Last updated: September 14, 2026
The short version
Paddle or Portage uses your phone number and message to look up river gauges and send a reply. We temporarily store pending requests so they can survive a service interruption. We also retain limited operational records and gauge-interest statistics. We do not sell or rent your personal information.
Information used to deliver replies
Our messaging provider, Twilio, receives your phone number and message and forwards them to our server. Pending requests are stored with your phone number, message text and delivery identifier.
We remove these details from the pending-request queue when processing finishes, including when delivery is recorded as failed or uncertain. Requests awaiting processing can remain longer during an interruption; pending requests do not have a fixed automatic deletion deadline.
We retain separate delivery identifiers, statuses and retry counts to prevent duplicate processing and investigate failures. These records contain neither your phone number nor message text. Successful records are eligible for cleanup after 30 days; other delivery records may remain longer.
Operational records and gauge-interest statistics
Our usage records contain request times, gauge counts, outcomes and error categories, but not your message text or raw phone number. A protected code derived from your phone number lets us count distinct senders within a day. When recording new usage, we remove operational records older than 10 days.
We retain gauge-request totals and longer-term records linking gauges to a protected sender code, including when that sender first requested each gauge. This lets us count each sender once per gauge. These records have no scheduled deletion date. They are pseudonymous—not completely anonymous—because the code can link the same sender’s gauge requests without storing their raw phone number in these statistics.
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- No analytics or tracking tools are used on this website
Backups
Operational records may remain in backups after removal from the active database. Our current backup process removes pending-request phone numbers and message text from the delivery-queue snapshot before archiving it. Backups copied off the server are encrypted. Backup retention is separate, so removal from the active service does not mean immediate deletion from every backup or recoverable copy.
Service providers and messaging
We use messaging, hosting and backup providers to operate the service. Twilio separately handles your phone number and message under its own privacy policy.
Gauge lookups use USGS, Environment and Climate Change Canada, and New Zealand data providers. These requests identify the gauge; we do not send those providers your phone number or full SMS message.
We send replies to your requests, not marketing messages. We may retry a failed or uncertain delivery attempt, so an occasional duplicate reply is possible. Carrier and satellite messaging charges may apply.
Children's privacy
This service is not directed at children under 13 and does not knowingly collect information from children.
Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, the updated version will be posted at this URL with a revised date. Given the nature of this service, significant changes are unlikely.
Contact
Questions about this privacy policy? Email jamtastical3@gmail.com.