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Privacy Policy
How VoyBulk collects, uses, and protects your personal data
Last updated: 15 May 2026 — Operated by VoyBulk, Dubai, UAE
This Privacy Policy explains how VoyBulk, operated by VoyBulk ("we", "us", "our"), collects, uses, stores, and protects personal data when you use the VoyBulk platform at voybulk.com. By creating an account or using our services, you agree to the practices described in this policy.
This policy is designed to comply with the UAE Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL) Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021 and, for users in the European Economic Area, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
1. Data We Collect
Account Registration
When you create a free VoyBulk account, we collect:
- Username
- Email address
- Password (stored as a one-way bcrypt hash — we cannot read your password)
- Google account identifier (if you choose to sign in with Google)
- Date and time of account creation
Usage Data
When you use the platform, we collect data you enter into the tools, including:
- Voyage calculation inputs (vessel details, port names, cargo quantities, freight rates)
- Laytime calculator inputs (charter party terms, Statement of Facts events)
- Saved calculations and cargo orders stored to your account
- Vessel positions parsed from email integrations (if enabled)
Technical Data
We automatically collect limited technical data when you access the platform:
- IP address (used for security and abuse prevention; not linked to your profile)
- Browser type and version
- Session tokens (stored in server-side PHP sessions, not in cookies)
- Page access logs retained for up to 30 days
API Users
If you use the VoyBulk Port Distance API, we collect your API key usage logs (endpoint called, timestamp, response status) to enforce rate limits and investigate abuse. API keys are linked to your registered email address.
2. How We Use Your Data
- Account management: To create and maintain your account, authenticate you on login, and send account-related emails (password reset, email verification).
- Service delivery: To save and restore your voyage calculations, cargo orders, and vessel positions across sessions.
- Platform improvement: Aggregated, anonymised usage statistics help us prioritise features and fix issues. Individual calculation data is never shared or sold.
- Security: IP logs and session data help us detect unauthorised access and prevent abuse of the free API tier.
- Legal compliance: We may process data to comply with applicable laws or respond to lawful requests from authorities.
We do not sell, rent, or share your personal data with third parties for marketing purposes.
3. Legal Basis for Processing
For users in the EEA/UK, our legal bases for processing personal data are:
- Contract performance: Processing necessary to provide the service you registered for (account creation, saving calculations).
- Legitimate interests: Security monitoring, abuse prevention, and aggregated analytics to improve the platform.
- Consent: Email-based Gmail integration for vessel position parsing — you explicitly enable this and can revoke it at any time from your account settings.
- Legal obligation: Retaining records as required by UAE commercial law.
4. Data Storage and Security
Your data is stored on servers located in the European Union. We apply the following security measures:
- HTTPS enforced for all connections (HSTS with preload)
- Passwords hashed using bcrypt (never stored in plaintext)
- Database access restricted to application server only (no public port)
- Sensitive directories and configuration files blocked from web access via server configuration
- Regular security reviews of the application codebase
No system is 100% secure. In the event of a data breach affecting your personal data, we will notify affected users and relevant authorities as required by applicable law.
5. Cookies and Tracking
VoyBulk uses no third-party tracking cookies and no advertising cookies. We use:
- Session cookies: A single server-side PHP session cookie that expires when you close your browser. This is strictly necessary to keep you logged in.
- No analytics scripts: We do not use Google Analytics, Meta Pixel, or any third-party analytics service that tracks individual users.
6. Gmail Integration
The vessel position feature can optionally connect to your Gmail account via Google OAuth to parse shipping position emails. If you enable this:
- We request read-only access to emails matching specific maritime position keywords
- Email content processed by the AI parser is not permanently stored — only the extracted vessel data (name, open port, date, cargo capacity) is saved
- You can revoke Gmail access at any time from your Google Account security settings or from within VoyBulk
- We do not read, store, or share the content of your emails beyond what is necessary to extract vessel position data
7. Data Retention
- Active accounts: Your data is retained for as long as your account exists.
- Deleted accounts: Personal data is deleted within 30 days of account deletion. Anonymised, aggregated usage statistics may be retained indefinitely.
- Access logs: Server access logs are retained for 30 days and then deleted automatically.
- Backups: Database backups may retain your data for up to 90 days after deletion, after which they are purged.
8. Your Rights
Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:
- Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
- Correction: Request correction of inaccurate data.
- Deletion: Request deletion of your account and associated personal data.
- Portability: Request your saved calculations in a machine-readable format.
- Objection: Object to processing based on legitimate interests.
- Withdrawal of consent: Withdraw consent for Gmail integration at any time without affecting lawfulness of prior processing.
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at info@voybulk.com. We will respond within 30 days.
9. Third-Party Services
VoyBulk uses the following third-party services, each subject to their own privacy policies:
We do not share your personal data with any of these services beyond what is technically necessary for authentication and content delivery.
10. Children's Privacy
VoyBulk is a professional maritime tool not intended for use by persons under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child under 18 has created an account, contact us at info@voybulk.com and we will delete the account promptly.
11. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. For material changes, we will notify registered users by email. Continued use of the platform after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
12. Contact
For privacy-related questions, requests, or complaints: