These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of the FBC Fishing Companion ("the App") provided by Freedom Boat Club ("FBC"). By using the App you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the App.
1. Fishing regulations are advisory, not authoritative
Important: The size limits, bag limits, seasons, and keep/release verdicts shown in the App are provided for convenience only. Regulations change frequently and may be updated without notice by federal, state, and tribal authorities.
You are solely responsible for complying with all applicable fishing laws. Before keeping any fish, verify the current regulations with the appropriate state fish-and-wildlife agency. When in doubt, release it.
2. Fish identification is not guaranteed
The "Identify a Fish" feature uses machine learning. It produces best-guess identifications and can be wrong, especially on rare species, juveniles, or poor-quality photos. Do not rely on it as the sole basis for keep/release or legal-compliance decisions.
3. Weather, tides, and marine conditions
Weather, wind, tide, current, and sea-surface-temperature data displayed in the App are sourced from NOAA, OpenWeatherMap, and other public feeds. Forecasts can be wrong. Before heading out, always check official marine forecasts and your own judgment about on-water conditions. Boating is an inherently risky activity; you accept the risk of your own decisions.
4. Trip Log and on-water tracking
The Trip Log records GPS samples at regular intervals while a trip is active so you can replay your path afterwards. Coverage depends on your device's GPS quality, signal availability, whether the App is in the foreground, and your device's power state — gaps and inaccuracies are normal and the recorded path may differ from your actual route. Do not rely on the Trip Log for navigation, search-and-rescue, or any safety-of-life purpose. Always carry a charged VHF, a chart, and means of backup communication.
5. Achievements, points, and leaderboards
Badges, points, challenges, and leaderboard rankings are gameplay features intended for personal motivation and community engagement. They are awarded based on automated rules that may have bugs, may change without notice, and may be retroactively recalculated to fix mistakes. We may correct, recalibrate, or revoke badges and points at our discretion to maintain integrity, including in cases of suspected gaming or fraudulent submissions. Leaderboard placement confers no real-world prize, status, or benefit unless explicitly stated in a separate written promotion.
6. Your account
If you sign in to the App, you are responsible for keeping your credentials secure. If you suspect unauthorized use, contact [email protected] immediately. You must be at least 13 years old to use the App.
7. Acceptable use
You agree not to:
- Use the App to violate any law, rule, or regulation.
- Attempt to reverse engineer, scrape at high volume, or overwhelm the App's servers.
- Upload photos that contain illegal content, or content you do not have the right to share.
- Submit fabricated, AI-generated, recycled, or otherwise misleading catch photos to inflate badges, points, or leaderboard rank, or otherwise game the achievements system.
- Misrepresent your identity or impersonate another member, including by choosing a leaderboard handle that misappropriates someone else's name.
- Use the App to harass, defraud, or harm another person.
8. User-generated content
You retain ownership of the photos, trip notes, private-spot names and descriptions, and other content you submit through the App ("Your Content"). By submitting Your Content, you grant FBC a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to host, store, process, display, and analyze Your Content for the limited purpose of operating and improving the App (including feeding photos through Anthropic's Claude Vision API for identification, applying image transformations such as EXIF stripping and resizing before storage, and aggregating non-identifying metadata for accuracy review). We will not publicly display Your Content on a leaderboard or other public surface unless you explicitly opt in to do so. You represent that you have the right to grant this license for everything you upload.
9. Intellectual property
The App's software, design, logos, and content (excluding Your Content and government-published data such as regulations and NOAA forecasts) are owned by FBC or its licensors. You may use the App for its intended purpose. You may not copy, modify, distribute, or create derivative works without written permission.
10. Disclaimer of warranties
THE APP IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. FBC DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE APP WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, OR THAT THE DATA PRESENTED IS ACCURATE, CURRENT, OR COMPLETE.
11. Limitation of liability
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, FBC, ITS AFFILIATES, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AND CONTRACTORS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, OR GOODWILL, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OF THE APP.
12. Indemnification
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless FBC from any claim arising from your misuse of the App, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of any third-party right.
13. Changes
We may modify these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be posted in-app with at least seven (7) days' notice. Continued use of the App after a change takes effect constitutes acceptance.
14. Governing law
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Florida, USA, without regard to conflict-of-laws principles. Any dispute shall be resolved in the state or federal courts located in the Middle District of Florida.
15. Contact
Freedom Boat Club
Email: [email protected]