BangerSkies Privacy Policy

Last updated: 27 September 2026

This policy explains what information the BangerSkies app for iPhone and iPad (the App) collects, why, who it is shared with, how long it is kept, and the choices you have. BangerSkies is operated by Paul Ellison, trading as BangerSkies, in Australia (we, us). You can contact us at privacy@bangerskies.com.

We handle personal information in line with the Australian Privacy Principles in the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth). Where the EU or UK GDPR applies to you, we are the controller of your personal data and section 11 explains your extra rights.

1. The short version

• You can use forecasts without an account. We do not ask for your name or email unless you sign in.
• We use your location only while you use the App, to forecast for where you are. We never use background location.
• We do not sell your information, show ads, use advertising identifiers, or track you across other apps and websites.
• If you post in the community, your display name, messages, sky reports and photos are visible to other users.
• If you turn on alerts, the forecast location for those alerts is stored on our servers so alerts can be sent while the App is closed.
• You can delete your account in the App at any time. This deletes your account and the content linked to it.

2. Using the App as a guest

Without an account you can view forecasts, search places and see nearby viewing spots. As a guest we do not create a profile for you and nothing you do is linked to an identity. Forecast, place-search and viewing-spot requests are still sent to our servers and providers as described in section 3, but without any account identifier. Chat, posting sky reports and cross-device alert delivery require an account.

3. Information we collect and how we use it

3.1 Location and places

• Device location (optional). With your permission, the App reads your device's location while it is open. It is used to fetch forecasts, to calculate sunrise and sunset direction, and to suggest nearby viewing spots. You can decline and search for a place instead.
• Place names. To show a place name for your location, the App uses Apple's on-device geocoding service, which sends the coordinates to Apple. When you search for a place, the text you type is sent to the Open-Meteo geocoding service to find matching places.
• Maps. Maps in the App are provided by Apple Maps. Apple receives the map area being displayed in order to serve map tiles.

3.2 Forecast requests

To produce a forecast the App sends the coordinates of the place being forecast (your location or a place you chose) to our weather service, which runs on our Supabase servers. Our service forwards only the coordinates and weather parameters, without any account identifier, to our weather data providers, Open-Meteo (primary) and Tomorrow.io (backup). Weather data comes back to the App, which calculates the sky-quality score on your device.

3.3 Best spots to watch

To suggest viewing spots, the App sends the area around the place being forecast to our viewing-spot service. That service looks up public map data from OpenStreetMap (via the Overpass API) and terrain elevation from Open-Meteo, and caches the results by map area, not by user, so that later requests for the same area are answered without contacting those providers again.

3.4 Your account

If you create an account we collect:

• Email and password if you sign up with email. Passwords are handled by our authentication provider (Supabase Auth) and stored only as a salted hash; we never see your password.
• Sign in with Apple: a stable Apple user identifier and, if you choose to share them, your name and email address. If you choose "Hide My Email", we receive an Apple relay address instead of your real email.
• Other sign-in providers: if the App offers Google or Facebook sign-in and you choose it, we receive your identifier, email address and name from that provider.
• Account records: an internal user ID, when the account was created and last signed in, and security logs kept by Supabase Auth (such as the IP address and device type used to sign in) to protect your account.
• Display name: the name you use in the community.

We use this information to create and secure your account, keep you signed in, and attribute your community posts to you.

3.5 Community content (public)

If you use community features, we store what you post:

• Chat messages in local chat rooms, with your display name and time of posting.
• Sky reports: your ratings, caption, the event (sunrise or sunset), the location you attach (place name and map coordinates), and any photo you add. Photos are stored in our Supabase storage and shown to other users. Photo files can contain details recorded by your camera, such as when and where the photo was taken.

Community content is visible to other users of the App, and may be seen by anyone using it. Please don't post anything you want to keep private, and check that the location attached to a report is one you are comfortable sharing. The App only uploads photos you choose to attach; it does not otherwise access your photo library.

3.6 Keeping the community safe

To meet our obligations to prevent objectionable content, we process:

• Automated filtering. Messages, captions and place names are checked on our servers against a list of prohibited terms and patterns (for example, links and contact details). Content may be rejected, masked, or queued for human review.
• Reports. If you report content or a user, we store your report (reason, optional details, a copy of the reported text, and the outcome). The person you report is not told who reported them.
• Blocks. If you block someone, we store that so their content is hidden from you and yours from them.
• Guidelines acceptance. We record when you accepted the community guidelines.
• Enforcement. Content that receives several reports is hidden pending review. We review reports, aiming to act within 24 hours, and may remove content or suspend accounts that break our Terms of Service. We keep a record of suspensions.

3.7 Sky alerts (push notifications)

If you allow notifications and are signed in:

• We store your device's push token (issued by Apple through Expo) linked to your account.
• To send alerts even when the App is closed, the App uploads its upcoming forecasts to our servers: the event (sunrise or sunset) and time, the score and confidence, the place name and coordinates of the forecast location, your time zone offset, and your alert settings (score threshold, quiet hours and lead time).
• When an alert is due, our server sends the notification text (for example, the place name and score) through the Expo push service to Apple Push Notification service, which delivers it to your device.

Alert forecasts are deleted automatically two days after the event. You can turn alerts off in the App or in iOS Settings at any time.

3.8 Crash and performance diagnostics

We use Sentry to receive crash reports and limited performance data (for example, how long a screen took to load). A report contains technical details such as the error, the sequence of app screens and actions leading up to it, the device model, iOS version and App version. We configure Sentry not to attach names, email addresses or other personal details to these reports, and we do not link them to your account. Sentry receives your IP address when a report is sent, as part of the network connection.

