Privacy & your information
Updated October 1, 2026. This notice describes the features currently available.
Saved beaches and appearance
Without signing in, saved beach identifiers and your light/dark choice stay in this browser’s local storage. When the community service is enabled, verified accounts can synchronize favorites across devices. Import copies existing browser saves without deleting them. Account caches are separate from anonymous saves; signing out restores the anonymous collection. Pending account changes stay on that device until synchronized. Remove favorites using the save button or clear browser data. Without a saved appearance choice the site follows your device setting.
Accounts and visitor contributions
Community account setup uses Cloudflare for the isolated account/contribution store and Resend for emailed sign-in codes and subscription confirmations when enabled. We process your email, public display name, session and abuse-prevention information. Sessions use essential HTTP-only cookies; sign-in codes expire. Email addresses are not published beside reviews. The community page states whether setup is still pending.
Reviews, photographs and structured reports include a visit date and entrance used and start private pending moderation. Approved contributions and your display name are public. Photos are resized and re-encoded to remove embedded metadata before upload; visible identifying details still require moderation. Moderation reasons and decisions are retained for accountability. Withdraw contributions from your account. Ask [email protected] for account/data removal; no automated deletion portal is claimed. See the community policy, Resend privacy policy and Cloudflare policy below.
Google and Facebook sign-in
When enabled, provider sign-in requests your account identifier and email, not your friends list or posting permission. We link that identifier to your community account after one-time email verification. Provider passwords are never received; access tokens are used only on the server for identity verification and are not stored. Temporary essential sign-in cookies expire in 10-15 minutes; account sessions expire in 30 days. Email sign-in remains available. Ask [email protected] to disconnect a provider or delete account information. Provider sign-in does not subscribe you to email updates.
Email updates
Subscriptions require separate explicit consent and email confirmation. Creating an account does not subscribe you. You can unsubscribe from your account or a confirmation/update email link. Confirmed subscription consent and delivery information are kept separately from public contributions. No marketing campaign is running merely because the signup form is available.
Optional Google Analytics
Google Analytics 4 loads only after you choose Allow analytics. It uses cookies and can measure page views, device/browser information and interactions with guides, saves, comparisons and external links. Advertising storage, ad personalization and Google Signals are disabled in our tag configuration. This is measurement, not a promise that no information is collected. Your consent choice is saved in this browser.
Selecting No thanks stops future Google Analytics loading after the page reloads. It does not erase information already sent or existing cookies; clear this site’s browser data to remove cookies. Our custom search events omit search text and our configured page-view URL omits query strings. See Google’s Analytics data safeguards and privacy policy.
Hosting and cookie-free measurement
Cloudflare hosts and protects the site and may process access, network and security information. The deployed site also uses Cloudflare Web Analytics, separate from optional Google Analytics. Cloudflare describes that service as cookie-free and does not use it to fingerprint individual visitors. See Web Analytics and its privacy policy. Community data uses an isolated Cloudflare store when enabled; it cannot change the research or canonical databases. Corrections still use email.
Live conditions and water quality
Beach guides request weather and alerts from the National Weather Service, tides from NOAA and UV forecasts from the EPA. Requests use configured beach/reference locations, not your GPS; reference coverage is labeled. No location permission is requested.
Water-quality panels request our hosted daily-check snapshot service and retain a dated bundled snapshot if that service is unavailable. A direct Florida Department of Health Caspio-hosted county report is an additional fallback. Providers receive network information such as your IP address and requested resource/county. Laboratory dates and last successful checks are separate; neither guarantees current safe water. Feeds refresh while the guide is open. Favorites are not sent with these requests.
Other services and sharing
Typefaces and photos are hosted with this site; loading a page does not request Google Fonts. Opening the map requests OpenStreetMap tiles. The tile provider receives network information such as IP addresses and requested resources; see OpenStreetMap Foundation. Directions open Google Maps; dining, lodging, operator and source links open separate services governed by their own policies. Copy beach link writes a URL to your clipboard; it does not send a message. Shared search/filter URLs reveal those choices.
Corrections by email
There is no submission form. A corrections link opens your email app and nothing is sent until you send. Your address, message and attachments are handled by your email provider and our Google Workspace mailbox provider. We use correspondence to verify corrections and may retain source evidence; avoid sensitive information. Contact [email protected] about information you sent. See Corrections & contact.
Commercial disclosures
Selected lodging listings contain clearly labeled Expedia affiliate links; the Cocoa Beach One Love lesson has a clearly labeled Viator affiliate link. We may earn a commission on qualifying bookings, at no extra cost to you. Official property and operator links remain available; dining and other activity listings remain unpaid. Clicking a booking link takes you to the provider, whose privacy and tracking policies apply. There are no site payments. Dormant advertising slots do not load an ad provider. Affiliate links show a nearby disclosure and sponsored link attributes. Paid placement never changes editorial ratings or official facts. Optional, consented analytics measure outbound clicks, not bookings; booking attribution is available only when a provider supplies verified conversion reporting.