads. The separate earlier-build and private-test sections describe older TestFlight builds, including version 1.0.0 build 26, and private-alpha builds that remain in testing. Their data practices are described separately below.

Short version

Sea Lawyer does not require an account, run ads, sell or rent personal information, or build advertising profiles. In the public App Store version 1.0.7, searches run against the installed library on your device. Sea Lawyer does not upload your search text, saved answers, or local question notes. Saved answers, preferences, and general question notes you deliberately save stay in the app's local storage.

Private test versions may offer Help us find what the library misses?. In those versions, you may separately choose to share screened searches. Sharing is off until you opt in, happens only after you submit a search or tap a suggestion, and can be turned off in the app.

Information stored on your device

The app stores its reference library and may store your saved answers, Quick Draw shortcuts, display and answer preferences, setup acknowledgement, search-sharing choice, cached source-status information, and general unanswered questions you explicitly choose to save. On supported Apple devices, the app may also cache locally verified StoreKit entitlement evidence so a completed Sea Lawyer Plus purchase can be restored or recognized offline.

This local information is used to operate the app on your device. Sea Lawyer does not receive a copy of your saved answers, Quick Draw shortcuts, preferences, or local question notes. Local question notes are separate from optional search sharing and are never sent through the search-demand intake.

You can remove this local information by using an available in-app clear option, clearing the app's data through your device settings, or uninstalling the app. Your operating-system or cloud-backup settings may retain app data according to Apple, Google, or your backup provider's policies.

Help us find what the library misses

The App Store production release does not offer or connect search sharing. The following description applies only to private test versions that explicitly offer this feature and have a connected intake.

This optional feature is available only when the app shows you the choice and its private intake is connected. If you opt in, Sea Lawyer waits until you submit a search or tap an app suggestion. It does not transmit keystrokes, typing pauses, saved answers, local question notes, or payment information.

Before anything is queued, the app normalizes the phrase and automatically rejects searches shaped like operational details, contact information, identifiers, names, addresses, unit identifiers, or sensitive personal cases. Automated screening can miss details, so never type private, medical-case, legal-case, restricted, controlled, or operational information.

The optional upload contains the screened phrase; whether it was typed or suggested; a bounded result type, match quality, and answer or publication count; up to three matching Sea Lawyer receipt identifiers; app and offline-library versions; a local aggregate count; and a random one-use retry identifier. This search-sharing upload does not add a name, email address, account, advertising identifier, or stable app-generated user, device, or session identifier. Separate Expo update requests in private test versions may contain the installation identifier described below.

Unsent search counts are stored on your device. When the app queues or prepares an upload, it removes aggregates whose most recent matching search is more than 14 days old. Repeating a matching search refreshes that period, and data can remain longer while the app is inactive. Turning sharing off stops new uploads and immediately clears every unsent count. The intake service increments daily phrase totals without retaining an individual search-event row. One-use retry identifiers expire after 14 days, below-reporting-threshold counters expire after 14 days, and reportable aggregate demand is retained for up to 90 days. Because no account or stable identifier is attached, maintainers do not have a reliable way to identify or individually delete one person's contribution after it has been combined. A phrase that contains identifying detail could still expose that detail; automated screening is imperfect, so do not enter it.

Combined search demand is visible only to Sea Lawyer's maintainers. It can help decide which missing question needs official research, but popularity never supplies, changes, or verifies an answer. Official public authority and Sea Lawyer's receipt checks still control every answer.

Public information and network requests

App Store version 1.0.7 downloads public source-status and public-question files from GitHub Pages. Source-status downloads occur automatically and when you request a source-status check; public-question downloads occur automatically. These checks help display source dates and warnings; they do not download a new answer library or check every official website. The requests do not include your search text, saved answers or local question notes, and the app does not add an installation identifier. GitHub logs and stores visitor IP addresses for security. This hosting collection occurs even though the downloaded files are public and your searches remain local. Downloading the public question list does not upload your own searches or question notes. Bundled or previously cached information remains available when a download is unavailable. Answer-library updates arrive through the App Store.

Opening an official publication, privacy policy, support page, or another external link connects to that website outside Sea Lawyer. The destination receives normal connection information. GitHub Pages, which hosts this privacy policy and our public status website, logs and stores visitors' IP addresses for security. These user-opened websites have their own privacy practices. GitHub describes its handling of personal data in its privacy statement. GitHub manages the retention of its connection logs under that statement. Apple services and external websites process connection information under their own privacy practices.

Earlier builds and private test versions may download public source-status and question-trend files automatically from GitHub Pages. Those requests do not include search text, saved answers or local question notes, but GitHub retains IP addresses for security. Private tests with enabled search sharing also send the separately described intake request.

App updates and technical information

The public App Store version 1.0.7 does not contact Expo's update service. It does not send Expo an installation identifier, update-use information, or a previous-error report. App updates are distributed through the App Store. This description applies to the public release configuration of version 1.0.7. It does not apply to older TestFlight builds or private-alpha versions with Expo Updates enabled.

Build 26 and private test versions with Expo Updates enabled can contact Expo Application Services (EAS Update). Their requests include app/runtime/update information and a random installation identifier that persists across launches; a device backup may preserve it. Expo uses update requests for delivery and installation, usage and failed-launch statistics. A failed update can cause a subsequent request to include failed-update identifiers and a short previous fatal-error report associated with the installation identifier. These requests are separate from search sharing. Sea Lawyer does not use them for advertising or combine them with searches. Expo's privacy policy describes its processing.

Purchases

On supported Apple devices, Apple processes Sea Lawyer Plus purchases through the App Store and StoreKit. Sea Lawyer may request the localized price, start a purchase, restore purchases, and check whether the entitlement remains valid. Apple services may be contacted when the app opens or returns to the foreground to load product information and check purchase entitlement, as well as when you buy or restore Plus. Sea Lawyer does not receive your payment-card details or Apple Account password. Apple's privacy policy and your App Store settings govern the information Apple processes. Sea Lawyer stores purchase-entitlement evidence locally and does not upload receipts or transaction identifiers to a Sea Lawyer server.

How information is shared

Sea Lawyer does not sell or rent personal information and does not share it for targeted advertising. Version 1.0.7 (build 27) contacts GitHub Pages for automatic public-question downloads and automatic or user-requested source-status checks; GitHub logs visitor IP addresses for security. Apple processes App Store product, purchase and entitlement requests, including checks at launch or foreground return. External sites also process requests when you choose to open them. Earlier builds and private test versions may also use the hosting, Expo update, or optional search-intake services described above. The earlier-build and private-test sections describe the additional services used by those versions.

Official and third-party links

When you choose to open an official source or another external link, it opens outside Sea Lawyer. The destination site receives the normal information associated with a web request and applies its own privacy policy. Sea Lawyer does not control those sites.

Sensitive information and OPSEC

Do not enter or share classified, controlled, restricted, operational, medical-case, personally identifying, or other sensitive information. Do not include movements, schedules, locations, unit readiness, rosters, watch details, names, contact information, or identification numbers. Keep questions general and use only information already released by an official source.

Children

Sea Lawyer is intended for service members, veterans, and other adult users. It is not directed to children and does not knowingly collect personal information from children.

Changes

If Sea Lawyer's data practices materially change, this page will be updated before or when the change is released, and a new consent choice will be requested when required. The effective date above identifies this policy version.

Contact

For privacy questions, use the developer support contact shown on Sea Lawyer's official app-store listing. Technical issues with the public source-status service may also be reported through the public issue tracker.