Privacy Policy

3.1 Information You Provide Directly

Account Registration (All Users)

Boat Owners (Additional Information)

Captains and Crew (Additional Information)

Booking Guests

Communications: When you contact us or communicate through our Platform, we collect the content of your messages, including messages exchanged with boat owners, captains, crew members, customer support, and our AI-powered features.

3.2 Information Collected Automatically

Device and Technical Information

• Device type and model
• Operating system and version
• Browser type and version
• IP address
• Unique device identifiers
• App version and platform (iOS, Android, Web)

Usage Information

• Pages and screens viewed
• Features used and interactions
• Search queries and filters applied
• Booking flow activity
• Time spent on the Platform
• Referral sources

Location Information

For Captains During Active Charters: When a captain begins a booked charter trip, we collect real-time GPS location data including:

• Latitude and longitude coordinates
• Speed (in knots)
• Heading (direction)
• Altitude
• Timestamps
• Anchor point locations and duration

This voyage tracking data is collected for safety, insurance, and service quality purposes. GPS tracking is active only during booked charter trips and can be paused by the captain.

For All Users: With your permission, we may collect general location information to provide location-based search results and services.

3.3 Information from Third-Party Sources

Social Login Providers

If you choose to register or log in using a social account, we receive information from that provider:

• Google Sign-In: Email address, name, profile photo
• Apple Sign-In: Email address, name (if you choose to share)

Affiliate and Referral Partners

If you access our Platform through a referral or affiliate link, we may receive attribution information including referral source, campaign information, and affiliate identifiers.

3.4 Identity Verification and Biometric Information

To protect our guests, boat owners, and captains — and because a charter agreement is a binding contract — we verify the identity of the person who signs it, and of the captains who operate our charters.

How It Works

Identity verification is performed by Stripe, Inc. using Stripe Identity. You will be asked to photograph a government-issued identity document (a driver’s license, identity card, or passport) and to take a photograph of your face. Stripe compares distinctive facial features in the two images to confirm that the person presenting the document is the person it was issued to. That comparison uses biometric information — specifically, facial geometry derived from those images.

What Stripe Receives, and What We Never See

The photographs are captured inside Stripe’s own secure interface and sent directly to Stripe. CharterXO never receives, stores, or has access to the images of your document or your face. We receive only Stripe’s conclusion and the details listed below.

What CharterXO Keeps

Your chosen display name is never changed by this process — what the app calls you remains yours to choose.

Who Else Can See It

• A verification badge. Once you are verified, a “Verified by Stripe Identity” badge appears beside your name on your profile and to the other people on a booking you share — the charterer, the boat owner, the captain, and the crew. The badge states only that you are verified. It never reveals your document, your date of birth, or any detail of the verification itself.
• Your legal name and date of birth on the charter agreement. A charter agreement is a contract between named individuals, and some agreements ask for the charterer’s date of birth in print. The completed agreement is delivered to every party who signs it — which for most charters means you, the boat owner, and the captain.

Nothing else from your verification is shared with other users. Your document number, the images, and the history of your attempts are never shown to anyone outside CharterXO.

Consent and Choice

Stripe asks for your consent before collecting or using your biometric information, and you may decline. If you decline, we cannot issue you a charter agreement to sign. You verify once: a completed verification is reused for your future charters, and you will not be asked again unless your identity document expires, the email address or phone number on your account changes, or we reset it following an investigation.

How Long It Is Kept

Stripe retains verification data in accordance with its own privacy policy and applicable law. You may ask us to delete your verification at any time using the contact details in Section 16; we will delete the information we hold and instruct Stripe to redact the verification session on their side. Where the law requires us to keep certain records — for example to prevent fraud, or to meet maritime and tax obligations — we keep only what is required, for only as long as it is required.

Biometric Information

We do not sell, lease, trade, or otherwise profit from biometric information, and we do not use it for any purpose other than confirming your identity for a charter. We do not use it for advertising, analytics, or to train any model. Residents of states with specific biometric privacy laws — including Illinois, Texas, and Washington — have additional rights described in Section 8.

