← Back to the app · Last updated 5 November 2026
In short
- No accounts, no advertising, no tracking cookies. The app stores your preferences on your own device.
- Where you're travelling from and to is sent to our server only when you press “Ferry or bridge?”, so we can work out the two routes. It is not kept — unless you turn on alerts for that journey.
- Queue estimates come from Tamar Crossings' public webcams, which we read about once a minute. Nothing in those pictures identifies you (number plates are not legible at the camera's resolution and we do not try to read them).
- We hold no names or email addresses. Anything else tied to your device can be deleted on request: hello@ferryorbridge.co.uk.
Who runs this
Ferry or Bridge? is an independent, free service built in Torpoint. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to Tamar Crossings, Cornwall Council, Plymouth City Council or any transport operator. Contact: hello@ferryorbridge.co.uk.
What we collect, and why
| When you… | We process | Kept |
|---|---|---|
| Open the app | Your device sends ordinary web requests to our server (hosted by Cloudflare). We use Cloudflare Web Analytics, which counts page views without cookies and without identifying you. Our server logs contain no personal data beyond the request itself. | Logs: a few days (Cloudflare) |
| Press “Ferry or bridge?” | The start and end points you typed (or your location, if you chose “use my location”) are sent to our server and on to TomTom to calculate both routes with live traffic. The last journey is remembered on your device so you don't retype it. | Not stored on our server |
| Turn on alerts | That journey's start and end points, your chosen days and times, and the push-notification address your phone gives us (an anonymous token issued by Apple, Google or Mozilla). We check the journey at the times you asked for and send the alert through that service. | Until you turn the alert off (deleted immediately) or notifications fail repeatedly |
| Report how long you waited | The side, the minutes you waited, the time, and a one-way hash of a random identifier stored on your device (so one phone's reports can be grouped; it cannot be turned back into a device or a person). | Indefinitely, in anonymous form, as part of the open queue record |
| Add your name to the supporter count | The first part of your postcode (e.g. PL11) if you give it, the hashed device identifier, and an optional note. We do not collect email addresses; campaign updates are posted in the app. | Until you ask us to remove it |
| Use the “On foot or bike” location button | Your position is used on your device to estimate the walk to the slipway. It is not sent to our server. | Not stored |
Camera pictures
We fetch Tamar Crossings' two public waiting-area webcam images about once a minute to estimate how many lanes are occupied. The current picture is shown in the app with a link to the operator's page. We keep a copy about every ten minutes in daylight for up to seven days (longer if it has been used to check the lane count), purely to verify the counting. Vehicles and people in these pictures are not identifiable at the camera's resolution, and we make no attempt to identify them.
On your device
The app uses your browser's local storage (not cookies) for: your last journey and saved journeys, your chosen mode (car or foot), whether you've hidden the intro video, a random identifier for wait reports, and a cached copy of the app so it opens offline. Clearing the site's data in your browser removes all of it.
Who else sees data
- Cloudflare hosts the app, its database and the analytics (Cloudflare, Inc.; data may be processed outside the UK under Cloudflare's standard contractual terms).
- TomTom receives route start and end points to calculate journeys and live traffic (TomTom International B.V., Netherlands).
- Apple, Google or Mozilla deliver push notifications if you turn alerts on; they see the notification token and the message, not your journey.
- Tamar Crossings provides the public webcams, status page and timetable we read. We do not send them anything about you.
We do not sell data, and we do not share it with anyone else. Aggregate, anonymous statistics about queues and waits (never individual journeys or reports) are published openly in the app and may be shared with councils, the operator, our MP and the press to make the case for a better crossing.
Your rights
Under UK data protection law you can ask what we hold about you, ask us to correct or delete it, or object to our using it. Email hello@ferryorbridge.co.uk; we'll answer within a month. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ico.org.uk). Our lawful basis is legitimate interest (running the service and the campaign), or your consent where you turn on alerts, which you can withdraw at any time by turning them off.
Terms of use
- Estimates only. Queue lengths, waits, boarding times and journey times are estimates made from public cameras, traffic data and timetables. They can be wrong, late or unavailable. Always follow road signs, the operator's instructions and the staff on the ground, and allow margin for anything that matters (flights, trains, appointments).
- No liability for decisions. You use the information at your own risk. To the extent the law allows, we accept no liability for missed ferries, delays, costs or losses arising from reliance on the app.
- Beta service. The app is free and under active development. Features may change, break or be withdrawn without notice. We may suspend the service at any time, for example if the operator asks us to stop using the webcams.
- Fair use. Please don't scrape the app or its data endpoints at high rates, try to identify people from its data, or misrepresent its estimates as official. The open data exports are provided for personal, journalistic, academic and civic use with attribution to “Ferry or Bridge?”.
- Third-party content. Webcam images, service notices and timetables remain the property of Tamar Crossings and are shown with attribution and links to the source. Map and traffic data are provided by TomTom under their terms.
- Changes. We may update these terms and this notice; the date at the top shows the current version. Continued use after a change means you accept it.
- Law. These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales.