Cookies Policy
Last updated: October 23, 2026
This page explains cookies and similar technologies for Tide Alerts (the website and the iOS/Android apps). It is a real policy page at /policies/cookies. The Your Privacy Choices link opens your settings, not this page.
The native apps are not a cookie-driven product in the store-listing sense. They load the same Tide Alerts service in a WebView, so they use cookies, local storage, and Firebase session data the way a browser would — plus ordinary app storage for things like an offline fallback page. We do not use an advertising ID.
What we use
| Category | What it does | Required? |
|---|---|---|
| Essential | Sign-in, security, and basic operation of the app and website | Yes |
| Preferences | Favorites, units, and display choices so you do not have to set them every time | No |
| Analytics | Google Analytics 4, if you allow it: which features are used (for example search) and which screen-size layouts, so we can improve the app and website. Not advertising or marketing | No |
There is no advertising category. We do not use personal data for advertising in Tide Alerts.
On the website, these choices are stored in a consent cookie (cookie_consent). In the apps, the same categories apply to WebView cookies and equivalent local storage.
The phone app does not show a consent prompt. Analytics is always off in the app, and there is no setting that turns it on. Guest favorites, units and your privacy choices are kept in the app's own storage on your phone whatever you choose for Preferences, and are not sent to us (see the Privacy Policy).
On the website, we may use your IP address to estimate whether to show a consent prompt, and to pick where the map first opens (see the Privacy Policy). We ask first in the EEA and California. Elsewhere we do not ask: preferences and analytics start on, and you can turn them off at any time. That is not map location. Map location is optional and described in the Privacy Policy.
How to change your choices
On the website, open Your Privacy Choices in the footer, or use Settings on the privacy prompt. You can accept all, keep essential only, or toggle preferences and analytics.
On the website, turning off preferences means guest favorites and similar local settings may not be saved. Turning off analytics stops Google Analytics for that browser or WebView (we also delete analytics cookies when you deny that category).
Hardware store
Purchases at store.sentientthings.com may set Shopify and store cookies. Those are covered by the store privacy policy, not by this Tide Alerts Cookies Policy.
More detail
See the Privacy Policy for accounts, location, email alerts, and account deletion.