Privacy Policy — SkyWatch
What this app is
SkyWatch is a stargazing companion. It calculates sunrise/sunset, moon phase and moonrise/set, planet visibility, and a live sky map entirely on your device from your observing coordinates. There are no user accounts and no cloud sync.
What this app collects
SkyWatch does not collect any personal information that identifies you, and your location is never uploaded.
| Data | Collected? | Stored where |
|---|---|---|
| Your observing location (a city you pick, coordinates you type, or your device’s last-known location) | Used on-device to compute sky positions | Saved only on your device so the app reopens to your location. Never uploaded. |
| Name, email, account login | No — there are no accounts | — |
| Advertising identifier & IP address | Yes — by the Google AdMob SDK, for advertising | Handled by Google (see Advertising) |
Location (optional)
SkyWatch can use your device’s approximate (coarse) location to set your observing point, but only if you tap “Use my location” and grant the permission. You can instead pick a city or type coordinates by hand — the app works fully without the location permission. When used, your location is processed on-device to calculate sky data and saved locally only; it is never transmitted by the app.
Advertising (Google AdMob)
To keep SkyWatch free, the app shows advertising through Google’s AdMob SDK (a banner, occasional full-screen ads, and an app-open ad). To serve ads, AdMob may process your device’s advertising identifier and IP address. You can reset or limit your advertising ID under Android > Settings > Privacy > Ads.
EEA / UK / Switzerland consent (UMP)
If you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland, the app uses Google’s User Messaging Platform (UMP) to show a consent form so you can manage ad choices. Your choice is stored locally by the UMP SDK and respected when loading ads.
Permissions used
| Permission | Why |
|---|---|
ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION | Optional — only if you tap “Use my location”, to set your observing point. Used on-device; never uploaded. |
INTERNET | Serving AdMob ads and the consent form. |
ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE | Detecting whether the device is online. |
Internet required
SkyWatch uses an internet connection to keep the app free with ads. When offline, the app shows a “No internet” screen. The astronomy calculations themselves run entirely on-device.
Children
SkyWatch is a general-audience educational app and is not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.
Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, we will update the date at the top of this page.
Contact
If you have questions about this privacy policy, email moebahlawan87@gmail.com.