Privacy

Cookies and local storage

Your browser stores small files and settings so that features such as language and favourites remain available on your next visit. We do not use these convenience settings for advertising.

Language

A cookie remembers your chosen language. It contains no personal user identifier.

Privacy choice

Your choice for visitor statistics and Google Analytics is saved so you are not asked on every visit. You can change it at any time in “Cookie settings”.

Convenience features

Your browser remembers favourites, light/dark appearance and local alarm settings. For recently viewed waters and changes since your last visit, it stores up to twelve waters with the visit time, reading and station. Viewing a water does not make it a favourite. It also saves up to five selected search results and up to six lakes in the comparison tray with their names. These lists are not sent to Seepegel as a personal profile. Loading pages, search results and comparisons still requires requests to our server. You can delete saved information through your browser’s website data settings. A dismissed app promotion stays hidden for 30 days. When you open Google Play, the link identifies which app promotion you followed and, where applicable, your selected water, but includes no personal identifier.

Offline feature

Only an offline notice and the app icon are saved for use without internet. Current water-level and weather pages are not available offline.

Seepegel Android app

The Android app uses the same current content as seepegel.ch and adds native notifications and a home-screen widget. No account or sign-in is required.

Loading readings

The app retrieves current content and readings from the Seepegel server. The same technically necessary connection data as for a website request is processed. For its own reach measurement, the app sends only a fixed broad category such as Lakes, Rivers, Alerts or Detail page and the app language. Specific lakes, stations, thresholds, device identifiers and individual usage histories are not stored for this purpose.

Data on the device

Selected lakes, language, appearance, completed onboarding, consent choice and alert settings remain in the device's local app storage. Favourites and alerts can be changed or deleted in the app at any time; consent to Google Analytics can be withdrawn under ‘More’.

Home-screen widget

For each widget, the selected lake and language are stored locally. The widget retrieves current public readings from seepegel.ch approximately every 30 minutes and after a manual refresh. It sends no contacts, advertising ID, location or other personal information.

Permissions

The app needs internet access for current readings. Android's notification permission is requested only when you activate an alert. Seepegel does not request access to location, contacts, photos, camera or microphone.

Google Play and app services

The app is installed and updated through Google Play. Under its own terms, Google processes account, device, download, diagnostic and security data. Google Analytics for Firebase analyses app usage only after your voluntary consent, which you can change under “More”. App advertising is provided through Google AdMob; the introduction and widgets contain no ads. Google receives IP addresses, ad interactions, diagnostic information and technical identifiers from the included software for delivery, measurement and fraud prevention. The Android advertising ID is not accessed. You make your advertising choice in Google’s privacy dialog and can reopen it under “More”. This is separate from Analytics consent.

Contribute

We store the text, category, date, map point and relevant page. A name is optional and public after approval. Unpublished contributions are removed after 90 days. Polls use a random browser identifier (30-day cookie) only for voting, with no advertising or cross-site tracking. IP addresses are temporarily hashed to limit submissions. Request removal at [email protected].

Lake photographs and photo credits

When you submit a photograph, we store the image resized for this website, your supplied public name, a caption and an optional date taken. We also record when and which publication permission you accepted. A first name or pen name is enough; an email address is not required. You can optionally add a public location with the viewing direction and a short photo story.

Every photograph is reviewed before publication. Only after approval will the image, name and caption appear in the gallery, on its lake or river page and, where relevant, bathing-place page (including as a cover image) and potentially as photo of the week. Processing takes place on our servers. The original is not retained; embedded location and camera metadata are removed. Unapproved submissions are deleted within 30 days of receipt. These optional details are also reviewed and published with the photo. Editors may pair suitable, dated photographs for a comparison over time. With explicit permission for this use, we may also show the approved photo, public name, description and optional photo details in the Seepegel app. Earlier website permissions are not automatically extended to the app. Withdrawal applies to our future publication on the website and app; we cannot recall every copy already saved on other people’s devices.

Publication is voluntary. You retain your image rights and may withdraw publication permission for the future. To request removal, email [email protected] identifying the photograph or its reference number. Published photographs remain stored until removal. Recognisable people must also have agreed to publication.

External services and recipients

Some features use other providers’ services. Loading them sends information such as your IP address to those providers. The following sections explain when this happens and what choices you have.

Your rights

Under the Swiss Data Protection Act, you may in particular request access, correction, deletion or delivery of your personal data and object to processing. Contact the controller named in the imprint. Further information is available from the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner.