Waterfowl HQ Privacy Policy

Effective Date: September 21, 2026

Last Revised: October 12, 2026

Policy Version: 1.1

Waterfowl HQ is developed and operated by HQ Outdoor Labs LLC, doing business as Waterfowl HQ ("HQ Outdoor Labs," "Waterfowl HQ," "we," "us," or "our").

This Privacy Policy explains the data practices of the Waterfowl HQ mobile application and related online services. Waterfowl HQ does not require an HQ Outdoor Labs user account and HQ Outdoor Labs does not maintain a cloud database containing users’ hunt logs, gear records, licenses, photographs, saved spreads, notes, or other app-created hunting records.

1. The Short Version

Waterfowl HQ is designed so that user-created hunting records remain on the user’s device rather than in an HQ Outdoor Labs cloud account or customer database. The current app does not upload hunt logs, gear records, license records or photos, saved decoy spreads, saved locations, notes, or similar user-created records to an HQ Outdoor Labs cloud database for storage.

Some information must leave the device when a user chooses to use an online feature. Examples include a location sent to Apple for weather or mapping functions, a regionalized location sent to the Waterfowl HQ Cloudflare gateway for Waterfowl Activity, information processed by Google advertising services when advertising is displayed, and subscription information processed by Apple StoreKit. If a user chooses to email HQ Outdoor Labs, HQ Outdoor Labs receives the contents of that email.

The current launch build uses Apple WeatherKit for local weather and a Waterfowl HQ Cloudflare gateway for regional migration-weather inputs from NOAA/National Weather Service and Environment and Climate Change Canada. Gear reminders use local iOS notifications. Radar, severe-weather alerts, and next-hour precipitation notifications are not active in the current launch target.

Waterfowl HQ Free uses Google AdMob, provided by Google LLC, to display advertising. Waterfowl HQ Pro removes Waterfowl HQ advertising.

When advertising is enabled, the Google Mobile Ads SDK may process information such as IP address, approximate location derived from IP address, device or app identifiers, advertising information, ad impressions and interactions, crash information, performance information, and other technical information used to provide, measure, secure, and improve advertising services.

Waterfowl HQ also uses Google’s User Messaging Platform to present advertising privacy choices when required by applicable law. Where available, users may review or change applicable advertising privacy choices through Waterfowl HQ Settings.

Waterfowl HQ does not currently request permission through Apple’s App Tracking Transparency framework to access the Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA).

HQ Outdoor Labs does not provide Google with users’ locally stored hunt logs, gear records, hunting licenses, photographs, decoy spreads, notes, saved hunting locations, or similar Waterfowl HQ user-created content for advertising purposes.

For users who have activated Waterfowl HQ Pro, retention of Waterfowl HQ app data is tied to the verified Pro entitlement as described below. After Apple StoreKit confirms that a previously entitled Pro subscription and any applicable Billing Grace Period have ended, the app’s retention policy is to permanently remove the user-created Waterfowl HQ data stored by the app on that device.

2. Scope

This policy applies to the Waterfowl HQ iOS application and the online services the app uses.

The HQ Outdoor Labs website does not serve as a Waterfowl HQ user account or cloud-storage system for app records. The website’s hosting provider may independently process ordinary connection and security information needed to deliver the website, such as an IP address, browser information, request information, and security events, under that provider’s own policies.

If a user voluntarily contacts HQ Outdoor Labs by email, HQ Outdoor Labs receives the information the user chooses to send in that communication.

This policy does not control the independent privacy practices of Apple, Google, Cloudflare, NOAA/National Weather Service, Environment and Climate Change Canada, website-hosting providers, or other third parties. Their services are governed by their own terms and privacy notices.

3. Information Stored Locally on the Device

Waterfowl HQ allows users to create and store several kinds of information using the app's private iOS storage area, which may include UserDefaults, Keychain, and files stored in the app's container or Documents directory.

Depending on the features used, local information may include:

- Hunt names, dates, times, ratings, hunt types, notes, and recorded weather

- Location names, saved coordinates, and GPS information

- Water and ice observations entered by the user

- Harvest information, species, sex, quantities, and band numbers

- Hunting-partner names

- Hunt photographs

- Gear names, categories, storage locations, quantities, battery and charging information, serial numbers, brands or models, notes, maintenance status, reminder settings, and photographs

- Gear checklists

- License profile names, hunter-identification information entered by the user, expiration information, notes, and photographs of licenses or related documents

- Saved decoy spreads, planner objects, water areas, notes, GPS information, settings, locally generated thumbnails, and field photographs

- Saved scouting, hunting, or weather locations

- App-lock preferences and other app settings

- Optional Backup Login credentials

HQ Outdoor Labs does not currently operate a cloud database or developer dashboard through which it can view this locally stored user-created content.

4. Local Storage, Device Backups, and Access

The current app does not use CloudKit, iCloud Drive, or an HQ Outdoor Labs cloud-sync service to synchronize user-created Waterfowl HQ records between devices.

User-created content generally remains in the app's local iOS container unless the user intentionally shares it, a system-level backup transfers it, or another device or operating-system function processes it.

If a user enables iCloud Backup, Apple may include eligible third-party app data in an Apple-managed device backup even though HQ Outdoor Labs does not receive that backup. Computer backups may also contain app data. Backup behavior is controlled by Apple, the operating system, the user's settings, and the backup method used.

Deleting Waterfowl HQ ordinarily removes its local application container from that device, subject to iOS behavior. Copies may remain in Apple-managed or computer backups until those backups are deleted, overwritten, or expire under the applicable provider's rules.

HQ Outdoor Labs generally cannot retrieve, restore, or remotely delete local app data that it does not possess.

5. Waterfowl HQ Pro Data Retention and Automatic Deletion

Waterfowl HQ Pro includes continued retention of Waterfowl HQ user-created app data while the subscription remains entitled.

If a user turns off auto-renewal or otherwise cancels Pro, cancellation does not end the already-paid subscription period. Pro access and locally stored Waterfowl HQ data remain available through the end of the current paid subscription period as verified by Apple StoreKit.

When Waterfowl HQ can verify that an active Pro subscription with auto-renewal turned off is within its final three days, the app is designed to display an in-app expiration warning telling the user to renew to continue Pro services and retain stored Waterfowl HQ data.

Because this warning depends on the app being opened and able to obtain authoritative subscription information, it is not guaranteed to be displayed if the app is not opened, the device is unavailable, app presentation is unavailable, Apple subscription information cannot be obtained, or other technical conditions prevent the warning from being presented.

If a 3-day Billing Grace Period is enabled for Waterfowl HQ in App Store Connect and Apple places an eligible subscription into that grace period, Pro access and app data remain available through Apple’s verified grace-period expiration date. Waterfowl HQ is designed to display an in-app billing warning during that period telling the user to update payment information.

When Apple StoreKit authoritatively confirms that a previously entitled Waterfowl HQ Pro subscription has ended and any applicable Billing Grace Period has expired, Waterfowl HQ may automatically and permanently delete user-created Waterfowl HQ data stored by the app on that device.

Returning from Waterfowl HQ Pro to the Free tier does not preserve only the amount of data permitted under the Free-tier limits. When the expiration conditions described above are authoritatively confirmed, Waterfowl HQ may delete all user-created Waterfowl HQ data covered by the reset process, including records that otherwise would have fit within the Free-tier limits.

For example, a former Pro user should not expect Waterfowl HQ to preserve the first five hunt logs, first five gear items, one license, two checklists, two saved decoy spreads, two saved locations, or other records merely because those amounts would ordinarily fit within the Free-tier limits.

Users who wish to retain important Waterfowl HQ records should maintain an active Pro entitlement where required by the app’s retention policy and should maintain independent copies or backups of information they consider important.

