Stormviax Forecast

Privacy Policy for Stormviax Forecast

Last Updated: July 15, 2025

Welcome to Stormviax Forecast ("Stormviax," "we," "us," or "our"). We are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring the security of your personal information. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, process, and disclose your information when you access or use our website, mobile applications, and any related services (collectively, the "Services"). By using our Services, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy. We encourage you to read this Privacy Policy carefully to understand our practices regarding your information and how we will treat it. This policy is designed to be comprehensive, transparent, and compliant with global data protection regulations, including but not limited to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).

1. Information We Collect

We collect various types of information to provide and improve our Services to you. This information can be broadly categorized into information you provide to us, information we collect automatically, and information we obtain from third parties.

1.1. Information You Provide to Us

  • Account Information: When you create an account with Stormviax Forecast, we collect personal details such as your name, email address, password, and any other information you choose to provide (e.g., profile picture, preferred units of measurement). This information is essential for managing your account, personalizing your experience, and communicating with you.
  • Location Data: To provide accurate and localized weather forecasts, alerts, and features like "Track My Region," we collect precise or approximate location data. You can provide this by manually entering a city, zip code, or address, or by granting us access to your device's location services (GPS, Wi-Fi, cellular network triangulation). You have control over your device's location settings and can disable location sharing at any time, though this may limit the functionality of certain location-dependent features.
  • Communication Data: If you contact us directly, we may receive additional information about you, such as your name, email address, phone number, the contents of the message and/or attachments you may send us, and any other information you choose to provide. This includes interactions with our customer support, feedback submissions, and participation in surveys.
  • Preferences and Settings: We collect information about your preferences and settings within the Services, such as your preferred alert types (e.g., severe wind, hail, flood, lightning), notification thresholds, saved locations in your "StormVault" Dashboard, and display preferences (e.g., dark mode, units). This allows us to customize your experience and deliver relevant information.
  • User-Generated Content: If you utilize features like the "Viax Feed" to report hail, upload storm photos, or interact with alerts, we collect the content you submit, including associated metadata (e.g., time, date, location where the photo was taken). This content may be publicly visible depending on the feature's design and your privacy settings.
  • Payment Information: If you subscribe to premium features or services, our third-party payment processors will collect your payment information. We do not directly store your credit card details; this information is securely handled by our payment partners. We will only receive confirmation of your payment.

1.2. Information We Collect Automatically

  • Usage Data: We automatically collect information about how you interact with our Services. This includes the pages or features you view, the time spent on those pages or features, the search queries you make, the types of weather data you access, the frequency and duration of your activities, and other similar usage patterns. This helps us understand user behavior and improve our Services.
  • Device Information: We collect information about the device you use to access our Services, including the device model, operating system version, unique device identifiers (e.g., IMEI, MAC address), mobile network information, and browser type. This data helps us optimize our Services for various devices and troubleshoot technical issues.
  • Log Data: When you access our Services, our servers automatically record information that your browser sends whenever you visit a website. This log data may include your Internet Protocol ("IP") address, browser type and settings, the date and time of your request, the referring URL, and cookie data.
  • Cookies and Similar Technologies: We use cookies, web beacons, and other tracking technologies to collect information about your browsing activities, preferences, and interactions with our Services. Cookies are small data files stored on your device. They help us remember your preferences, analyze usage patterns, and personalize content and advertising. For more details, please refer to our separate Cookies Policy.
  • Weather Data Interactions: We track your interactions with weather data, such as which forecast models you view, which alerts you click on, and how you customize your weather dashboard. This helps us understand which features are most valuable and how to enhance data presentation.
  • Error and Crash Data: When our Services encounter an error or crash, we may automatically collect data related to the incident, such as crash reports, device state at the time of the crash, and other technical information. This data is crucial for diagnosing and fixing bugs and improving the stability of our applications.

1.3. Information We Obtain from Third Parties

  • Weather Data Providers: We integrate with various third-party meteorological data providers, satellite imagery services, and radar networks to obtain the raw weather data that powers our forecasts and alerts. While we process and analyze this data, we do not receive personal information about you from these providers unless explicitly stated and consented to.
  • Analytics Providers: We use third-party analytics services (e.g., Google Analytics) to help us understand how users engage with our Services. These providers may collect information about your usage patterns, device information, and IP address. This data is typically aggregated and anonymized.
  • Advertising Partners: We may work with third-party advertising partners who collect information about your online activities over time and across different websites and online services to provide targeted advertising. This information is typically collected through cookies and similar technologies.
  • Social Media Platforms: If you choose to connect your Stormviax Forecast account with a social media platform (e.g., for login or sharing content), we may receive certain information from that platform, such as your public profile information, as authorized by your settings on that platform.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for various purposes, primarily to provide, maintain, protect, and improve our Services, and to develop new ones. Our use of your information is always aligned with our commitment to delivering accurate forecasts and enhancing your safety.

  • To Provide and Maintain Our Services: This includes delivering real-time weather forecasts, severe weather alerts, and personalized weather information based on your location and preferences. It also involves managing your account, processing your requests, and ensuring the proper functioning of our website and applications.
  • To Personalize Your Experience: We use your information to tailor the content and features you see. For example, your saved locations and preferred alert types allow us to provide highly relevant weather updates in your "StormVault" Dashboard.
  • To Improve and Develop New Services: We analyze usage patterns, feedback, and technical data to understand how our Services are used, identify areas for improvement, and develop new features or functionalities. This includes enhancing the accuracy of our AI-enhanced predictive tools and optimizing the performance of our "LiveStorm AI Tracker."
  • For Communication: We use your contact information to send you important updates about our Services, critical weather alerts, security notifications, customer support responses, and promotional messages (where permitted by law and your preferences).
  • For Security and Fraud Prevention: We use information to detect, prevent, and respond to potential security incidents, fraud, or other malicious activities. This includes monitoring for unauthorized access and ensuring the integrity of our systems.
  • For Research and Analytics: We conduct research and analysis to understand meteorological trends, user demographics, and service performance. This often involves aggregating and anonymizing data to protect your privacy. This supports our "StormWatch Reports" and "The Surge Blog" content.
  • For Legal Compliance: We may use your information to comply with applicable laws, regulations, legal processes, or governmental requests. This includes responding to subpoenas or court orders.
  • For Marketing and Advertising: With your consent where required, we may use your information to deliver targeted advertising and promotional content about our Services or third-party products and services that we believe may be of interest to you. This may involve using cookies and similar technologies.
  • To Facilitate User Contributions: Information you provide through features like the "Viax Feed" (e.g., storm photos, hail reports) is used to enrich community-driven weather observations and may be displayed publicly within the platform.

3. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell your personal information to third parties. We may share your information with certain categories of third parties only when necessary for the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, and always with appropriate safeguards.

  • Service Providers: We engage third-party companies and individuals to perform services on our behalf, such as hosting, data analysis, payment processing, customer support, marketing, and security. These service providers have access to your information only to perform these tasks on our behalf and are obligated not to disclose or use it for any other purpose.
  • Weather Data Partners: To provide accurate forecasts, we share aggregated and anonymized location data with our meteorological data partners. This data does not identify you personally but helps them provide us with localized weather information.
  • Analytics and Advertising Partners: We may share aggregated or de-identified information with analytics and advertising partners to help us understand user behavior and deliver relevant advertisements. These partners may also collect information directly from your device through cookies and similar technologies, subject to their own privacy policies.
  • Affiliates: We may share your information with our current or future affiliates (companies under common ownership or control) for purposes consistent with this Privacy Policy.
  • Business Transfers: In the event of a merger, acquisition, reorganization, bankruptcy, or sale of all or a portion of our assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you via email and/or a prominent notice on our Services of any change in ownership or uses of your personal information, as well as any choices you may have regarding your personal information.
  • Legal Obligations and Safety: We may disclose your information if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to:
    • Comply with a legal obligation (e.g., subpoena, court order).
    • Protect and defend the rights or property of Stormviax Forecast.
    • Prevent or investigate possible wrongdoing in connection with the Services.
    • Protect the personal safety of users of the Services or the public.
    • Protect against legal liability.
  • With Your Consent: We may share your information with third parties when we have your explicit consent to do so. For example, if you choose to share your weather data or alerts on social media platforms directly from our app.
  • Aggregated or De-identified Data: We may share aggregated or de-identified information that cannot reasonably be used to identify you. For instance, we might share statistics about the number of users in a certain region who received a particular type of alert, or general trends in weather data consumption. This data is used for research, analysis, and reporting.

