Stormbook Privacy Policy
The short version
- Stormbook has no account and no sign-in. The storm archive, your home city and your settings are stored on your phone.
- The App never asks for your location. You pick a home city from a list, and it stays on your device.
- The free version shows ads from Google AdMob. Ads are personalised only if you allow it; Pro removes ads.
- Anonymous usage data helps improve the App. It never includes your city or anything you type.
- We do not sell personal information.
Who we are
Stormbook (“the App”) is developed and published by Nghia Dinh, an independent developer (“I”, “we”). This policy explains what information the App handles, where it goes, and the choices you have.
Information stored on your device
The storm archive, the home city you choose, your followed ocean basins, display settings (units, language, theme) and the state of free features (such as how many comparisons you used today) are saved inside the App on your phone. They are not uploaded to us.
Location
Stormbook does not request access to your device's location. “Storms near me” uses the home city you pick from a list of world cities; the distance calculations happen on your phone.
Storm data and map imagery
To show recent and active storms, the App downloads data files from our server (stormbook-data.nghiad.dev, hosted on Cloudflare). Maps are drawn with the Google Maps SDK, satellite imagery comes from NASA GIBS and EUMETSAT, and storm photos come from Wikimedia Commons. Like any web request, these services receive your IP address and the files or map tiles requested, and may keep short technical logs. No personal information is sent with these requests. Google's use of map data is described in the Google Privacy Policy.
New-storm notifications
If you turn on alerts for an ocean basin, the App asks iOS for permission to show notifications and registers with Firebase Cloud Messaging (operated by Google). Firebase receives a device token and the basins you follow, so it can deliver a notification when a storm is named there. We do not keep a list of devices. Turning alerts off removes the subscription; you can also turn notifications off in iPhone Settings.
Advertising
The free version shows ads served by Google AdMob. In the European Economic Area, the UK and Switzerland, the App asks for your consent first (Google's consent form). On iOS, the App asks for permission to track (App Tracking Transparency); only if you allow it may Google use your device's advertising identifier (IDFA) to personalise ads and measure them. If you decline, ads are not personalised with that identifier. AdMob may still collect device information, IP address and interactions with ads, as described in How Google uses information from apps that use its services. You can change your choice at any time in iPhone Settings → Privacy & Security → Tracking, and, where shown, in the App under Settings → Privacy choices. Stormbook Pro removes all ads.
Anonymous usage data
To understand which features are used, the App uses Google Firebase Analytics and Firebase Remote Config. It records events such as “storm viewed” (with the public storm's ID, basin and season), “replay started”, “basin changed”, “satellite layer turned on” or “paywall viewed”, together with basic device and app information (for example iOS version, app version, language and country) and a random app-install identifier generated by Firebase. When you set a home city, only its country code is recorded — never the city.
These events never include anything you type, and are not used to identify you. Firebase is operated by Google — see Privacy and Security in Firebase.
Purchases
Stormbook Pro is a one-time purchase processed by Apple. We never receive your name, Apple Account or payment details. To know whether Pro is unlocked, the App uses RevenueCat, which receives an anonymous app user ID and your purchase history in the App (such as product and purchase date).
Sharing
When you share a storm card, the App creates an image and hands it to the iOS share sheet. It goes only where you choose. We do not receive a copy.
When you contact us
If you email us, we receive what you choose to send and use it only to reply to you and to improve the App.
What we do not do
- No account, sign-in, contacts, photos, microphone or device-location access.
- No selling or renting of personal information.
- No tracking across other companies' apps or websites unless you allow it in the iOS tracking prompt (used only for ads, as described above).
Keeping and deleting your data
Data on your phone stays until you delete the App. Analytics data is kept by Firebase for a limited period and then deleted automatically. Because it is not linked to your identity, we cannot look it up by name. To stop notifications, turn off alerts in the App or in iPhone Settings.
Children
Stormbook is a general-audience reference app and is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. Ads are limited to content rated for general audiences.
Your rights
Depending on where you live (for example California or the European Economic Area), you may have the right to ask what personal information we hold about you and to have it deleted. We hold almost none; for any request, contact us at the address below.
Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, the new version will be posted on this page with an updated date.
Contact
Questions about this policy or your data: nghiad.dev@gmail.com