London Ferry privacy policy
Last updated 6 November 2026
Summary
- London Ferry has no accounts, no ads and no tracking. We never ask for your name, email or phone number.
- When you first open the app it creates a random install ID. We use it to count how many people use the app and to attach your reports to your username. It is not linked to you, your Apple Account or other apps.
- Your location is only used when you tap Add your drive time or I'm in the queue. Drive-time locations are not stored. Queue check-ins are deleted within 2 hours.
- Live reports and room messages you post are public in the app under your random username. Reports show for a day.
- If you allow notifications, we keep your device's notification token and your alert settings so we can send alerts at the times you choose.
- Saved piers and journeys stay on your iPhone. Walking times are worked out on your iPhone.
Who we are
London Ferry is published by Fontaine Greene Technologies Ltd ("we", "us"). We are the controller of the personal data described here. Contact: hello@fontainegreene.com.
Fontaine Greene Technologies Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales, company number 00360123. Registered office: 124 City Road, London EC1V 2NX.
What we collect and why
| Data | When | Why | How long |
|---|---|---|---|
| Install ID, app version, the date the app was last opened, your username, and a one-way hash of your network (IP) address | When the app first opens, then at most once a day | To count active users, to show your username on what you post, and to keep the community safe (limits, and blocking people who break the rules). The key that proves an install ID is yours stays on your iPhone; we keep only a one-way hash of it. | Deleted when the app hasn't been opened for 60 days (we can't tell when an app is deleted), or sooner if you ask. Bans are kept. |
| Live reports (type, terminal or pier, optional short note, time), room messages, confirms, and reports of posts or people you send to our moderators | When you post, confirm or flag | To show other travellers what's happening on each ferry and river bus, and to moderate it. | Reports show for a day. Reports and messages are kept for 30 days for moderation, then deleted. |
| Queue check-in: how far you are from the terminal (in metres), which terminal, and the time | Only when you tap I'm in the queue and have allowed location access | To measure how long the Woolwich Ferry queue is right now. Your exact coordinates are used once to work out the distance and are not stored. | Counted for 10 minutes and deleted within 2 hours. If you tap I'm on the boat, your wait time (not your location) is kept as a crossing record. |
| Measured crossings: which bank you started from, and when you joined the queue area and reached the far terminal | When you cross by car, unless you turn off Measure my crossings in Settings. It only works once you've allowed location Always and Motion & Fitness on your iPhone | To make the Woolwich Ferry estimates more accurate without anyone touching their phone in the queue. Your location stays on your iPhone; the motion sensor only tells a car from a walk. | Kept like crossings you log, linked to your install ID. |
| Crossings you log (wait, loading, sailing and driving-off times, which boat, disruptions) | When you tap Log a crossing | To make the Woolwich Ferry estimates more accurate. | Until you ask us to delete them. They are linked to your install ID so you can see your own history. |
| Suggestions you send us | When you tap Send a suggestion | To improve the app. | Until we've dealt with them, then up to a year. |
| Approximate location (latitude and longitude) | Only when you tap Add your drive time | To calculate your drive time to each terminal. It is sent to our server and our mapping provider for this calculation. | Not stored. It is used for that one request and then discarded. |
| Notification token, alert settings, refresh windows (and their names) and followed piers | If you allow notifications | To send alerts to your device during the windows you choose. | Until you turn notifications off or delete the app, after which the token is removed. |
| Usage counts: when you open the Woolwich Ferry or a river bus page, tap Buy Uber Boat tickets or another outside link (which one), add a pier (which one), plan a journey or use search, and the day | As you use the app | To see which features and piers people use, so we know what to improve. Counted per install ID and day; not what you searched for, where you went or your location. To object, email us at hello@fontainegreene.com; deleting the app also stops it. | Two years, then deleted. |
| Your email address, if you join the waiting list on londonferry.app, and which part of the page you joined from | When you submit the waiting-list form | To email you once, when London Ferry is on the App Store. We don't use it for anything else or share it. | Until we've sent that email, then deleted. To be removed sooner, email us at hello@fontainegreene.com. |
| Internet (IP) address | Whenever the app contacts our server | To deliver the service and limit how often requests can be made. For rate limiting we keep only a one-way hash of the address, never the address itself. | The hash is deleted within about a day. |
Tips. If you choose to leave a tip, Apple processes the payment. The app sends us Apple's signed receipt for the tip (its amount, currency, date and transaction number, linked to your install ID) so we can count tips. We never receive your name, card or Apple Account details.
Settings such as appearance, your list of saved piers and blocked users are stored only on your device (we only count which pier was added, as above). We do not collect your contacts, photos or payment details, and we do not build a profile of you.
Legal basis
Under UK GDPR we rely on legitimate interests to run the app, count users, measure which features are used, keep the community safe and provide the features you use, and on your choice to use them: location and notifications only work after you grant permission on your device, and you can withdraw it at any time in iOS Settings.
Service providers
We use a small number of trusted providers to run London Ferry (hosting, notifications and maps). They only use data to provide their service to us, under contracts that protect it, and may process it outside the UK under appropriate safeguards. We never sell your data.
Your rights
You can ask to access, correct or delete your personal data, or object to how we use it, by emailing hello@fontainegreene.com. Tell us your username (Settings, Community) so we can find your install. You can also complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk.
Children
London Ferry is a travel tool and is not directed at children under 13. You must be 13 or over to post reports.
Changes
If we change this policy we will update the date at the top of this page. Significant changes will also be noted in the app's release notes.