The deletion may include, among other app data:

- Hunting logs and app-stored hunt photographs

- Harvest and band information

- Hunting-partner information stored with app records

- Gear records, gear photographs, maintenance information, and reminder data

- Gear checklists

- License profiles and app-stored license photographs

- Saved decoy spreads, notes, planner drafts, thumbnails, GPS information, and app-stored spread photographs

- Saved scouting, hunting, or weather locations

- Local reminders and related app metadata

- Backup Login credentials

- Other user-created Waterfowl HQ records covered by the reset process

After this deletion occurs, later re-subscribing, restoring purchases, or Apple’s later recovery of a billing issue does not restore data that has already been permanently deleted by Waterfowl HQ.

Apple may continue billing-recovery efforts after a grace period under Apple’s policies. The fact that Apple may later recover a subscription does not require Waterfowl HQ to retain app data beyond the verified retention period described above.

Waterfowl HQ is specifically designed not to delete user data merely because the device is offline, Apple services are unavailable, a network request fails, or subscription status cannot be authoritatively verified. An unknown or unavailable subscription status is not treated as confirmed expiration.

In such a situation, the app may temporarily restrict access while waiting for authoritative subscription verification rather than deleting the stored data.

Original photographs that remain in the user’s Apple Photos library are not deleted when Waterfowl HQ deletes the app’s own stored copies.

6. Location Information

With permission, Waterfowl HQ may use device or selected-location information to:

- Show current-area or selected-location weather

- Identify or save a location

- Search for places

- Reverse-geocode coordinates into a place or address description

- Save a location with a hunting log or decoy spread when the user chooses

- Calculate Waterfowl Activity for a selected area

Depending on iOS permissions and the feature being used, Waterfowl HQ may process precise latitude and longitude coordinates.

Current locations or coordinates may be stored locally when the user chooses to save them as part of a record. Users may choose not to save GPS coordinates with supported hunting-log or decoy-spread features.

Location and precise-location permissions can be changed in iOS Settings. Denying location permission may prevent current-location features from working, while other features may remain available.

7. Apple WeatherKit, MapKit, and Location Services

Waterfowl HQ uses Apple technologies that may include WeatherKit, MapKit, Core Location, local search, reverse geocoding, StoreKit, and related Apple services.

Weather requests include the location for which weather is requested. Map, search, and geocoding requests may include search terms, map requests, coordinates, place information, device information, and ordinary technical information needed to provide those services.

Apple independently processes information necessary to provide Apple-operated services under Apple's applicable privacy practices and terms. HQ Outdoor Labs does not control Apple's independent processing.

Reference links:

- Apple Privacy: https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/

- WeatherKit: https://developer.apple.com/weatherkit/

8. Waterfowl Activity Migration Gateway and Government Weather Data

Waterfowl Activity uses location, weather, migration-related information, seasonal context, and Waterfowl HQ calculations to estimate regional conditions that may affect waterfowl activity or movement.

For the migration portion of Waterfowl Activity, Waterfowl HQ converts the user’s selected location into an approximate regional location before transmitting it to the Waterfowl HQ migration service. The user’s exact selected latitude and longitude are not required by the migration service for this purpose.

The regionalized location is transmitted securely to an HQ Outdoor Labs-operated service hosted using Cloudflare Workers. The service uses that regional location to obtain and process migration-related weather information and may temporarily cache regional results for approximately two hours to improve performance and reduce unnecessary requests.

Cloudflare may independently process ordinary technical information associated with internet requests, such as IP address, network information, request timing, and security information, under Cloudflare’s own privacy practices. An IP address may provide an approximate indication of geographic location.

The Waterfowl HQ migration service obtains regional weather information from NOAA/National Weather Service and Environment and Climate Change Canada. Those services may process regional location information and ordinary technical request information necessary to provide their services.

Government weather information is used as an input to Waterfowl Activity and does not constitute an endorsement of Waterfowl HQ by NOAA, the National Weather Service, Environment and Climate Change Canada, or any other government agency.

Reference links:

9. Photos and Camera

If a user chooses to add a photograph, Waterfowl HQ can access the image selected through Apple's photo picker or the image captured through the camera feature, subject to iOS permissions.

Selected or captured images may be stored with applicable local hunting, gear, license, or decoy-spread records.

Waterfowl HQ does not currently upload those photographs to an HQ Outdoor Labs photo-storage server.

A photograph can leave the device if the user intentionally exports or shares it, chooses to send it to HQ Outdoor Labs by email, or if eligible app data is included in a device or computer backup.

If a user intentionally shares a photograph, decoy spread, note, or other content through Apple's Share Sheet, the selected information is provided to the application, person, or service chosen by the user. The recipient's privacy practices apply after that transfer.

10. Hunting-License Information

Waterfowl HQ allows users to store hunting-license profiles, identification information entered by the user, expiration information, notes, and license photographs for personal convenience.

This information is currently stored locally on the device. Waterfowl HQ is not a government licensing system and does not automatically submit stored license information to wildlife agencies or licensing authorities.

11. Notifications

Waterfowl HQ currently uses local iOS notifications for user-scheduled gear maintenance, charging, and related reminders. It may also display in-app subscription warnings relating to upcoming Pro expiration or billing issues.

Radar notifications, severe-weather alerts, and next-hour precipitation notifications are not active in the current launch target.

The current app does not operate an HQ Outdoor Labs remote push-notification server for gear reminders. Notification permission and display settings are controlled by iOS.

Notification content may be visible on a locked screen depending on the user's device settings. Users should consider this before placing sensitive item descriptions or other information in reminder content.

Notifications and warnings are conveniences only and may be delayed, suppressed, unavailable, or never seen because of device settings, operating-system behavior, permissions, connectivity, whether the app is opened, or other factors outside HQ Outdoor Labs' control.

12. Subscriptions, Purchases, and App Store Information

If a user purchases Waterfowl HQ Pro, Apple processes the transaction through the App Store and StoreKit.

Apple may process Apple Account, payment, transaction, subscription, device, billing-recovery, and fraud-prevention information under Apple’s own policies. HQ Outdoor Labs does not receive the user’s full payment-card information.

The Waterfowl HQ app processes StoreKit information needed to determine whether Pro is active, including information such as entitlement status, expiration date, renewal state, grace-period status, refund status, or revocation status. This information is used to provide paid features and enforce the Pro data-retention rules described in this policy.

Apple may also make developer-facing sales, proceeds, subscription, tax, and financial reports available to HQ Outdoor Labs through Apple’s developer services. Those reports do not give HQ Outdoor Labs access to the user’s locally stored hunt, gear, license, decoy, photograph, note, or saved-location records.

13. Device Authentication and Backup Login

If the user enables App Lock, Waterfowl HQ asks iOS to authenticate the user with an available device method, such as Face ID, Touch ID, Optic ID, or device passcode. Authentication is performed by the device. Waterfowl HQ receives the result of the authentication request but does not receive, store, or have access to the user's biometric template.

Waterfowl HQ also provides an optional Backup Login consisting of a username and password. These credentials are stored locally using Apple's iOS Keychain functionality.

Backup Login is an alternative method of unlocking Waterfowl HQ. It is not a backup, synchronization, recovery, or cloud-storage service for hunting data.

Backup Login credentials may be removed by the user or deleted when Waterfowl HQ performs a confirmed Pro-expiration data reset.

14. Information HQ Outdoor Labs May Receive Directly

HQ Outdoor Labs does not maintain a Waterfowl HQ customer-profile database containing users’ in-app hunting records.

HQ Outdoor Labs may receive information in limited circumstances outside the locally stored app data described above, including:

- Information a user voluntarily sends by email, such as the sender’s email address, message, screenshots, or attachments

- Feedback a user voluntarily submits through Apple channels such as TestFlight or App Store reviews, to the extent Apple makes that feedback available to the developer

- Developer-facing sales, subscription, tax, financial, or business reports supplied by Apple

- Aggregate or developer-facing advertising, revenue, consent, performance, or related reports made available through Google AdMob or associated Google services

- Diagnostic or crash information Apple or other service providers make available to developers according to their services, settings, and applicable user privacy choices

These sources do not give HQ Outdoor Labs routine access to the user’s locally stored Waterfowl HQ hunting records.

