Privacy and data use

This notice describes the current Light Pollution Finder website. You can explore the map, search for places and check conditions without signing in.

Your location and searches

We request device location only when you choose “My location” and your browser permits it. You can type a location or choose a map point instead. The app does not track location in the background.

Submitted city queries, search areas and driving coordinates pass through our hosted service and Supabase to Geoapify, which uses OpenStreetMap data. Forecast coordinates pass through our service to MET Norway. Those providers see the server’s IP address for these proxied requests, rather than your browser’s IP address. Map and satellite downloads go directly to their hosting/data providers, which receive the network information needed to deliver them. Hosting and account providers may retain operational logs under their own policies.

Storage and essential cookies

A secure search-session cookie lasts up to 24 hours and is used for request limits; it does not sign you into an account. Browser storage keeps your selected settings, browser-only saved places and any account session. Our hosting provider may set its own security cookies.

Recent provider results are shared across visitors: city results for one hour, place results for 30 minutes, driving estimates for six hours, and forecasts until the provider’s expiry. Forecast storage is bounded to 2,000 entries; expired entries can remain until replaced or removed to make room. This cache is not an account-linked forecast history. Hashed request identifiers, pseudonymous usage records and aggregate service statistics are used for abuse prevention and capacity monitoring; usage cleanup runs during activity and retains daily records for up to seven days. We do not use advertising trackers. Optional visit analytics is described below.

Optional Google Analytics

If you allow analytics, Google Analytics 4 measures page visits, sessions, approximate region, device/browser information and referral sources, such as search engines or websites linking to us. Google receives network information including your IP address to provide this service. It also measures searches started, completed or failed, broad result-count and error categories, opening destination details or observing plans, and Google / Apple directions clicks. We do not send the destination name or coordinates with those actions. These reports help us understand which pages and channels are useful and whether people can find a place to go. A directions click does not establish that someone visited the place.

Analytics does not load until you choose Allow analytics. No thanks keeps it off; browser Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control preferences also keep it off. We do not send your search text, precise coordinates, saved places, notes, support form contents or account email/ID to Analytics. Page addresses exclude query strings and map fragments; referral addresses are reduced to their website origin. Simple campaign labels may be used to identify our marketing links. Automatic form, search and outbound-click measurement and advertising personalization are disabled.

Your analytics choice is remembered on this browser for 180 days. Analytics cookies are limited to 180 days; event-level retention is two months. You can change your choice here at any time. Turning analytics off removes this site’s Analytics cookies without removing saved places or signing you out. Reports exclude visitors who decline or block tracking, and do not count every visit.

Analytics settings

Learn about Google’s privacy policy and Google’s use of information from partner sites.

Community place updates

Signed-in visitors can suggest details about a destination. We store the place, your update, visit or source-check date, source link and account ID in Supabase for owner review. Pending and rejected submissions are private. Approved text, date and source link are public, without your account ID or email. The owner may edit or remove a published note. These notes do not establish permission to enter a location. Please omit personal contact details. Submissions and moderation history are retained for review and abuse prevention until removed; contact us through Support to request removal. We do not send community submissions to Analytics.

Accounts and saved places

If you sign in, Supabase stores your account email and authentication records. Sign-in email is delivered through Resend. Places and notes remain on this browser unless you save or copy them to your signed-in account; cloud saves persist until removed. Your account can access its own cloud places, not another user’s. Account sign-in is optional for searching.

You can remove saved places in the app and export a backup. Clearing browser storage removes browser-only places and signs you out on that browser; it does not delete cloud saves or the account. Contact support to request account deletion or assistance with your data.

Sharing and directions

A link you choose to share contains the selected coordinates and, where applicable, an observing time. Private notes are excluded. Opening Apple Maps or Google Maps shares the origin and destination with that navigation provider. Exported backups may contain your private notes; keep them secure.

Support messages

The contact form sends your email address, topic and message through our server to Resend for delivery to the site owner’s inbox. Your address is the reply address; it is not added to a marketing list. Correspondence remains in email records until removed. We store only salted message hashes and pseudonymous sending counters for duplicate prevention and sending limits, cleaned up after seven days during activity. No message body is stored in the application database. You can request deletion of support correspondence through the same form.

Questions and requests

Use the support form and select “Privacy or account request”.

Provider information: Supabase, Geoapify, MET Norway, Resend, and OpenAI (site hosting). Map data attribution and applicable licenses are available on the map and in result details.