Legal — Disclaimer, Terms & Privacy

1. Navigation Disclaimer — read this first

• Always verify before transit against official NOAA charts, USACE navigation charts and publications, the U.S. Coast Pilot, USCG Local Notices to Mariners, and current drawbridge regulations (33 CFR Part 117).
• Clearances: bridge clearances shown are charted values from official sources, or — for a limited set of bridges with a verified, bridge-specific gauge formula — estimates computed from live gauge stages. All clearance figures can be wrong, outdated, or superseded. River stages change quickly. Physical verification and official sources always govern.
• Routes and mileages are derived from official chart geometry where available. Where data cannot be verified, RiverBeacon hides or labels the affected stretch; a drawn line is not a guarantee of navigability, depth, or safe passage.
• Vessel positions come from AIS and cellular GPS relays and may be delayed, missing, or inaccurate. Absence of a vessel on the map never means absence of a vessel on the water.
• Lock queues, gauges, weather, and notices are third-party feeds that can lag or fail without warning.
• The master of a vessel remains solely responsible for safe navigation under the Inland Navigation Rules and all applicable law.

2. Terms of Service

2.1 The service

RiverBeacon™ ("the Service") provides river-traffic awareness, planning, and dispatch tooling for the U.S. inland waterways, accessible at riverbeacon.org and track.riverbeacon.org. The Service is operated from the United States.

2.2 Accounts

• You must provide accurate registration information and keep your credentials confidential. You are responsible for activity under your account.
• New accounts start as pending viewers; plan features activate per your subscription. RiverBeacon may suspend accounts that abuse the Service, scrape data, probe security, or violate law.
• One person per account unless your plan says otherwise; fleet plans govern seat counts.

2.3 Acceptable use

• No use for navigation (see Section 1). No resale, redistribution, or bulk export of Service data without a Data & API agreement.
• No attempts to disrupt, reverse-engineer, clone, or misrepresent the Service. RiverBeacon™, its design, and its data compilations are protected; unauthorized cloning is prohibited.
• No unlawful, harassing, or infringing content in any user-supplied field.

2.4 Subscriptions, billing & refunds

Payments are processed securely by Stripe; RiverBeacon never sees or stores your full card number. Current plans and prices are shown on the pricing page and confirmed at checkout.

• Auto-renewal. Paid plans renew automatically at the end of each billing period (Cruiser annually; Dispatch monthly) at the then-current rate, until you cancel. By subscribing you authorize these recurring charges.
• Cancel anytime. Cancel from your account's Manage billing portal or by emailing us. Cancellation stops the next renewal; your access continues through the end of the period you have already paid for.
• Free trial (when offered). You are not charged during a free trial. Cancel before it ends to avoid any charge; if you do not cancel, the trial converts to a paid subscription automatically.
• Refunds. Monthly (Dispatch) charges are generally non-refundable once the month begins. For annual (Cruiser) charges, email us within 14 days of the charge for a full refund if you have not made substantial use of the Service; after 14 days, refunds are at the operator's discretion and may be prorated. Duplicate or clearly erroneous charges are always refunded in full. Nothing here limits any non-waivable rights you have under applicable consumer-protection law.
• How to request. Email [email protected] from — or naming — your account email. Fleet and Data & API terms in a signed agreement govern where they differ.
• Failed payments. If a renewal payment fails, the Service may retry and may suspend paid features until payment succeeds.

2.5 No warranty

THE SERVICE AND ALL DATA ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED — INCLUDING ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, TIMELINESS, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE OPERATION IS NOT WARRANTED.

2.6 Limitation of liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, RIVERBEACON AND ITS OPERATORS, OWNERS, AND SUPPLIERS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS ARISING FROM NAVIGATION DECISIONS, VESSEL DAMAGE, GROUNDING, ALLISION, COLLISION, DELAY, LOST PROFITS, OR LOST DATA, ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO THE SERVICE — EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY. THE TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF RIVERBEACON SHALL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNTS YOU PAID FOR THE SERVICE IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS BEFORE THE CLAIM.

2.7 Indemnity

You agree to indemnify and hold RiverBeacon harmless from claims arising out of your use of the Service in violation of these terms, including any use for navigation.

2.8 Changes; governing law

The Service and these terms may be updated; material changes will be posted here with a new "last updated" date. Continued use is acceptance. These terms are governed by the laws of the United States and the operator's state of residence, without regard to conflict-of-law rules.

3. Privacy Policy

3.1 What the Service collects

• Account data: username, email address, hashed password, plan status, and signup IP (abuse prevention).
• Usage data: standard server logs (IP, user agent, pages/endpoints, timestamps) for security and reliability.
• Content you send: contact-form messages, in-app feedback and problem reports (may include vessel/route context you attach).
• Vessel data: AIS is broadcast publicly by vessels; cell-GPS relay positions are shared by enrolled participants for display in the Service.

3.2 How it is used

• To operate, secure, and improve the Service; respond to your messages; administer subscriptions.
• Personal information is not sold. It is shared only with service providers strictly needed to run the Service (e.g., hosting, email delivery), or if law requires.

3.3 Retention & your choices

• Account data is kept while your account exists. You may request account deletion or a copy of your personal data by emailing [email protected].
• Cookies: the Service uses session cookies for sign-in and local storage for your preferences (e.g., saved air draft). No third-party advertising trackers.
• The Service is not directed to children under 13.

4. Data Sources & Attribution

RiverBeacon is built on public data published by U.S. agencies, cited on the data where practical:

• USACE — navigation charts & chart books, National Waterway Network, mile markers, Lock Performance Monitoring System (lock queues), bridge clearance publications.
• NOAA — ENC/IENC electronic navigational charts, Coast Pilot, air-gap sensors, tides & currents.
• NWS / NWPS — river gauge stages, flood categories, forecasts, marine weather.
• USCG — drawbridge operating regulations (33 CFR Part 117), Local Notices to Mariners.
• FHWA — National Bridge Inventory.

RiverBeacon is an independent product and is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, any of these agencies. Underlying government data is public domain; RiverBeacon's compilations, corrections, presentation, and software are proprietary.

5. Contact

Legal notices, privacy requests, data corrections (with sources, please), and anything else:

[email protected] — or use the contact form.