15. How We Use Information

Waterfowl HQ and its service providers process information as needed to operate, provide, secure, maintain, and improve the features and services described in this Privacy Policy.

For example, a selected location may be used to obtain weather or Waterfowl Activity results, StoreKit information is used to determine Pro entitlement and retention status, and advertising-related technical information may be processed by Google when advertisements are displayed in the Free tier.

If a user voluntarily emails HQ Outdoor Labs, the information in that email may be used to read and respond to the message, troubleshoot a reported problem, provide support, or maintain ordinary business correspondence.

Developer-facing Apple and Google reports may be used for subscription administration, advertising administration, accounting, tax, analytics, troubleshooting, and ordinary business operations.

HQ Outdoor Labs does not provide users’ locally stored Waterfowl HQ hunting records to advertising services for advertising, profiling, or sale and does not combine those local records into an HQ Outdoor Labs customer-profile database.

16. Disclosure of Information

HQ Outdoor Labs does not sell Waterfowl HQ user records or precise hunting locations.

When Waterfowl HQ uses an online service, the app may transmit information necessary for that service as described in this Privacy Policy. For example, Apple may process weather, mapping, location, and subscription requests; Cloudflare processes Waterfowl Activity requests; and Google may process advertising and related technical information when advertising is enabled in the Free tier.

HQ Outdoor Labs does not provide Google or other advertising providers with users’ locally stored hunt logs, gear records, hunting licenses, photographs, decoy spreads, notes, saved hunting locations, or similar Waterfowl HQ content for advertising purposes.

If a user voluntarily emails HQ Outdoor Labs, the email service used to send and receive that message necessarily processes the communication.

If HQ Outdoor Labs is legally required to disclose information that is actually in its possession, such as a business email or developer record, it may do so in response to valid legal process.

When a user chooses Apple’s Share Sheet or another export mechanism, the selected content is sent to the recipient or third-party app chosen by the user. The recipient’s privacy practices apply after that transfer.

17. Advertising and Tracking

Waterfowl HQ Free uses Google AdMob, provided by Google LLC, to display advertising. Waterfowl HQ Pro removes Waterfowl HQ advertising.

When advertisements are enabled, the Google Mobile Ads SDK may automatically process information such as IP address, approximate device location derived from IP address, device or app identifiers, advertising information, ad impressions and interactions, crash information, performance information, and other technical information used to provide, measure, secure, and improve advertising services.

HQ Outdoor Labs does not provide Google with users’ locally stored hunt logs, gear records, hunting licenses, photographs, decoy spreads, notes, saved hunting locations, or similar Waterfowl HQ content for advertising purposes.

Waterfowl HQ uses Google’s User Messaging Platform to provide privacy choices when required by applicable law. Where available, users may review or change applicable advertising privacy choices through Waterfowl HQ Settings.

Waterfowl HQ does not currently request permission to access Apple’s Identifier for Advertisers through App Tracking Transparency. Google and its advertising partners may process information according to their own privacy policies and applicable privacy choices.

Google’s privacy practices are available through Google’s Privacy Policy and advertising privacy documentation.

18. Retention of Information Outside the App

HQ Outdoor Labs does not maintain a cloud copy of users’ locally stored Waterfowl HQ hunting records.

Regionalized Waterfowl Activity migration results may be temporarily cached by the Waterfowl HQ Cloudflare gateway for approximately two hours. Cloudflare may retain its own infrastructure or security logs according to Cloudflare’s configuration and policies.

If a user voluntarily emails HQ Outdoor Labs, that email may remain in the HQ Outdoor Labs business mailbox until it is deleted as part of ordinary email administration or must be retained for a legitimate business or legal reason.

