Cobalt — Privacy Policy

Location

If you allow location access, Cobalt uses your device's GPS location to look up the weather forecast for where you are. Your coordinates are sent to Cobalt's server, which forwards them to Apple WeatherKit to fetch the forecast, and are not stored anywhere. You can also search for and save other locations by name instead of using GPS; those are stored only on your device.

Background location

If you enable a My Location widget, or on Android the watch feed or the ongoing notification, Cobalt accesses your device's approximate location in the background (about every 30 minutes) to fetch the forecast for where you are. Location coordinates are rounded (about city-block precision), used only to request that forecast from our weather service, and are not stored, profiled, or shared with third parties. You can turn this off by switching those surfaces to a saved place, or by revoking the location permission in your device's settings.

Weather station credentials

If you connect a personal weather station, Cobalt asks for the credentials issued by your station's network (Ambient Weather, Ecowitt, Davis, or Tempest). Those credentials are:

• Held in your device's own secure credential store before they are ever saved: the Keychain on iPhone, and Android Keystore-backed encryption on Android.
• Sent to Cobalt's server only to fetch your station's current readings, in the body of an encrypted (HTTPS) request, never as part of a URL.
• Forwarded directly to your station network's own API on your behalf and are not stored on Cobalt's server afterward.

Your station's readings (temperature, humidity, wind, rain, pressure, and any extra sensors) pass through the same way, purely to display them in the app, and are not stored server-side.

Usage analytics

The Android app includes Google Firebase Analytics, which records anonymous usage events so we can see which features get used. Every event is limited to categories and counts, such as which kind of screen was opened or how many places are saved, along with whether the device is on the free or paid tier. No event can carry a place name, a coordinate, a station identifier, a sensor name, or any other free text. The advertising ID is switched off and its permissions are removed from the app, so no advertising identifier is collected.

The iPhone app contains no analytics SDK at all and sends no usage data.

Purchases

If you buy a subscription, it is processed entirely by the App Store or Google Play. Cobalt never sees your payment details. The store's purchase receipt is sent to Cobalt's server so it can confirm the subscription is active and unlock the paid features.

What Cobalt does not do

• No account or sign-up is required to use the app.
• No advertising, ad networks, or ad identifiers.
• No cross-app or cross-site tracking, and no data brokers.
• Your data is never sold or shared with third parties beyond the weather providers above, and only to fetch the forecast or readings you asked for.

What's stored on your device

Your saved locations, connected stations, sensor names, and display preferences are stored locally on your device so the app remembers them between launches. Station credentials are stored there too, in the secure store described above. Uninstalling the app removes all of it.

Children's privacy

Cobalt is not directed at children under 13 and does not knowingly collect data from them.

Changes to this policy

If this policy changes, the updated version will be posted on this page with a new effective date.

Contact

Questions about this policy or your data can be sent to nicksaulino@gmail.com. For help using the app, see support.