3.9 Information stored only on your device

The App keeps some information on your device so it works quickly and offline: recent forecasts, saved places, your settings and alert preferences, and your personal forecast history. Your sign-in session is stored in the iOS Keychain. This information is not sent to us, except as described above, and is removed when you delete the App.

3.10 What we don't collect

We don't collect your contacts, background location, health data, browsing history, advertising identifier, or microphone input. We don't use third-party advertising or analytics SDKs, and we don't build profiles of you for marketing.

4. Who we share information with

We share information only with the service providers who run parts of the App for us, with other users as described above, and where the law requires it. Our service providers may use the information only to provide their service to us.

• Supabase (Supabase Inc., USA): authentication, database, file storage and server functions. Our project is hosted in Supabase's Sydney, Australia region. Supabase staff and sub-processors outside Australia may access data to operate the service.
• Open-Meteo (Switzerland): weather, elevation and place-search data. Receives coordinates or search text, without account identifiers.
• Tomorrow.io (USA): backup weather data. Receives coordinates only, through our servers.
• OpenStreetMap / Overpass API (volunteer-run public servers, mainly in Europe): public map data for viewing spots. Receives map-area coordinates only, through our servers.
• Expo (650 Industries, Inc., USA) and Apple: delivery of push notifications (push token and notification text).
• Apple: Sign in with Apple, Apple Maps and on-device place names.
• Sentry (Functional Software, Inc., USA): crash and performance diagnostics.
• Meta (Instagram): if the App shows our own Instagram posts, the images load from Instagram's servers, which receive your IP address.
• Law enforcement and safety: we may disclose information if required by law, or where we reasonably believe it is necessary to prevent serious harm, including in response to reports of illegal content.

If the business is sold or restructured, information may transfer to the new operator, who must continue to protect it in line with this policy.

5. Overseas disclosure

Our main database is in Australia, but some providers above process information in the United States, Switzerland, the European Union and other countries where they or their sub-processors operate. We choose providers that commit to protecting personal information, and where the GDPR applies we rely on appropriate safeguards such as the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses or adequacy decisions.

6. How long we keep information

• Account and community content: until you delete it or delete your account.
• Alert forecasts: deleted automatically two days after the event. Push tokens are kept until you delete your account.
• Moderation records (reports, blocks, suspensions): kept while the accounts involved exist, and deleted when either the reporter's or the reported user's account is deleted, unless we need to keep a record to comply with the law or deal with a serious safety matter.
• Server logs: our providers' operational logs, which can include IP addresses and request details, are deleted automatically, generally within 30 days.
• Crash reports: kept by Sentry for up to 90 days.
• Backups: deleted data may remain in encrypted database backups for up to 30 days before those backups expire.
• On-device data: until you delete it or delete the App.

7. Deleting your account

You can delete your account in the App: open Settings and choose Delete account. Deletion is permanent and takes effect immediately. It removes:

• your sign-in account and profile;
• your chat messages, sky reports and uploaded photos;
• your push tokens and alert forecasts;
• your blocks, reports and guidelines acceptance.

If you signed in with Apple, we also ask Apple to revoke BangerSkies' access to your Apple ID. You can check this in iOS Settings → [your name] → Sign in with Apple.

If you can't sign in, email privacy@bangerskies.com from the address on your account and we will delete it within 30 days after confirming it is yours. Deleting the App from your device does not delete your account.

8. Your choices

• Location: allow, deny or change location access in iOS Settings → BangerSkies → Location. You can always search for a place instead.
• Notifications: turn alerts off in the App, or in iOS Settings → Notifications → BangerSkies.
• Camera and photos: access is requested only when you add a photo, and can be changed in iOS Settings.
• Community content: you can delete your own messages and reports, and block other users.

9. Access, correction and complaints

You can ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you, or ask us to correct it, by emailing privacy@bangerskies.com. We will respond within 30 days. If you have a concern about how we handled your information, please contact us first. If you are not satisfied with our response, you can complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (oaic.gov.au).

10. Children

BangerSkies is not directed at children. You must be at least 16 to create an account or use community features. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16. If you believe a child has created an account, contact us and we will delete it.

11. Extra rights in the EU, UK and similar regions

If the GDPR or similar laws apply to you, you also have the right to erasure, to restrict or object to processing, to data portability, and to withdraw consent at any time (for example, by turning off location or notifications). You can also complain to your local data protection authority. We rely on these legal bases:

• Contract: to provide forecasts, your account, community features and alerts you ask for.
• Legitimate interests: to keep the App secure, prevent abuse, moderate content and fix crashes.
• Consent: for device location, notifications, camera and photo access, which you control through iOS permissions.
• Legal obligation: where we must keep or disclose information by law.

12. Security

All connections between the App and our servers use encryption in transit (HTTPS/TLS). Your sign-in session is stored in the iOS Keychain. Access to data in our database is restricted by row-level security rules, so users can only change their own content. Weather and map provider credentials are kept on our servers, never in the App. No system is perfectly secure, but we take reasonable steps to protect your information and will notify you and the regulator of an eligible data breach as the law requires.

13. Changes to this policy

When we change this policy we will update the date at the top. If a change materially affects how we use your information, we will tell you in the App before it takes effect.

14. Contact

• Privacy questions and requests: privacy@bangerskies.com
• Support: support@bangerskies.com or bangerskies.com/support