Privacy Policy

Astro Seeing (the "App") is a weather and stargazing-conditions app provided by Celestial Oxfordshire ("we", "us"). This policy explains what data the App collects, how we use it, and your rights regarding that data.

1. Data we collect

1.1 Location data

With your permission, the App accesses your device's approximate or precise location (latitude and longitude). We use this to fetch weather forecasts, moon and ISS data, light-pollution estimates, and observing conditions for your area.

• Location is sent to our backend server, which then queries third-party weather APIs (see Section 3).
• We do not store your location on our servers. Coordinates are used to make the API requests, returned to your device, and discarded.
• You can revoke location access at any time in your device's system settings.
• If you decline location access, you can still search for places manually.

1.2 Usage analytics

The App uses Google Analytics 4 to understand which features are used and how the app performs. The analytics data sent is:

• An anonymous client identifier generated on first launch (a random number, not linked to your identity)
• Session identifiers (rotating, expire after 30 minutes of inactivity)
• Platform (iOS or Android)
• Screen names viewed inside the app
• Standard event properties (event name, timestamp)

We do not send Google Analytics your name, email, location coordinates, device advertising identifier, or any other personal information.

1.3 Information we do not collect

• We do not require an account.
• We do not collect your name, email address, phone number, or contacts.
• We do not use advertising or tracking identifiers (IDFA / GAID).
• We do not sell your data.

2. How we use data

• Location — to provide accurate weather, astronomy, and observing condition forecasts for your area.
• Analytics — to measure feature usage and identify performance issues so we can improve the app.
• Saved preferences — your favourite locations and settings are stored locally on your device and never sent to our servers.

3. Third-party services

To return weather forecasts and astronomy data, your location coordinates are forwarded server-side to the following third-party APIs. Each has its own privacy policy:

• Open-Meteo — free weather data, no key required
• OpenWeatherMap
• WeatherAPI.com
• Tomorrow.io
• AccuWeather
• Meteosource
• 7Timer — atmospheric seeing data
• OpenStreetMap Nominatim — reverse geocoding for light-pollution estimates
• Google Analytics 4 — usage analytics (anonymous)

We do not send these third parties any information about you other than the coordinates needed to answer the request.

A small number of requests are made directly from your browser rather than through our server, so those services see your IP address:

• CDS Strasbourg (Aladin Lite) — the Field of View calculator's sky atlas loads sky-survey image tiles directly from CDS, which can observe the regions of sky you browse
• CDS Sesame / SIMBAD — when you search the sky atlas for an object by name, the text you typed is sent to the CDS name-resolution service

4. Data retention

• On our servers: Coordinates are processed in memory and discarded once the API responses are returned. We do not retain location history.
• On your device: Favourite locations, settings, and the analytics client identifier are stored locally and removed when you uninstall the app.
• Analytics retention follows Google Analytics 4's default retention (currently 2 months for user-level data).

5. Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights under data protection laws such as the UK GDPR, EU GDPR, or CCPA. These include the right to access, correct, or delete personal data we hold about you, and the right to object to processing.

Because the App does not require an account and we do not retain personal data on our servers, the simplest way to exercise these rights is to uninstall the app, which removes all locally stored data. For analytics deletion, contact us using the details below and we will request deletion from Google Analytics.

6. Children's privacy

The App is rated for general audiences and is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us so we can delete it.

7. Security

All network requests between the App, our servers, and third-party APIs use HTTPS encryption in transit. We do not store sensitive personal data on our servers.

8. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the App evolves. Material changes will be reflected in the "Effective" date at the top of this page. Continued use of the App after a change constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

9. Contact

Questions about this policy or your data? Contact:

Celestial Oxfordshire
Email: celestialoxfordshire@gmail.com