To Provide and Operate Our Services

• Create and manage your account
• Facilitate yacht charter bookings
• Process payments and payouts
• Enable communications between users
• Provide customer support

To Verify Identity and Credentials

• Verify your identity through OTP verification
• Verify your identity through Stripe Identity when you sign a charter agreement (see Section 3.4)
• Verify captain licenses and certifications
• Verify business entity documentation for owners
• Prevent fraud and unauthorized access

To Process Payments

• Process booking payments from customers
• Distribute payouts to boat owners, captains, and crew
• Manage security deposits
• Handle refunds and disputes
• Maintain transaction records for tax and legal compliance

To Ensure Safety and Compliance

• Track voyage routes for safety and insurance purposes
• Send weather alerts and safety notifications
• Facilitate electronic waiver signing
• Monitor for policy violations
• Respond to emergencies

To Improve Our Platform

• Analyze usage patterns and trends
• Develop new features and services
• Conduct research and analytics
• Train and improve our AI-powered features

To Communicate With You

• Send booking confirmations and updates
• Deliver trip reminders and notifications
• Respond to your inquiries
• Send marketing communications (with your consent)
• Notify you of policy changes

AI-Powered Features

Our Platform includes AI-powered features to enhance your experience:

• AI Concierge: Helps customers find and book charters through natural language conversation
• XO Sidekick: Assists owners with fleet management and analytics
• Dispute Analysis: Helps analyze and resolve booking disputes
• Weather Analysis: Provides trip safety recommendations
• Smart Messaging: Monitors communications for safety concerns

Google Calendar Integration

If you choose to connect your Google Calendar, CharterXO accesses your Google Calendar to keep your charter schedule in sync:

• We create, update, and delete events on your calendar that represent your CharterXO bookings and availability blocks, so your charter schedule appears alongside your personal calendar.
• We read your existing calendar events so that times you are already busy are shown as unavailable in CharterXO, preventing double-booking.

We access only the calendar of the account you connect, and only for your scheduling within CharterXO. You can disconnect your Google Calendar at any time from your CharterXO account settings, which stops all further access. We do not sell, share, or transfer this calendar data, and we do not use it for advertising.

6.1 Service Providers

All service providers are contractually obligated to protect your information and use it only for the purposes for which it was disclosed. For specific inquiries about our service providers, please contact privacy@charterxo.com.

6.2 Other Users

• When you book a charter: Your name, contact information, and booking details are shared with the boat owner and assigned captain
• When you list a boat: Your business name and contact information are visible to potential customers
• Group bookings: Guest names are shared with other guests in the booking for coordination purposes

6.3 Legal and Safety Disclosures

We may disclose your information when we believe it is necessary to:

• Comply with applicable laws, regulations, or legal processes
• Respond to lawful requests from government authorities, including law enforcement
• Protect the rights, property, or safety of CharterXO, our users, or the public
• Detect, prevent, or address fraud, security, or technical issues
• Respond to emergencies involving potential threats to safety

6.4 Business Transfers

If CharterXO is involved in a merger, acquisition, financing, reorganization, bankruptcy, or sale of company assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you of any such change and any choices you may have regarding your information.

6.5 With Your Consent

We may share your information with third parties when you have given us explicit consent to do so.

6.6 We Do Not Sell Your Personal Information

8.1 Rights for All Users

Regardless of where you are located, you have the following rights:

• Access your information: View and download the personal information we hold about you
• Update your information: Correct or update your account information at any time
• Manage notifications: Control your notification preferences in your account settings
• Request deletion: Contact us at privacy@charterxo.com

8.2 California Residents (CCPA Rights)

If you are a California resident, you have the following additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA):

• Right to Know: Request information about the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected
• Right to Delete: Request deletion of your personal information, subject to certain exceptions
• Right to Opt-Out of Sale: CharterXO does not sell personal information
• Right to Non-Discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising your privacy rights

8.3 EEA, UK, and Swiss Residents (GDPR Rights)

If you are a resident of the European Economic Area, United Kingdom, or Switzerland, you have the following additional rights:

• Right of Access (Article 15)
• Right to Rectification (Article 16)
• Right to Erasure (Article 17)
• Right to Restrict Processing (Article 18)
• Right to Data Portability (Article 20)
• Right to Object (Article 21)
• Right to Withdraw Consent (Article 7)