Privacy Policy

You can use everything without signing up. There are no advertising networks or social media trackers, and the site's own code sets no cookies.

I use Vercel Web Analytics to count page views and see which pages are popular. It does not use cookies and does not identify individual visitors. In the iPhone and Android apps, it also counts each time the app is opened and whether it is the iPhone or Android version, so I can see how many visits come from the apps. To avoid counting the same visit twice, the app stores the time you last used it on your phone; that time never leaves your phone. Like any website, the hosting provider (Vercel) briefly processes your IP address to deliver pages and protect against abuse.

If you subscribe with the bell button, your email address is stored with Brevo, the service that sends the update emails. It is used only to tell you about new forecast posts. Every email has an unsubscribe link, or you can email me to be removed.

If you turn on notifications in the app, Apple (iPhone) or Google's Firebase Cloud Messaging (Android) gives the app a device token: a random code that lets me send an alert to that phone. I store that token with your notification choices (new forecasts, radio updates, big-snow alerts) and the places on your home page, so snow alerts can check their forecasts. Not your name, number, Apple ID or Google account. Turn notifications off in your phone's Settings, or delete the app, and the token stops working and is removed the next time a notification is sent.

“Use my location” asks your device for your position so it can show the forecast for where you are. Your browser or phone asks your permission first, and you can say no. The coordinates go to this site's server, which uses them to get the forecast and place name from data providers such as the National Weather Service and OpenStreetMap. I don't keep them in a database, though the hosting provider's short-lived request logs may include them.

Preferences such as units, your last location, the places you choose for the home page and a few display choices are saved in your own browser or app storage so they stick between visits. Clearing your browser data removes them. Most of these stay on your device, with two exceptions: showing a forecast for your location or a custom place sends its coordinates to the server, as described above, and turning on app notifications stores your home page places with your device token.

Webcams, maps, radar and some videos load directly from their owners (for example webcam hosts, map tile providers and YouTube). Those services see the usual request details, such as your IP address, and follow their own privacy policies. YouTube videos only load when you press play, and YouTube may then use cookies or similar storage. The snowfall prediction form opens on Google Forms, where Google's policies apply. Donations go through Venmo, which handles the payment itself.

The site does not respond differently to browser “Do Not Track” signals, because it treats every visitor the same way and does not track you across other sites. The services named under “Content from other sites” are run by other companies. They may collect information about your activity over time and across websites under their own policies when you load or use their content here.

The site and app are for a general audience and do not knowingly collect information from children under 13.

If this policy changes, the date at the top will change with it. Questions, or want something deleted? Email noe@eastsideweather.com.