Privacy Policy
Who We Are
Aurora Forecast Tonight is a service created by a team of space weather and terrestrial meteorologists wanting to share their passion for seeing the aurora with folks around the world. This policy covers the website at auroraforecasttonight.com and the account features described below. If you have questions, contact us at admin@auroraforecasttonight.com.
Information We Collect
If you just use the forecast tool without an account: we process the zip/postal code or location you search so we can look up the aurora and cloud forecast for that spot. See "Third Parties" below for exactly who that gets sent to.
If you create an account: we collect your name, email address, and a securely hashed password (we never store your password in readable form). Optionally, you may add a public display name, a home country/state, saved locations for alerts, and alert preferences.
If you subscribe to a paid plan: billing is handled entirely by Stripe. We do not receive or store your card number — only your subscription status and plan, which Stripe confirms to us directly.
If you use Community Sightings or Chaser Chat: the text you post is visible to other users and stored so the feature works.
If you accept analytics cookies: we collect standard site-usage data (pages viewed, approximate location, device type) through Google Analytics. This is entirely opt-in — see "Cookies and Analytics" below.
How We Use Your Information
- To create and secure your account, and to remember your preferences.
- To generate your personalized aurora/cloud confidence score for your saved locations.
- To send the email alerts you've specifically opted into (location alerts, CME alerts, magnetic field shock alerts).
- To process subscription payments and manage billing.
- To operate the Community Sightings map and Chaser Chat.
- To understand overall site usage and improve the product, if you've consented to analytics.
We do not sell your personal information to third parties, and we do not use your data for advertising.
Third Parties We Share Data With
We rely on a small number of outside services to make the product work. Each only receives the specific data it needs to do its job:
- NOAA / National Weather Service, NASA, and Open-Meteo — public space-weather and cloud-cover data providers. When you search a location, its coordinates are sent to these services to retrieve a forecast; no account information is shared with them.
- Zippopotam and Nominatim — used to convert a zip/postal code you enter into coordinates.
- Stripe — processes all payments and stores your billing details under its own privacy policy. We never see or store your full card number.
- Brevo — sends the transactional email alerts you opt into. Your email address is shared with Brevo solely to deliver those emails.
- Google Analytics — only if you click "Accept" on the cookie banner. See below.
Cookies and Analytics
We use a session cookie to keep you signed in — this is required for the account system to function and isn't optional.
Separately, we ask for your consent before loading Google Analytics. If you click Decline, no analytics script loads and no usage data is collected from your visit. If you click Accept, your choice is remembered in your browser so you're not asked again. You can change your mind at any time by clearing your browser's local storage for this site.
Data Retention and Account Deletion
You can delete your account at any time from Account Settings (an active paid subscription must be cancelled first). When you delete your account, we remove your saved locations, alert preferences, and alert history. Content you've posted to shared community areas (Community Sightings, Chaser Chat) may remain visible after account deletion, since it was shared into a space other users can see; contact us directly if you'd like specific posts removed.
Your Rights
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct, export, or delete your personal information, and to withdraw analytics consent at any time. Most of these you can do yourself from Account Settings; for anything else, email admin@auroraforecasttonight.com and we'll respond as promptly as we can.
Children's Privacy
Aurora Forecast Tonight is not directed at children, and we don't knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 13 (or the relevant minimum age in your region). If you believe a child has created an account, contact us and we'll remove it.
Security
Passwords are stored using industry-standard one-way hashing, never in plain text. Payment information never touches our servers directly — it's handled entirely by Stripe. No system is perfectly secure, but we take reasonable, standard precautions to protect your information.
Changes to This Policy
If we make material changes to this policy, we'll update the date at the top of this page. Continued use of the site after a change means you accept the updated policy.
Contact Us
Questions about this policy or your data: admin@auroraforecasttonight.com