Skycast — Privacy Policy

Overview

Skycast is a free, ad-free weather app. We believe great software doesn't need to harvest your data. This policy explains exactly what information is used — and what isn't.

Skycast does not collect, store, sell, or share any personal information. All data stays on your device.

Location Data

Skycast requests access to your device's location for one purpose: fetching accurate local weather.

Your GPS coordinates (latitude & longitude) are sent directly to Open-Meteo weather APIs to retrieve weather, air quality, and map data for your area.
Location data is never stored on any server — it is only used in the moment of the API request.
Your coordinates are stored locally on your device only (to remember your last location between sessions).
You can deny location permission. The app lets you manually search for and select any city instead.

Data We Store On Your Device

The following is stored locally on your device only using standard device storage (AsyncStorage). None of it leaves your phone.

Last known location (latitude, longitude, city name)
Saved and favourite locations (up to 10 recent)
Temperature unit preference (°C or °F)
Weather alert threshold settings (rain %, UV index, wind speed)
User routine times (morning, commute, evening — used for smart notification timing)

External APIs Used

Skycast uses only free, open-source weather APIs. No API keys or accounts are required. Your device contacts these services directly:

Open-Meteo Weather API api.open-meteo.com — current weather, hourly & 14-day forecast

Open-Meteo Air Quality API air-quality-api.open-meteo.com — AQI, pollutants, and pollen levels

Open-Meteo Historical API (ERA5) archive-api.open-meteo.com — last 7 days of historical weather

Open-Meteo Map Tiles map-tiles.open-meteo.com — radar, precipitation, temperature, and wind map layers

Open-Meteo Geocoding API geocoding-api.open-meteo.com — city name search (with Komoot Photon as fallback)

All APIs receive only your coordinates and timezone — no device identifiers, no personal information. Open-Meteo's own privacy policy is available at open-meteo.com.

What We Don't Do

No user accounts or registration
No analytics or usage tracking (no Firebase, Amplitude, Segment, or similar)
No advertising or ad networks
No crash reporting services that send data externally
No third-party SDKs that track behaviour
No sale or sharing of any data with third parties
No background location tracking

Permissions

Location (Foreground only) — Used to get your current GPS position for weather lookup. Never tracked in the background.
Notifications (Optional) — Used only to deliver weather alerts you explicitly enable in Settings (e.g. rain, UV, or wind warnings). You control which alerts are on.

Children's Privacy

Skycast does not collect any personal information from anyone, including children under 13. The app is suitable for all ages.

Changes to This Policy

If this policy changes in a meaningful way, we will update the date at the top of this page. Continued use of the app after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

Contact

Questions about this privacy policy? Reach out via the app's GitHub repository or email shivamkaushik2k@gmail.com.

Skycast Privacy Policy