Privacy Policy

Last updated: 2026-08-11

Heat Guardian is a free, ad-free meet-day companion for swim families, built to be private by design. It has no accounts, no ads, and no tracking. Your swimmers, meets, notes, and times are stored only on your device. Data leaves your device only when you take an action that needs the network - described below.

What stays on your device

Everything you add lives only in your app storage on the device you use:

• The swimmers you add (names, team, age, gender) and any private notes.
• Meets you import (heat sheets, psych sheets, SD3 files) and the times you type.
• Your settings (language, theme, role, team logo).

We do not have user accounts and do not build a profile of you. Clearing the app's storage (or uninstalling) removes this data.

When data leaves your device - only at your request

• Opening a meet document you choose (a heat-sheet PDF or link you paste or tap). For links that block direct access, the request passes through a lightweight relay we operate that simply fetches the file and returns it; it does not retain the file or build a profile of you.
• The app does not contact USA Swimming. It never asks them for swimmer names, times, meets or results, and nothing of that kind is cached. Times and standards come only from the documents you import and the standards bundled with the app.
• Sharing a meet by link or code. If you choose to share, the parsed meet sheet is uploaded to a temporary cache so recipients can open it. Shared meets auto-expire after the meet.
• Correcting a meet's details. If you fix a meet's name, which events fall on which day, or a day's start time, that correction (and the note you type) is sent to our helper service, keyed by a fingerprint of the sheet, so other parents who imported the same sheet see it too. The app also checks for such corrections when you open a meet. If you tap "Not sure? Ask", the sheet's headings, dates and event list, never a swimmer's name or lane, are sent to our helper service and on to Anthropic's Claude to draft the correction; you confirm it before anything is shared. Corrections carry no swimmer data.
• Sending in-app feedback. We receive the message you type plus basic context (app version, language). Please don't include personal details you don't want shared.
• Refreshing the public meet directory and loading the app and its bundled time standards.

Location ("Near me") is used only on-device to sort meets by distance; your location is never sent anywhere.

Payments

The app is free. If you choose to leave an optional tip, the purchase is handled entirely by the App Store or Google Play - we never receive or store your payment card information.

Children's privacy

Heat Guardian is intended for parents, coaches, and adult swimmers to follow meets; it is not directed to children. Swimmer names and ages you enter are stored on your device and are not collected by us. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 (COPPA). If you believe a child sent us information through the feedback form, contact us and we will delete it.

Third parties

Heat Guardian is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by or connected to USA Swimming, Meet Mobile, Hy-Tek, ACTIVE Network, SwimCloud, or any swim governing body, meet host or timing company. It is an independent app made by one parent. Any names of those organisations appear only to describe what a document or a time standard is, never to suggest a relationship. Meet documents you open come from the sites you link to, under their own terms. App distribution and any optional tip payments are handled by Apple and Google under their own privacy policies; the relay and helper service is hosted on Cloudflare.

Changes

If this policy changes, the "last updated" date above will change. Material changes will be noted in the app.

Contact

Questions about this policy? Email ches.hughes@gmail.com, or use the in-app Send feedback link.