Privacy Policy
Last updated: August 20, 2026
This Privacy Policy explains what information the Weather Alerts app (the "App") collects, how it's used, and what choices you have. The App is operated by William Halloran ("we," "us").
1. Information We Collect
Account information. When you create an account, we collect your email address and password. Your password is handled by Firebase Authentication and is never stored by us in plain text or visible to us.
Location data you provide. When you search for and save a location, we store the place name, city, state, ZIP/postal code, and geographic coordinates you selected. This comes from a location you typed into search — we do not access your device's GPS location, and the App never requests device location permission.
Weather Profiles and settings. The custom alert rules (Weather Profiles) you create, and your app preferences (measurement units, notification settings, biometric-lock preference), are stored against your account.
Push notification token. If you enable push notifications, your device is assigned a token used to deliver alerts to it. This token is tied to your account and device, not to your identity beyond that.
Notification history. A record of alerts the App has sent you is kept for 7 days so they remain visible in the App's Alerts page, then automatically deleted.
Biometric login. If you enable Face ID (or your device's equivalent) to unlock the App, that check happens entirely on your device through your device's own operating system. We never receive, see, or store any biometric data.
What we don't collect. We do not use analytics or crash-reporting tools, and we do not collect your name, phone number, or any information beyond what's described above.
2. How We Use Information
We use the information above to: operate your account and sync your data across your devices; deliver weather alerts based on your saved locations and Weather Profiles; enforce subscription tier limits (e.g. your location count against your plan); and, on the Free tier, show advertising, as described in Section 5.
3. Third-Party Services
Running the App requires sharing limited data with the following service providers. None of them receive your email address or account identity except where noted.
| Service | What it receives | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Firebase (Google) | Your account and app data | Hosts your account, authentication, and all data described in Section 1 |
| Google Places | Search text you type, and your device's IP address | Powers location search — sent directly from your device to Google |
| OpenWeather | Geographic coordinates only, sent server-side | Provides forecast data. Never receives your identity, account, or device information |
| Expo (push notifications) | Your device's push token | Routes notifications to Apple's or Google's push services |
| Google AdMob | Ad requests, and — only if you enable personalized ads — advertising identifiers | Serves ads on the Free tier; see Section 5 |
4. Your Choices & Rights
Account deletion. You can permanently delete your account and all associated data at any time from within the App's Settings. This removes your saved locations, Weather Profiles, settings, push token, and notification history.
Notification control. You can disable push notifications entirely, or per-Weather-Profile, from within the App.
Personalized ads. See Section 5 below — this is a dedicated, separate control from notifications.
If you're in the European Economic Area, UK, or Switzerland (GDPR)
You have the right to: access the personal data we hold about you; correct inaccurate data; request erasure ("right to be forgotten"); restrict or object to certain processing; and receive your data in a portable format. You can exercise most of these directly in-app (view and edit your saved locations/profiles/settings, or delete your account outright); for anything else, contact us at williamjhalloran@gmail.com. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.
Our legal basis for processing your account, location, and profile data is that it's necessary to provide the service you signed up for (contractual necessity). Where we rely on your consent instead — namely personalized advertising — you can withdraw that consent at any time via the toggle described in Section 5, with no effect on your ability to use the App.
If you're a California resident (CCPA/CPRA)
You have the right to know what personal information we collect, to request deletion of it, and to opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of your personal information. We do not sell your personal information. If you enable personalized ads (Section 5), that may constitute "sharing" under California law for cross-context behavioral advertising purposes — the same toggle that controls personalized ads also serves as your opt-out of that sharing. We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of these rights.
5. Advertising & the Personalized Ads Toggle
The Free tier of the App displays ads served through Google AdMob. Pro and Enterprise subscribers never see ads.
Personalized ads toggle. In Settings, you control whether ads shown to you are personalized based on advertising identifiers, or generic and untargeted. You'll also be asked to make this choice once, directly after creating your account. Turning personalized ads off does not reduce how many ads you see on the Free tier — it only changes whether they're targeted to you.
If you're in the EEA, UK, or Switzerland, we use Google's User Messaging Platform (a certified consent management tool) to request your affirmative consent before showing personalized ads, in line with GDPR. On iOS, we also request permission through Apple's App Tracking Transparency system before any cross-app ad tracking occurs, regardless of your location. If you decline either, you'll still see ads — just untargeted ones.
Directly-sold local ads. We may also show sponsored placements sold directly to local businesses rather than through AdMob, always clearly labeled "Ad" or "Sponsored." These may be shown based on the location you're currently viewing in the App, but that decision is made entirely within our own systems — this data is never shared with AdMob, Google, or any advertiser for this purpose.
6. Data Retention
Your account data (saved locations, Weather Profiles, settings) is retained as long as your account exists, and deleted when you delete your account (Section 4). Notification history is automatically deleted after 7 days regardless. Cached forecast data (not tied to any individual account) expires automatically within about 48 hours of a location no longer being actively used by anyone.
7. Data Security
We rely on Firebase's security infrastructure (encryption in transit and at rest, access-controlled data rules) to protect your data. No method of storage or transmission is 100% secure, and we can't guarantee absolute security.
8. International Data Transfers
Because our infrastructure runs on Firebase/Google Cloud, your data may be processed in the United States or other countries where Google operates data centers, regardless of where you're located. Google provides standard contractual safeguards for these transfers.
9. Children's Privacy
The App is not directed at children under 13 (16, if you're located in the European Economic Area, United Kingdom, or Switzerland), and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone younger than that. If you believe a child has provided us information, contact us at williamjhalloran@gmail.com and we'll delete it.
10. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make material changes — including adding a new category of data collection or a new third-party service — we'll notify you in-app or by email before they take effect.
11. Contact Us
Questions about this Privacy Policy, or want to exercise any of the rights above directly? Contact us at williamjhalloran@gmail.com.