Apple, Google, Cloudflare, government weather providers, website providers, and other independent third parties determine retention for information they process under their own policies.19. Security

Waterfowl HQ relies on protections that may include Apple's application sandbox, device security, iOS permission controls, available device authentication, Keychain storage for Backup Login credentials, HTTPS network connections, and third-party service security.

HQ Outdoor Labs does not separately encrypt every locally stored field and cannot guarantee that a device, backup, exported file, notification, network service, or third-party service can never be accessed without authorization.

Users should protect their device and Apple Account with a strong passcode, enable appropriate Apple security features, review lock-screen notification settings, avoid placing unnecessary sensitive information in the app, and use care when sharing records.

No security method is perfect, and HQ Outdoor Labs cannot guarantee absolute security.

20. Children's Privacy

Waterfowl HQ is not directed to children under 13.

The app does not require a Waterfowl HQ online account and HQ Outdoor Labs does not operate a cloud database intended to collect children’s in-app hunting records.

A minor should use Waterfowl HQ only with the permission and active supervision of a parent or legal guardian and in accordance with applicable hunting, firearm, boating, and safety laws.

If a child voluntarily contacts HQ Outdoor Labs by email, HQ Outdoor Labs may receive the information the child chooses to send. If HQ Outdoor Labs learns that such information was provided in violation of applicable law, reasonable steps will be taken as required by law.

21. Privacy Choices and Rights

Most Waterfowl HQ data controls are exercised directly on the user’s device because HQ Outdoor Labs does not maintain a cloud copy of the user’s in-app hunting records.

Users may, where supported:

- Change location and precise-location permission in iOS Settings

- Change photo and camera permission

- Change notification permission

- Change device-authentication settings

- Choose whether GPS coordinates are saved with supported records

- Edit or delete individual Waterfowl HQ records

- Remove Backup Login credentials

- Review or change available advertising privacy choices through Waterfowl HQ Settings where those choices are provided or required by applicable law

- Manage Apple advertising, analytics, location, backup, subscription, billing, and other privacy settings through Apple services where applicable

- Delete the Waterfowl HQ application, subject to Apple backup behavior and the Pro retention rules described in this Privacy Policy

There is no Waterfowl HQ online customer account or HQ Outdoor Labs cloud copy of users’ locally stored hunt logs, gear records, licenses, photographs, saved decoy spreads, notes, saved locations, or similar in-app hunting records for the user to request that HQ Outdoor Labs remotely delete.

Because certain advertising and technical information may be processed independently by Google, Apple, Cloudflare, or other third-party services, requests relating to information controlled by those providers may need to be directed to the applicable provider under its own privacy procedures.

If a user has voluntarily sent HQ Outdoor Labs an email and later wants that communication deleted, the user may request deletion by emailing hqoutdoorlabs@hqoutdoorlabs.com.

A deletion request may be subject to information that must be retained for a legitimate legal, tax, accounting, security, fraud-prevention, dispute-related, or other lawful business reason.

22. International Processing

Apple, Google, Cloudflare, government weather providers, website providers, and other third-party services may process information or requests in the countries or regions where they operate under their own privacy practices.

HQ Outdoor Labs does not operate an international Waterfowl HQ user-profile or cloud-storage database containing users’ locally stored in-app hunting records.

23. Changes to This Privacy Policy

HQ Outdoor Labs may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in Waterfowl HQ, subscriptions, data-retention behavior, applicable law, Apple requirements, third-party services, advertising, analytics, or business practices.

The revised policy will identify a new Last Revised date and version. When required, HQ Outdoor Labs may provide additional notice or request renewed consent or acceptance.

24. Contact Us

Questions about this Privacy Policy may be sent to:

HQ Outdoor Labs LLC

DBA Waterfowl HQ

Email: hqoutdoorlabs@hqoutdoorlabs.com

Website: https://www.hqoutdoorlabs.com

Location: Missouri, United States