privacy policy

This Privacy Policy describes how Orca Weather (“we”, “us”) collects, uses, and shares information when you use the Orca Weather mobile application and the orcaweather.com website (together, the “Service”). The short version: we collect only what the app needs to work, we don’t sell your data, and we don’t show you ads.

1. Information we collect

• Account information. Sign-in is only required for submitting reports and voting on cameras; you can browse weather without an account. Accounts are anchored to a phone number you verify with a one-time SMS code. If you sign in with Apple or Google, we also receive an account identifier and the name you choose to share from that provider. We never see your passwords.
• Location. With your permission, the app uses your device’s location while you are using it, to show conditions near you and to tag the reports you choose to submit. We do not track your location in the background.
• Reports, photos, and votes. When you submit a weather report, we store the report, any photo you attach, its location, and the time it was submitted. Reports and photos are public and visible to other users of the Service. If you vote on what a public webcam shows, the vote is stored with your account to prevent duplicate voting.
• Technical data. Standard server logs (such as IP address, request time, and app version) used to operate, secure, and debug the Service.

We do not collect advertising identifiers, and the Service contains no third-party advertising or analytics SDKs.

2. How we use information

• to show you weather conditions relevant to where you are;
• to display your reports and photos to other users as part of the crowd-powered weather map and feed;
• to improve forecast quality — for example, user reports help calibrate local conditions;
• to operate, secure, moderate, and debug the Service.

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it with third parties for their marketing purposes.

3. Public content

Weather reports and photos you submit are public by design — that’s what makes the crowd-powered map work. They are shown with an approximate location and a display name. Please don’t include anything in a report or photo that you wouldn’t want to be public.

4. Third-party data sources

The Service displays data from third parties, including NOAA weather models and radar (GFS, HRRR, MRMS), National Weather Service forecasts and alerts, Open-Meteo, public traffic and weather camera imagery (Caltrans, ALERTCalifornia, and NYC DOT), and personal weather stations. These are inputs to the Service; using the app does not send your personal information to these providers.

5. Service providers

We use infrastructure providers to run the Service — hosting and databases (Railway), object storage for photos (Cloudflare R2), and SMS delivery for sign-in codes (Twilio, which receives the phone number being verified solely to send the code). These providers process data on our behalf and are not permitted to use it for their own purposes. Photos you submit may also be analyzed by an automated vision model to classify weather conditions (for example, fog vs. clear).

6. Data retention and deletion

We retain account data and submitted reports for as long as your account exists. You can delete your account and everything tied to it — reports, photos, votes, and follows — from within the app (Profile → Settings → Delete account), or request deletion by emailing hello@orcaweather.com. When your account is deleted, your personal information and submitted content are removed from the Service.

7. Children

The Service is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.

8. Security

We use industry-standard measures to protect your information, including encryption in transit. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

9. Your rights

Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, or delete your personal information. California residents have rights under the CCPA, including the right to know what personal information we collect and the right to deletion. To exercise any of these rights, email hello@orcaweather.com. We do not sell personal information, so there is nothing to opt out of.

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The “Last updated” date above reflects the current version, and material changes will be noted in the app or on this site.

11. Contact

Questions about privacy? Email hello@orcaweather.com.