Privacy Policy

Night Ahead ("Night Ahead," "we," "us," or "our") makes an app that tells you when and where the night sky is worth seeing. This Privacy Policy explains what information the Night Ahead mobile app and related services (the "Service") collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and the choices you have.

We built Night Ahead to be quiet and trustworthy, and we take the same approach to your data: we collect only what the app needs to do its job, we're clear about it, and we never sell it. By using the Service, you agree to the practices described here.

Some information exists only because you chose to create it inside the app:

• Journal entries and photos. When you log a night, we store the details you add — the date, location, your rating, what you saw, private notes, and any photos you attach. Your journal is private to you.
• Public field notes. If you post a field note about a spot, its text and the spot it's attached to are visible to other Night Ahead users and may be reviewed by our moderation.
• Saved places. Locations you save to watch, like home, a cabin, or a trip.
• Feedback and bug reports. When you send feedback, report a bug, or rate how accurate a forecast was, we receive your message, the app version, and basic context about the app's state.
• Preferences. Your alert sensitivity, notification settings, and display choices.

You control what you put into the app. If you never attach a photo, log a night, or post a note, we never receive one.

Location

With your permission, Night Ahead uses your device's location to set up your current spot, find dark-sky sites near you, estimate drive times, and personalize every forecast. We request location only while you are using the app ("when in use"). You can decline, and you can change or revoke this permission at any time in your device settings — the app still works, but recommendations won't be tailored to where you are.

Device and usage information

• A random identifier we generate for your app installation, used to associate your journal, saved places, and preferences with you. It is not your name, email, or Apple ID.
• Coordinates of the locations you look up, so we can return the right forecast, darkness rating, and drive time for them.
• If you turn on alerts: your device's push-notification token, the location(s) you choose to watch, your time-zone offset, and your alert preferences — so our forecast watcher can notify you at the right local time.
• Technical information generated when the app communicates with our servers — such as your app version, device platform, IP address, and request and error logs — which we use to keep the Service reliable and secure.

We use the information above to:

• Calculate sky-quality scores by combining cloud cover, moon brightness, light pollution, and driving distance for locations near you.
• Find and rank dark-sky spots and estimate how long it would take you to drive to them.
• Send proactive notifications when an exceptional night is approaching, at the sensitivity you chose.
• Store and display your stargazing journal, notes, and saved places across your use of the app.
• Respond to your feedback and bug reports, and improve the accuracy of our forecasts over time.
• Operate, maintain, secure, and improve the Service, and comply with legal obligations.

Where required by law, our legal bases for processing are your consent (for location and notifications), the performance of our agreement with you (to provide the Service), and our legitimate interests in keeping the app secure and improving it.

We use trusted third-party providers to deliver weather forecasts, maps, routing, notifications, photo storage, and — if you subscribe — payment processing. To provide a feature, we share only the minimum information necessary, such as the coordinates of a location you're viewing or your device's push token. These providers process that information only to deliver the requested service and are subject to their own privacy policies.

Who receives what

• Weather providers (including Apple WeatherKit) — receive location coordinates to return weather and cloud-cover forecasts for that place.
• Map, geocoding, and routing services — receive location coordinates to display map tiles, turn coordinates into place names, find nearby dark-sky spots, and estimate drive times. These requests carry coordinates, not your identity.
• Our push-notification provider (Expo) — receives your device's push token and the alert message in order to deliver the notifications you've opted into.
• Our cloud storage provider (Cloudflare) — stores the photos you add to your journal.
• The Apple App Store — processes any subscription purchase and billing. We never receive or store your full payment card details.

We host the Service and store your data with standard cloud infrastructure and database providers that process it on our behalf under confidentiality obligations. We also use astronomical calculations and public light-pollution datasets (such as VIIRS sky-brightness data) to determine moon phase and darkness — these are reference datasets, not services that receive your personal information.

If you purchase a Night Ahead+ subscription, it is sold and processed through the Apple App Store. Your payment is handled by Apple under your Apple Account; we do not collect or store your credit card number. We may receive confirmation of your subscription status (for example, that a subscription is active, renewed, or cancelled) so we can unlock the corresponding features.

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. We disclose information only in these limited situations:

• Publicly, when you choose to post a field note — that note becomes visible to other users of the app, so please don't include anything private in one.
• With service providers who process data on our behalf to run the Service (such as those listed above), under agreements that limit their use of it.
• To comply with the law, respond to lawful requests, or protect the rights, safety, and property of our users, the public, or Night Ahead.
• In connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, in which case we will notify you and honor the commitments in this policy.
• With your consent or at your direction.

We keep your journal entries, photos, saved places, and preferences for as long as you use the Service, so they're there when you come back. Server and diagnostic logs are kept only as long as needed to keep the app healthy and secure. When you ask us to delete your data, we remove it from our active systems within a reasonable period, except where we are required to retain it to meet a legal obligation.

Controls in the app and on your device

• Location: grant, change, or revoke location access at any time in your device's Settings.
• Notifications: turn alerts on or off, and choose how rare a night must be before we notify you.
• Your content: edit or delete individual journal entries, photos, notes, and saved places within the app.

Access, correction, and deletion

Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, export, or delete the personal information we hold about you, to object to or restrict certain processing, and to withdraw consent. Residents of the EEA/UK (under GDPR) and of California (under the CCPA/CPRA) have these rights and the right not to be discriminated against for exercising them. To make a request, email us at privacy@nightahead.app and we will respond as required by law.

Night Ahead is intended for a general audience and is not directed to children under 13 (or the equivalent minimum age in your jurisdiction). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under that age. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

We use reasonable technical and organizational measures — including encryption in transit — to protect your information against unauthorized access, loss, or misuse. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security, but we work to protect your data and to promptly address any issues.

Night Ahead is operated from the United States, and your information may be processed in the United States and other countries where our providers operate. These countries may have data-protection laws that differ from those in your country. Where required, we use appropriate safeguards for such transfers.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we make material changes, we will update the date above and, where appropriate, notify you in the app. Your continued use of the Service after an update means you accept the revised policy.

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your information, reach us at privacy@nightahead.app. Night Ahead is the entity responsible for your information under this policy.