Privacy
Updated October 23, 2026.
SwellStatus is a surf forecast for Southern California. Reading it needs no account, and most of the site keeps nothing about you at all. This page says what it does keep, and why.
What the site keeps in your browser
The region you opened last, the voice you picked, which panel you left open and where you were on a page. These sit in your own browser's storage so the site opens the way you left it. They never leave your device, and clearing your browser's site data removes them.
Your location
The "Use my location" button asks your browser for your position only when you tap it, uses it once to open the nearest region, and does not store or send it anywhere.
What you give us
If you leave your email for a screen, we keep that email, what you asked for and when, to get back to you about it. If you buy a screen for a shop, Stripe takes the payment; we never see your card number. We keep the screen's settings (its name, logo, spots and promos) and the email you gave for billing. Email the address on the about page to have any of it removed.
Ads
The site shows ads from Google AdSense. Google and its partners use cookies to serve ads based on your visits to this and other sites. You can opt out of personalized advertising at Google's ads settings, and read how Google uses data from sites that show its ads at policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites. The Windows plan, when it opens, hides the ads.
What we don't do
No accounts to read the forecast. No selling of anything about you. Server logs keep ordinary request records (the address a request came from, the page, the time) for a short while, to keep the site running.
Analytics
We use Google Analytics to count visits and see which pages and stories get read, so we know what to work on. It sets cookies and sends Google the page you're on, the kind of device, and a rough location from your address; we send it no names, emails or exact positions. You can opt out with Google's browser add-on, and Google's own terms are at policies.google.com.
Where the numbers come from
The forecast is built from public data: NOAA and the National Weather Service, the Scripps Coastal Data Information Program, and the National Hurricane Center. None of it is about you.
Questions
Write to the address on the about page.