Copyright Policy

DiveCodex is built by divers, for divers. This page explains who owns what — your content, our editorial work, and how we handle copyright. Plain language, no surprises.

Last updated: 22 March 2026

Your data, your ownership

A core principle of DiveCodex and DiveLog: you own your data. This applies to everything you contribute:

→Dive logs — your dive records, notes, gas data, and all associated metadata belong to you
→Photos and videos — media you upload remains your intellectual property (see details below)
→Profile information — your account data, preferences, and settings

You can export your data in a portable format or delete it at any time. We will never lock you in. We believe your dive history should be yours to keep, move, and use with any application you choose.

Photos and media

Your photos

When you upload photos or videos to DiveCodex or DiveLog, you retain full copyright. We do not claim ownership of your media. By uploading, you grant DiveCodex a non-exclusive licence to display your media on the platform — this licence exists solely so we can show your content to other users as you intended. You can revoke this licence at any time by removing your media.

DiveCodex editorial photos

Photographs in our editorial dive site guides are copyright © their respective photographers. Currently, editorial photography is by Jouni Kuisma / DiveCodex unless otherwise credited in the image caption. All rights reserved.

This includes, but is not limited to:

×Downloading and re-uploading to other websites or social media
×Using images in commercial products, print, or advertising
×Creating derivative works (cropping, filtering, editing)
×Using images to train AI or machine learning models

Reviews and community content

When you write a review, comment, or rating on a dive site or dive centre, you retain copyright of your written text. However, to keep the community resource useful for everyone, reviews work slightly differently from other user content:

→By posting a review, you grant DiveCodex a perpetual, non-exclusive licence to display it on the platform — even if you later delete your account
→If you delete your account, your reviews will be anonymised (your name and profile removed) but the review text may remain visible to preserve the community knowledge base
→You can request removal of specific reviews at any time by contacting us — we will honour reasonable requests

Why? Dive site reviews help the entire community plan safer, better dives. Keeping them available (anonymised) after account deletion preserves that shared value, while respecting your identity.

Editorial content

Our editorial content is researched, written, and curated by our editorial team. We gather information from multiple publicly available sources — including dive centre websites, official tourism resources, marine park authorities, diver communities, and published data — and synthesise it into original editorial guides. We use technology tools, including automated research tools and AI-assisted writing aids, as part of our editorial workflow. All published content reflects original editorial judgment in the selection, arrangement, and expression of information, and is reviewed by human editors.

You may freely link to any page and quote brief excerpts with attribution. Reproducing entire articles or substantial portions requires written permission. Any use of DiveCodex content to train, fine-tune, or develop AI or machine learning models is prohibited without express written permission, pursuant to Article 4(3) of EU Directive 2019/790.

Hotlinking and automated access

Hotlinking— embedding DiveCodex images directly on external websites — is prohibited. Hotlinked images may be blocked or replaced without notice.

Automated extraction of images or content using bots or scripts is prohibited. Legitimate search engine crawlers (Google, Bing) are permitted.

Licensing

Individual photo licences for DiveCodex editorial photography may be available on request for editorial, educational, or commercial use. Licensing terms, fees, and usage rights are determined on a case-by-case basis.

To enquire about licensing, contact hello@divecodex.com with:

→Which image(s) you are interested in (URL or description)
→Intended use (editorial, commercial, educational, personal)
→Where the image will be published

DMCA takedown procedure

If you believe content on DiveCodex infringes your copyright, you may submit a DMCA takedown notice. To be effective, your notice must include:

Identification of the copyrighted work you claim is being infringed
The URL(s) on DiveCodex where the allegedly infringing material is located
Your contact information (name, address, email, phone number)
A statement that you have a good-faith belief that the use is not authorised by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law
A statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorised to act on their behalf
Your physical or electronic signature

Send DMCA notices to: hello@divecodex.com

We will respond to valid DMCA notices promptly and remove or disable access to the allegedly infringing material.

Contact

For copyright questions, licensing inquiries, or DMCA notices:

Email: hello@divecodex.com