Terms of service

01The agreement

These terms are an agreement between you and PC3 Media Group LLC ("we", "us") for using the Breaking Wind app and breakingwind.app. By using Breaking Wind, you agree to them and to our privacy policy.

You must be 16 or older to use Breaking Wind.

02Not for navigation

• Don't make navigation or safety decisions based on the app. Check every decision against official sources and what you can see. Safety and liability explains this in full.
• It isn't for emergencies. In an emergency, use VHF channel 16 or call your local emergency number. Nothing in the app, including fleet messages, reaches a rescue service.
• You're responsible. The skipper is responsible for the safety of the vessel and everyone aboard, and for following the rules of the road and all other applicable law.
• Watch the water, not the screen. Don't let the app distract you from keeping a lookout.

03Conditions and data

Tides, currents, forecasts, wave readings, depths and chart symbols come from public services. They can be late, wrong, incomplete, far from where you are, or unavailable, and they can fail without warning. Specifically:

• Depths from NOAA's elevation model aren't a chart or a depth sounder. They don't include the tide and are least reliable in shallow water.
• The nearest station may be a long way from you. The app states the source and distance so you can judge.
• The app needs a data connection for most of what it shows, and service on the water is patchy.
• Position depends on your device. Wi-Fi iPads have no GPS chip.
• In Canada, the app includes forecasts only (Data Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada). Canadian tides, currents and charts aren't included.

Neither NOAA nor Environment and Climate Change Canada endorses Breaking Wind or is responsible for how it uses their data.

04Alerts and reminders

The app can sound alerts for some charted obstacles, land and water shallower than your minimum depth, and can remind you to change heading. These are aids with serious limits. Never rely on them to keep your boat safe.

• They don't detect other boats, logs, debris or anything uncharted.
• They may miss charted hazards and may sound when there's no hazard.
• They need a data connection and a usable position. They can fail silently if either one drops, or if your device is muted, asleep, out of battery or restricted by its operating system.
• Depths may not account for the tide.
• Charted hazard data is limited or missing outside US waters.
• You can turn them off, and if you do, they don't run.

05Routes, times and anchor math

Route planning, arrival times and anchor math are planning aids. They work from the same public data, and they can be wrong.

• A planned route may not be safe. It's worked out from NOAA's elevation model and charted hazards, not from an official chart. It can cross hazards or shallow water, and it can miss small islands and narrow passages, especially on long routes. It doesn't consider tide, current, weather, traffic, traffic separation schemes, restricted areas or your boat's handling. Outside US waters it checks depth only.
• A route isn't a passage plan. Check every leg against an official chart before you go, and keep watching the water while you follow it.
• Times are estimates. They assume a steady speed, with no current or wind.
• Anchor math is a starting point. It estimates chain and swing room from depths, tides and details you enter. It doesn't know your bottom, your anchor or the weather that actually arrives. You decide how to anchor, and you check that it's holding.
• Measured water levels come from the nearest gauge, which may be a long way off and may not match the water where you are.

06Marks are skippers' reports

Marks and comments are written by other users. They aren't charted, verified or checked by us for accuracy, and conditions may have changed since they were written. Check your chart before relying on one. A mark about a place doesn't mean that it's safe, legal or suitable for your boat.

07Fleets

• Fleet messaging isn't for emergencies, including the "Need a hand" quick reply. A message may be delayed or never arrive, and the people in your fleet may not see it. For help, use VHF channel 16 or call your local emergency number.
• Fleet positions and numbers can be wrong or out of date. Don't use them to judge distance from or avoid another vessel.
• Fleet messages aren't end-to-end encrypted. See the privacy policy.
• The fleet's members see what you post to the fleet, and your position and numbers while you're sharing.

08Your account

• Sign in with Apple or Google. Keep access to that sign-in secure; you're responsible for what happens on your account.
• One account per person. Don't sell, share or transfer it.
• Pick a handle that isn't misleading. We may reclaim one that impersonates someone or a brand.

09Your content

You own what you create on Breaking Wind: your posts, photos, comments, trips and messages.

So we can run the service, you give us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to store, copy, process and display your content, only as needed to operate and improve Breaking Wind and only to the people your settings allow. The license ends when you delete the content, except for data in backups that expire on their own schedule.

Only post what you have the right to share. If a photo shows other people or their boats, make sure they're comfortable with it.

If you think something on Breaking Wind infringes your copyright, write to support@breakingwind.app with what it is, where it appears, and proof that you own the rights, and we'll look into it.

10Community rules

We don't tolerate objectionable content or abusive users. By using Breaking Wind, you agree not to post anything that:

• is illegal, threatening, hateful, harassing or sexually explicit;
• sexualizes or endangers a minor;
• reveals where another person or their boat is without their consent;
• makes up a hazard, conditions or a report, or knowingly gives false information about a place;
• is spam, advertising or impersonation.

You can report posts, comments, people and fleet chat, and block anyone, in the app. Text is filtered automatically. A post or comment reported by several people may be hidden until we've reviewed it. We review reports within 24 hours and can remove content or close accounts. The community guidelines say more.

11Subscriptions

Parts of Breaking Wind may need a subscription, bought through your Apple account. The app says which parts, and the price and billing period, before you buy.

• Subscriptions renew automatically unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Apple charges your account within the 24 hours before renewal.
• Manage or cancel in your Apple account settings. Deleting the app or your Breaking Wind account doesn't cancel it.
• Apple handles refunds under its own rules.
• If you cancel, you keep your own data, and export still works.

12Our service

We're always changing Breaking Wind, so features may change or stop. We don't promise that it, or the services it depends on, will always be available. If you send us feedback or ideas, we may use them without owing you anything.

13Things you can't do

• Break the law or help someone else do it.
• Scrape or collect data from Breaking Wind or its users with bots or scripts.
• Reverse-engineer the app, get around its security or limits, or access accounts or data that aren't yours.
• Overload, disrupt or attack the service.
• Use Breaking Wind to send spam, run ads or sell things without our written permission.

14Ending your account

You can delete your account at any time in the app's Settings. It's deleted right away and can't be undone. See how to delete your account.

We may suspend or close an account that breaks these terms or puts others at risk. Where it's safe to, we'll tell you why.

15Disclaimers

We provide Breaking Wind "as is" and "as available", without warranties of any kind, including accuracy, reliability, fitness for navigation, or fitness for a particular purpose. We don't promise that it will be free of errors, or that data or content from anyone else is accurate. You use it at your own risk. Some places don't allow these disclaimers, so they may not all apply to you.

16Limitation of liability

To the extent the law allows, we aren't liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, or for lost data or profits, or for injury, loss of life, or damage to or loss of a vessel or property, arising from your use of or reliance on Breaking Wind. Our total liability for any claim is limited to the greater of $100 or what you paid us in the 12 months before the claim. Some places don't allow these limits, so they may not all apply to you.

17Indemnity

If someone brings a claim against us because of content you posted, because you relied on the app in operating a vessel, or because you broke these terms or the law, you agree to cover our reasonable costs from that claim, to the extent the law allows.

18Disputes

If you have a problem with Breaking Wind, please write to support@breakingwind.app first.

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Washington, USA, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. Any dispute that we can't resolve informally will be handled in the state or federal courts located in Washington, and you and we agree to those courts. This doesn't take away any right that the law where you live says can't be given up.

19App Store terms

If you got Breaking Wind from the App Store, these additional terms apply between you and us. Apple isn't a party to them.

• Your license is to use Breaking Wind on Apple devices you own or control, as the App Store's Usage Rules allow.
• We, not Apple, are responsible for Breaking Wind and its content, and for maintenance and support.
• If Breaking Wind fails to meet a warranty that applies to it, you can tell Apple, and Apple will refund the purchase price, if any. Apple has no other warranty obligation for it.
• We, not Apple, are responsible for handling any claims about Breaking Wind, including product liability claims, claims that it fails to meet a legal requirement, and consumer protection claims.
• If someone claims that Breaking Wind infringes their intellectual property, we, not Apple, are responsible for investigating and handling that claim.
• You confirm that you aren't in a country under a U.S. government embargo and aren't on a U.S. government list of prohibited or restricted parties.
• Apple and its subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of these terms and can enforce them against you.

20Changes to these terms

If we make a change that matters, we'll tell you in the app before it takes effect. If you keep using Breaking Wind after that, the new terms apply. If any part of these terms can't be enforced, the rest still applies.

21Contact

PC3 Media Group LLC · support@breakingwind.app