Terms of Use
Sounder: Fishing Guide · Last updated July 24, 2026
The short version: Sounder gives you its best read of the water, but it's information — not a guarantee, not navigation, and not legal advice. You're the captain. Verify conditions and regulations, and fish safe.
Agreeing to these terms
By using Sounder (the app and the getsounder.netlify.app website), you agree to these terms. If you don't agree, don't use Sounder.
Guidance is informational only
Everything Sounder shows or writes — tides, weather, marine forecasts, bite windows, species guidance, bait suggestions, depth and chart layers, verified observations, and AI-written “reads” — is informational and provided on a best-effort basis. It can be wrong, incomplete, or out of date, and conditions on the water change fast. It is not a substitute for official forecasts, navigational charts, local knowledge, or your own judgment. Never rely on Sounder for navigation or safety decisions — use official NOAA products and proper equipment for that.
Regulations are your responsibility
Fishing regulations change often and vary by state, species, season, and water. Sounder's regulation notes, keeper flags, and links are best-effort summaries and pointers, not legal advice. The official state agency's current rules always govern. You are responsible for having a valid license and following the law where you fish.
AI-generated content
The “read” on a spot is written by an AI model from the conditions Sounder can see. It can be confidently wrong. Treat it like advice from a well-informed friend — useful, but yours to sanity-check. Fresh AI reads are subject to a monthly allowance shown in Settings.
Fish at your own risk
Fishing, boating, wading, and being on or near the water carry inherent risks — weather, waves, currents, wildlife, terrain, and other people. You assume those risks. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Sounder and its operator are not liable for any injury, loss, damage, citation, or expense arising from your use of (or inability to use) the app, including decisions made based on its information.
No warranties
Sounder is provided “as is” and “as available,” without warranties of any kind, express or implied — including accuracy, reliability, availability, merchantability, and fitness for a particular purpose. Third-party data sources and services Sounder depends on can be delayed, interrupted, or discontinued at any time.
Limitation of liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, the total liability of Sounder's operator for any claims arising out of or relating to the app is limited to the amount you paid to use Sounder in the twelve months before the claim (which, for the free app, is zero), and neither party is liable for indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages.
Your content stays yours
Your catches, spots, notes, and photos are yours. If you enable sync, you give us permission to store and process that content solely to provide the sync service to you. Deleting your account (Settings) removes it from our servers, as described in the privacy policy.
Fair use
Don't abuse the service: no scraping, reselling, reverse-engineering the APIs, probing other users' data, or using Sounder to break the law (including fishing regulations). We may limit or suspend access that harms the service or other users.
Third-party data
Sounder displays data from NOAA, the National Weather Service, NASA, Open-Meteo, RainViewer, OpenStreetMap contributors, Esri, and iNaturalist contributors, each subject to their own terms and licenses. Credits are listed in Settings.
Changes, termination & law
We may update these terms (the date above changes with them) or discontinue features over time; material changes will be reflected here. You can stop using Sounder at any time — your local data stays on your device either way. These terms are governed by the laws of the United States; if any part is found unenforceable, the rest remains in effect.
Contact
Questions about these terms: mitchellhartjes@gmail.com.