Privacy Policy
What we collect
Your places. The coordinates of your current location (while the app uses it) and any places you save, with the name you give them. We use them to check for lightning nearby, send alerts, and keep a 30-day history of strikes near those places.
A random install key. Your phone makes a random code the first time the app opens. Our server stores only a one-way hash of it. It isn't linked to your name, Apple ID or device identifiers. It's how we know which places are yours.
Push token and alert settings. If you turn on notifications: Apple's push token for this app, your alert distance and how long the count since a strike runs.
Server logs. IP addresses are used briefly for rate limiting and are not stored with your places. Logs record positions rounded to about 10 km.
Purchases. Handled by Apple. We receive a confirmation that you subscribed, never your payment details.
Our website. We count page views and taps on the App Store buttons anonymously: the page, the link that brought you if it carries a campaign or shared-clock code, a coarse device type (iPhone, Android or computer) and, for App Store taps, the referring site's name. No cookies, no IP addresses kept, no third-party scripts. If you write to us through the form for organizations, we keep what you send (name, organization, email, how many fields or pools) to reply to you; it isn't linked to the app.
On your phone only. Close calls, settings and saved places are stored on your device.
What we don't do
We don't sell or share personal data, don't track you across other companies' apps or websites, and don't build profiles. If the free version shows ads, they are non-personalized: the ad provider receives no location or identifier from us for targeting.
Who processes data for us
Render (server hosting, United States) and Apple (push notifications and purchases). If a place is near active lightning, we may send its coordinates to our commercial lightning data provider to get a precise reading; they are not told who you are.
How long we keep it
Places and push tokens: until you delete them, or 90 days after your app last checked in, whichever comes first. Strike history near your places: 30 days. Strikes that belong to a notable storm stay longer as part of that storm's public record, which is not linked to you or your places. Logs: as kept by our host, with rounded positions.
Your choices
Turn off location or notifications in iOS Settings at any time. Delete your data in the app: Menu › Safety & data › Delete my data. That removes your places and push registration from our server immediately. Deleting the app leaves the server copy until the 90-day expiry; use Delete my data first if you want it gone now. Depending on where you live (for example California or the EU/UK), you may have rights to access, correct or delete your data; contact us and we'll help.
Children
Lightning is a general-audience app and is not directed to children under 13. We don't knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. Coaches and parents may use it to make decisions for young athletes; the children themselves aren't users. If you believe a child under 13 has given us information, contact us and we'll delete it.
Changes
We'll update the date above when this changes, and say so in the app for material changes.
Contact
[CONTACT EMAIL]