Privacy Policy

This app is operated as a citizen science project to collect sky brightness observations for scientific research into light pollution. It is not a commercial service.

When you submit an observation, we collect:

• Approximate GPS coordinates (latitude & longitude) — only if you choose to share them
• Date and time of observation
• Sky measurement data (star counts, SQM readings, cloud cover, moon phase, etc.)
• Observer age (used only to calibrate visual acuity in the data)
• Automatically fetched weather data (temperature, humidity, pressure) from Open-Meteo based on your location

We do not collect your name, email address, device identifier, or any other personal identifiers. Observations are stored anonymously.

The data is used solely for scientific research — specifically to study how light pollution changes over time. Your observations join a global dataset that helps researchers and dark sky advocates track and protect night sky quality.

We rely on your freely given, informed consent (Article 6(1)(a) GDPR) as the legal basis for processing your observation data. You provide this consent by ticking the consent checkbox before submitting a survey.

Location coordinates are optional. If you choose to share them, they are stored as raw decimal coordinates and used only to place your observation in the scientific dataset. No street-level address is ever derived or stored. You may skip GPS and enter only a nearest town if preferred.

Observation data is retained indefinitely as part of the long-term scientific record. Because submissions are fully anonymous, it is not possible to identify or delete a specific individual's contribution after submission. We therefore ask you to be certain before submitting.

Aggregated or anonymised observation data may be shared with academic researchers or published openly as part of a public dataset. No data is sold to third parties or used for advertising.

Under GDPR you have the right to access, rectify, or erase personal data held about you. Because all submissions are anonymous and contain no personal identifiers, we are unable to retrieve or delete a specific individual's record. If you have concerns, please contact us before submitting.

This app does not use cookies or any third-party tracking or analytics services.

If you are a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) grants you the following rights:

• Right to Know — You have the right to know what personal information we collect, use, and disclose.
• Right to Delete — You may request deletion of your personal information. Note: because submissions are fully anonymous with no personal identifiers attached, we are unable to locate or delete a specific individual's record.
• Right to Opt-Out of Sale — We do not sell your personal information to any third parties, and we never will.
• Right to Non-Discrimination — We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your CCPA rights.

Geolocation data is considered personal information under CCPA. We collect only approximate coordinates, solely for scientific research purposes, and do not link them to any personal identity.

To submit a CCPA request or for any privacy-related enquiries, please contact the project administrator via the app's official channels.

If you have any questions about this privacy policy or wish to exercise your privacy rights, please contact the project administrator via the app's official channels.