Last updated: 8 March 2026
1. Who We Are
Hydroscape-Group Ltd ("we", "us", "our") operates the Hydroscape Monitoring Portal and associated tools at www.hydroscape-group.co.uk. We are committed to protecting your personal data and handling it responsibly. For any data protection enquiries, contact us at info@hydroscape-group.co.uk.
2. What Data We Collect
When you use our reporting tools, we may collect the following:
Sighting & Survey Data: GPS coordinates (latitude/longitude), what3words location, date and time, species observed, bird counts, activity/behaviour descriptions, visibility conditions, and free-text notes.
Photographic Evidence: Images you upload as evidence. These are compressed client-side and stored securely in Firebase Storage (Google Cloud, europe-west2 London).
Personal Identifiers (optional): Your name and email address, provided only if you opt in to the mailing list. These are not required to submit a report.
Deterrent Logs: Method type, duration, effectiveness rating, target species, and associated location data when using the HydroDeter log.
Technical Data: We do not use cookies for tracking. The service worker caches files locally on your device for offline functionality. We use localStorage to queue reports when you are offline. No analytics or third-party tracking scripts are loaded.
3. How We Use Your Data
Your data is used for the following purposes:
Ecological Monitoring: Sighting data contributes to population mapping, predation analysis, and biodiversity assessments used to support conservation and fishery management.
AI Verification: Uploaded photographs may be analysed by Google Gemini AI to verify species presence and provide automated counts. This processing occurs server-side and the AI does not receive your name or email.
Reverse Geocoding: Your GPS coordinates are processed server-side using the Google Maps Geocoding API to determine the county/region for each submission. The coordinates themselves are retained.
Mailing List: If you opt in, your name and email are shared with Brevo (formerly Sendinblue), our email marketing provider, for the sole purpose of sending project updates. You can unsubscribe at any time via the link in any email.
Notifications: Each submission triggers an internal notification to the Hydroscape team via Slack. This notification contains sighting data but not your personal email address.
4. Legal Basis for Processing
Consent: We process your personal data (name, email, location) on the basis of your explicit consent, given via the GDPR checkbox on each reporting form. You may withdraw consent at any time by contacting us.
Legitimate Interest: We process anonymised and aggregated ecological data (sightings, counts, locations without personal identifiers) for the legitimate purpose of wildlife conservation, fishery management, and supporting licence applications under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
5. Where Your Data Is Stored
Your data is stored in Google Cloud Firestore and Firebase Storage, hosted on Google Cloud infrastructure in the London (europe-west2) region. Photographs are stored in Firebase Storage with access restricted to authorised Hydroscape personnel. Our backend processing runs on Google Cloud Functions within the same infrastructure.
If you opt in to the mailing list, your name and email are transferred to Brevo's servers (EU-hosted) under their data processing agreement.
6. Data Sharing
We do not sell your personal data. We may share anonymised, aggregated ecological data (without personal identifiers) with:
Conservation organisations (e.g. Natural England, Environment Agency, Wildlife Trusts) for the purpose of supporting wildlife management, habitat protection, and licensing decisions.
Academic or research institutions conducting ecological studies, subject to formal data sharing agreements.
Fishery clubs and angling associations whose members contribute data, in aggregated form only.
7. Data Retention
Ecological sighting data (locations, counts, dates, photographs) is retained indefinitely as it forms part of long-term population monitoring datasets. This data has ongoing scientific and conservation value.
Personal identifiers (name, email) provided via the mailing list opt-in are retained until you unsubscribe or request deletion.
Locally cached data on your device (service worker cache, offline queue) can be cleared at any time by clearing your browser data.
8. Your Rights
Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018, you have the right to:
Access the personal data we hold about you.
Rectification of any inaccurate personal data.
Erasure of your personal data (noting that anonymised ecological data may be retained).
Restrict processing in certain circumstances.
Withdraw consent at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.
Lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk if you believe your data rights have been infringed.
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at info@hydroscape-group.co.uk.
9. Children's Privacy
Our services are not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.
10. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be reflected on this page with an updated "Last updated" date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.
Hydroscape-Group Ltd • info@hydroscape-group.co.uk • www.hydroscape-group.co.uk