Privacy Policy.

Telescope Flight Deck ("the App", "we", "us", "our") is an iOS astronomy assistant developed by Mathias Jacobson as an independent software product. This Privacy Policy explains what information is collected when you use the App or visit our website at telescopeflightdeck.com, how that information is used, and what choices you have.

We built Telescope Flight Deck with privacy as a core design principle. The App requires no account, collects no personally identifiable information, and operates without advertising. Location access is required only for astronomical calculations and fetching local sky conditions.

Location Data (iOS App)
When you grant location permission, the App accesses your GPS coordinates. This is essential for the App's core functionality — calculating which celestial objects are above your horizon, computing rise and set times, determining sky darkness, and fetching accurate local weather and atmospheric conditions. Location data is used in real time and is not stored by us on any server.

Your coordinates are transmitted to the following third-party services solely to retrieve your local conditions (see Third-Party Services below): the National Weather Service and Open-Meteo.

Email Address (Website — Optional)
If you voluntarily submit your email address via the launch notification form on our website, that address is stored by Brevo (our email platform) and used only to notify you when Telescope Flight Deck becomes available on the App Store. You will not receive marketing communications unrelated to this product launch.

Support Requests (Website — Optional)
If you contact us via the Support page on our website, your name (if provided), email address, and message content are transmitted via Formspree to our support email address. This information is used solely to respond to your request.

Your location is used exclusively to make the App functional for your specific sky. Specific uses include:

• Calculating real-time altitude and azimuth of the Sun, Moon, planets, and hundreds of deep-sky objects from your position
• Computing accurate moonrise, moonset, sunrise, and sunset times
• Fetching hourly weather forecasts and atmospheric seeing conditions from your local NWS grid point and Open-Meteo
• Estimating ISS ground distance and pass visibility windows
• Determining your local astronomical twilight and darkness windows

Your coordinates are not stored by us at any time. They are transmitted over HTTPS directly from your device to the third-party weather APIs listed below, which have their own privacy policies. We do not retain query logs.

Telescope Flight Deck relies on the following external services. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these services and encourage you to review their policies:

• National Weather Service (weather.gov) — Receives your GPS coordinates to return a local weather forecast. Operated by the U.S. government. Privacy Policy ↗
• Open-Meteo (open-meteo.com) — Receives your GPS coordinates to return atmospheric seeing conditions. Open-source, EU-based. Terms ↗
• Open Notify (open-notify.org) — Returns the current ISS orbital position. No location data sent to this service.
• The Space Devs (thespacedevs.com) — Returns upcoming rocket launch schedules. No location data sent to this service.
• Brevo (brevo.com) — Email platform used to store launch notification signups from our website. Privacy Policy ↗
• Formspree (formspree.io) — Processes support form submissions from our website. Privacy Policy ↗
• Apple Inc. — Handles all App Store purchases and downloads. All payment processing is handled exclusively by Apple. Privacy Policy ↗

iOS App: No personal data is transmitted to or stored on our servers. App preferences and settings are stored locally on your device and are deleted when you uninstall the App.

Email list: If you opted into our launch notification list, your email address is retained in Brevo until the App launches and notifications have been sent, after which it will be deleted, or upon your request at any time.

Support requests: Messages sent via the support form may be retained in our email inbox for as long as reasonably necessary to resolve your request.

Location access: You can revoke location permission at any time in iOS Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services → Telescope Flight Deck. Note that without location access, the App's core features will not function.

Email list opt-out: To be removed from the launch notification list, email us at cubic.th3ory@gmail.com and your address will be deleted promptly.

Delete all data: Uninstalling the App removes all locally stored preferences. Because we hold no server-side data about you (beyond email, if opted in), no further action is required.

California residents (CCPA): You have the right to know what personal information is collected, request deletion, and opt out of sale. We do not sell personal information. To exercise rights, contact us at the address below.

EEA/UK residents (GDPR): The legal basis for processing your location data is legitimate interest (necessary to deliver the service you downloaded). You have the right to access, rectify, erase, and port your data. Contact us to exercise these rights.

Telescope Flight Deck is not directed at children under the age of 13 and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child under 13 has submitted information to us, please contact us at cubic.th3ory@gmail.com and we will delete it promptly.

All data transmitted between the App, the website, and third-party services is sent over HTTPS. Because we do not operate a backend server or database, there is no server-side data store to compromise. No security method is 100% foolproof, but we have designed the App specifically to minimize data exposure.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the effective date at the top of this page. Continued use of the App after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the revised policy. If changes are significant, we will make reasonable efforts to notify users (for example, via the App Store release notes).

Questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy should be directed to: