Terms of Use

Terms of Use

Last updated: 16 July 2026

Welcome to Bioluminescent Plankton Watch — Wales, England & Scotland. These Terms of Use ("Terms") govern your use of this app and community. By creating an account or using the app, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the app.

1. Who may use the app

  • You must be at least 13 years old to create an account.
  • You must provide accurate information and keep your account secure.
  • You are responsible for all activity under your account.

2. Your account

You can update your name and website link from your profile, and make your profile public or private. Don't share your password. If you think your account has been compromised, contact the admin team through the Community Forum.

3. User content

Much of the app is built from content contributed by users like you — sightings, photos, videos, forum posts and comments.

You own your content. By posting it here you grant us a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to display it publicly within the app (on the map, gallery, forum and profile features) and to share anonymised, aggregated data for research purposes as described in our Privacy Policy.

Copyright in your content stays with you. Posting here does not transfer ownership of your photos, videos, text or other content to us or to anyone else — you keep the copyright. The licence you grant us (set out above) only lets us display your content within the app.

You confirm that:

  • You have the right to post the content, including any necessary permissions from people who appear in your photos or videos.
  • Your content does not show identifiable children in a way that could put them at risk.
  • Your content is accurate to the best of your knowledge.

You may not download, copy, save, screenshot or re-use another user's images, videos or other content — whether on this app, on social media, or anywhere else — without first getting that person's clear consent. Content shown in the app is displayed for the community to view and enjoy here; it is not a free resource to take and reuse. Copyright in every contribution remains with the person who created it.

4. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

  • Post content that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, hateful, or that promotes violence or discrimination.
  • Post sexual content or content that exploits or harms minors.
  • Impersonate another person, or post someone else's personal information without permission.
  • Spam, mass-post, or repeatedly post "is anyone going to [location] tonight?" messages that bury genuine sightings.
  • Try to scrape, copy or harvest the app's data for commercial use.
  • Interfere with the app, its servers, or its security.
  • Post anything that infringes another person's intellectual property.

The admin team may edit, hide or remove content, and suspend or delete accounts that breach these Terms.

5. Sighting accuracy — no guarantees

Sightings are crowd-sourced reports from volunteers. We do not verify sightings, and we cannot guarantee that any reported bioluminescence will be visible at a given place or time. Nature is unpredictable. Don't rely on the map as a guarantee — use it as a guide to where people have seen the glow.

6. Coastal safety — your responsibility

The coastline can be dangerous. You are responsible for your own safety. Beaches may have strong rip currents, sudden drops, slippery rocks and unpredictable tides. Please read the safety guidance on our Info page before heading out. In an emergency, dial 999 and ask for the Coastguard.

No photograph or sighting is worth risking your life for.

7. Moderation

The admin team moderates the community to keep it friendly and useful. We may remove content that breaches these Terms, that is off-topic, or that puts safety at risk. Decisions of the admin team are final.

8. Intellectual property

The app's design, text and features are owned by the admin team or its licensors. Map tiles are © OpenStreetMap contributors; satellite data is © EUMETSAT / Copernicus, NASA GIBS and NOAA CoastWatch, as credited in the app. User content remains the property of its contributors, licensed to us as set out above.

9. Disclaimers and limitation of liability

The app is provided "as is" without warranties of any kind. We do not guarantee the app will be uninterrupted, error-free, or that sightings are accurate. To the maximum extent permitted by law, neither the admin team nor its contributors are liable for any loss or damage arising from your use of the app or reliance on its content — including any decision to visit a location based on a sighting, or any incident at the coast.

10. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. We'll show the "last updated" date at the top of this page. Continued use of the app after changes are posted means you accept the updated Terms.

11. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. Any disputes will be dealt with in the courts of England and Wales, except where consumer protection law gives you the right to use your local courts.

12. Contact

Questions about these Terms? Reach the admin team through our Community Forum. For urgent coastal safety, dial 999 and ask for the Coastguard.