Storm Heads-Up ("the app", "we", "us") is a weather heads-up app that shows National Weather Service (NWS/NOAA) forecasts, storm alerts, radar, and nearby FAA weather cameras. This policy explains what data the app uses, why, and who it is shared with. We do not sell your personal information.
Not an official warning system
Storm Heads-Up is a convenience tool. Its data and notifications can be delayed, interrupted, or wrong — never rely on it for life-safety decisions. Always follow official warnings from the National Weather Service, NOAA Weather Radio, Wireless Emergency Alerts, and your local emergency management.
Data we collect and use
- Location. With your permission, the app uses your device's approximate and precise location to show weather, alerts, radar, and cameras for where you are. Location is accessed only while you are using the app. You can instead type a city or ZIP code and skip location entirely; the app still works. City and ZIP searches are matched against a location list bundled inside the app, so what you type never leaves your device.
- Advertising identifier, ad data & diagnostics. The app displays a banner ad through Google AdMob. The Google Mobile Ads SDK collects your device's advertising ID and app set ID, your interactions with ads, an approximate location derived from your IP address, and diagnostic information about your device and this app (device model, operating system version, app version, and technical error details). Google uses that data to serve and measure ads, to keep its SDK working, and to detect ad fraud.
- Technical data. When the app requests weather, map, or camera data, standard network information (such as your IP address) is visible to the services it contacts, as with any internet request.
- Crash data. The app sends no crash reports, usage statistics, or diagnostic events to us. We run no crash-reporting or analytics service of our own. The only diagnostic data the app transmits is the ad SDK data described above, and that goes to Google, not to us.
- On-device preferences. Your saved locations and notification settings are stored locally on your device. They are not transmitted to us or stored on any server we operate.
The app has no user accounts and does not ask for your name, email, contacts, photos, or health data. We do not operate our own servers that store your personal data.
How your location is shared to provide the service
To return weather and related data for your area, the app sends your location (as coordinates, a ZIP code, or a state) to the public services it relies on, including:
- National Weather Service / NOAA (weather.gov, NOAA radar) — forecasts, alerts, radar
- U.S. EPA — UV index
- FAA Weather Camera Program — nearby weather cameras
- OpenStreetMap — map tiles for the radar view
Google AdMob does not receive the location you pick or the location the app reads from your device. It does receive your IP address when it requests an ad, and it can derive an approximate location from that, the same way any website you visit can.
Each of these services handles data under its own privacy policy.
Advertising
We use Google AdMob to show a banner ad. Google may use the advertising ID and device data to provide and personalize ads and measure their performance. Where required by law (for example, in the EEA and UK), the app shows Google's consent prompt before serving ads, and you can revisit your choices anytime via Settings → Ad privacy options in the app. If your consent choice cannot be gathered (for example, you're offline), the app requests only non-personalized ads. You can learn about and control this through Google's advertising policies, and you can reset or limit your advertising ID in your Android settings under Settings → Privacy → Ads.
Crash and diagnostic reporting
We do not operate a crash-reporting or analytics service. This app does not send us crash reports, error events, or usage statistics, and there is no server of ours for them to go to. Diagnostic details about your device and this app are collected by the Google Mobile Ads SDK described under Advertising above and are handled under Google's privacy policy. That ad-related data does not include your name, email, or saved locations, because the app never has your name or email and never sends your saved locations to Google.
Notifications
If you enable them, the app sends weather heads-up notifications from your home location. These are generated for you and can be turned off anytime in the app or in your device settings.
Children
Storm Heads-Up is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children. Ads are requested at a family-friendly content rating.
Your choices
- Grant, deny, or revoke location permission at any time in your device settings.
- Use manual city/ZIP entry instead of location.
- Opt out of personalized ads via the consent prompt (where shown), the app's Settings → Ad privacy options, and your device's ad settings.
- Turn notifications on or off.
- Uninstall the app to remove all locally stored preferences.
Data retention & security
Your preferences remain on your device until you delete them or uninstall the app. Data sent to the services above is transmitted over encrypted (HTTPS) connections and retained by those services under their own policies.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy as the app evolves. Material changes will be reflected by the "Last updated" date above.
Contact
Questions about this policy? Email stormheadsup@gmail.com.