Overview
Rainbot Weather, also known as RainBot, ("we", "our", or "the app") is a weather tracking application for mobile devices. We are committed to protecting your privacy. This policy explains what information the app accesses, how it is used, and your choices.
Information We Collect
Location Data: Rainbot Weather requests access to your device's location to provide hyper-local weather data, alerts, and radar imagery relevant to your area. Your location is sent to weather data providers such as the National Weather Service (NWS) so the app can retrieve local weather information. We do not sell your location data or use it for advertising.
Community Reports: When you submit a community weather report, the app collects the report's geographic coordinates, weather category, severity, and an optional text note. Reports are associated with an anonymous device identifier stored locally on your device. We do not collect your name, email, phone number, or any other personal information.
Saved Locations: Locations you pin in the app are stored locally on your device using on-device storage. If you enable saved-location push alerts, the saved location names and coordinates are sent to Rainbot Weather's server so those alerts can be delivered. Turning saved-location alerts off clears saved-location data from the server on the next notification sync.
Settings and Preferences: Most app preferences (units, theme, dashboard layout, radar defaults, etc.) are stored locally on your device. Push notification preferences, including alert categories, quiet hours, forecast delivery times, and saved-location alert settings, are sent to Rainbot Weather's server only so notifications can be delivered correctly.
Push Notifications: If you enable notifications, the app stores an Expo push token for your device along with the notification preferences needed to send weather alerts, forecast briefings, and saved-location alerts. You can turn notifications off in the app or in iOS Settings at any time.
Information We Do Not Collect
- Names, email addresses, or phone numbers
- Account credentials or passwords (no accounts are required)
- Photos, contacts, or other personal files
- Advertising identifiers or tracking data
- Analytics or usage data
Third-Party Services
Rainbot Weather retrieves weather data from the following public weather sources and services:
- National Weather Service (NWS) API - weather alerts, forecasts, observations, and radar station data
- NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) - Great Lakes water temperature and ice coverage data
- Iowa Environmental Mesonet (IEM) - NEXRAD radar tile imagery
- Expo - push notification delivery infrastructure
These services receive the geographic coordinates necessary to return location-specific weather data. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of these government services.
Data Storage and Security
Community weather reports are stored in a database hosted on our server. Reports contain only geographic coordinates, weather category, severity, an optional note, and an anonymous device identifier. Reports automatically expire and are deleted after 2 hours.
Push notification records are stored in our server database and are tied to an Expo push token for the device, not to a Rainbot Weather account. These records may include the device's current alert location, notification preferences, forecast delivery settings, and saved locations only when saved-location alerts are enabled.
All communication between the app and our server is encrypted using HTTPS/TLS.
Children's Privacy
Rainbot Weather does not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. The app does not require account creation and does not knowingly collect names, emails, phone numbers, or account credentials from users.
Changes to This Policy
We may update this privacy policy from time to time. Any changes will be reflected on this page with an updated revision date.
Contact Us
If you have questions about this privacy policy, please contact us at rainbotcody@gmail.com.