4. Data Retention

We retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements. The specific retention periods depend on the type of information and the context in which it is used.

  • Account Information: We retain your account information for as long as your account is active. If you close your account, we will delete or anonymize your personal information within a reasonable timeframe, unless retention is required by law or for legitimate business purposes (e.g., dispute resolution, fraud prevention).
  • Location Data: Precise location data used for real-time forecasts is typically processed and used immediately and not stored long-term in an identifiable format. Aggregated or anonymized location data used for historical analysis or service improvement may be retained for longer periods.
  • Usage and Device Data: This data is typically retained for a period necessary to conduct analytics, improve service performance, and ensure security, generally ranging from a few months to several years, often in an aggregated or anonymized form.
  • Communication Data: Records of your communications with us (e.g., customer support inquiries) may be retained for a period necessary to resolve issues, improve our services, and for legal compliance, typically up to several years.
  • Legal and Regulatory Requirements: In some cases, we are legally obliged to retain certain data for specific periods (e.g., financial transaction records for tax purposes).
  • Dispute Resolution and Enforcement: We may retain information for longer periods if necessary to resolve disputes, enforce our agreements, or protect our legal rights.

When we no longer need to retain your personal information, we will securely delete or anonymize it. If deletion is not possible (e.g., because your personal information has been stored in backup archives), then we will securely store your personal information and isolate it from any further processing until deletion is possible.

5. Your Rights and Choices

Depending on your location and applicable data protection laws, you may have certain rights regarding your personal information. We are committed to facilitating the exercise of these rights.

  • Access Your Information: You have the right to request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
  • Rectify Inaccurate Information: You have the right to request that we correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal information we hold about you.
  • Delete Your Information ("Right to Be Forgotten"): You have the right to request the deletion of your personal information under certain circumstances, such as when the data is no longer necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, or if you withdraw consent and there is no other legal basis for processing.
  • Object to Processing: You have the right to object to the processing of your personal information for certain purposes, including direct marketing.
  • Restrict Processing: You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal information under certain conditions, such as when you contest the accuracy of the data or the lawfulness of the processing.
  • Data Portability: You have the right to receive your personal information in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format, and to transmit that data to another controller, where technically feasible.
  • Withdraw Consent: Where we rely on your consent to process your personal information, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal of consent will not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal.
  • Opt-Out of Marketing Communications: You can opt-out of receiving promotional communications from us by following the unsubscribe instructions provided in those communications or by adjusting your notification settings in your account.
  • Location Services: You can disable location services on your device at any time, which will prevent us from collecting precise location information. Note that this may affect the functionality of certain location-dependent features.
  • Cookies: Most web browsers are set to accept cookies by default. If you prefer, you can usually choose to set your browser to remove or reject browser cookies. Please note that if you choose to remove or reject cookies, this could affect the availability and functionality of our Services. For more information, please refer to our Cookies Policy.
  • Lodge a Complaint: You have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority if you believe our processing of your personal information violates applicable law.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details provided in the "Contact Us" section below. We may need to verify your identity before processing your request. We will respond to all legitimate requests within the timeframes required by applicable law.

6. Security of Your Information

The security of your personal information is paramount to us. We implement a variety of robust technical and organizational security measures designed to protect your information from unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures are continuously reviewed and updated in line with industry best practices and evolving threats.

  • Encryption: We use industry-standard encryption protocols (e.g., SSL/TLS) to protect data transmitted between your device and our servers. This ensures that your information is secure during transit.
  • Access Controls: Access to your personal information is restricted to authorized personnel who need to know that information to perform their job functions. We implement strict access control policies and procedures.
  • Data Minimization: We adhere to the principle of data minimization, collecting only the personal information that is necessary for the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy.
  • Regular Audits and Assessments: Our security systems and practices undergo regular audits and vulnerability assessments to identify and address potential weaknesses.
  • Employee Training: All Stormviax Forecast employees receive regular training on data privacy and security best practices to ensure they understand their responsibilities in protecting your information.
  • Incident Response Plan: We have an established incident response plan to address any potential data breaches or security incidents promptly and effectively, including notification to affected individuals and relevant authorities where required by law.
  • Third-Party Security: We carefully vet our third-party service providers to ensure they maintain adequate security measures to protect any personal information they process on our behalf. We enter into data processing agreements with them to ensure compliance with data protection laws.

Despite our best efforts, no method of transmission over the Internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security. We encourage you to also take steps to protect your personal information, such as using strong, unique passwords, and being cautious about sharing information online.

7. Children's Privacy

Our Services are not intended for use by individuals under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a child under 13 without verifiable parental consent, we will take steps to remove that information from our servers.

If you are a parent or guardian and you believe that your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately using the details in the "Contact Us" section. We are committed to protecting the privacy of children and will cooperate fully to address any concerns regarding the collection of data from minors.

8. Third-Party Links and Services

Our Services may contain links to third-party websites, applications, or services that are not operated by us. These links are provided for your convenience and information. For example, our "The Surge Blog" might link to external scientific articles or news reports.

This Privacy Policy applies only to our Services. We have no control over, and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third-party sites or services. We strongly advise you to review the Privacy Policy of every site you visit. The inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement by Stormviax Forecast of the site or its operators.

9. International Data Transfers

Stormviax Forecast is based in India, and our servers and primary operations are located in various global data centers. Your information may be stored and processed in India or any other country where we or our service providers maintain facilities.

If you are accessing our Services from outside India, please be aware that your information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in India, where our servers are located and our central database is operated. The data protection laws in India may differ from those in your country of residence.

When we transfer personal information outside of your jurisdiction, we take appropriate safeguards to ensure that your information is protected in accordance with this Privacy Policy and applicable data protection laws. These safeguards may include:

  • Transferring data to countries that have been deemed to provide an adequate level of protection for personal information by the European Commission or other relevant authorities.
  • Implementing Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) approved by the European Commission or other relevant authorities, which require recipients to protect personal information according to European standards.
  • Obtaining your explicit consent for the transfer, where appropriate.
  • Utilizing other legally recognized mechanisms for data transfer.

By using our Services, you understand that your information may be transferred to our facilities and those third parties with whom we share it as described in this Privacy Policy.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, legal requirements, or other factors. When we make material changes to this Privacy Policy, we will notify you by posting the updated policy on this page and updating the "Last Updated" date at the top of this policy.

If the changes are significant, we may also provide more prominent notice, such as by sending you an email notification or placing a prominent notice on our website or within our applications before the changes become effective. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Your continued use of the Services after the effective date of the revised Privacy Policy constitutes your acceptance of the terms.

11. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are committed to addressing your inquiries promptly and transparently.

  • By Email: privacy@stormviax.com
  • By Mail:
    Stormviax Forecast Headquarters
    123 Weather Way, Climate City, State 12345
    New Delhi, Delhi, India
  • Through Our Website: Visit our Contact Us page for an online inquiry form.

When contacting us, please provide sufficient details to allow us to understand your request and respond effectively. We may need to verify your identity before fulfilling certain requests. We appreciate your trust in Stormviax Forecast and are dedicated to protecting your privacy.