VeraCast Privacy Policy

Who we are

VeraCast is made by JC Mobile App Studio LLC, a one-person studio based in Pennsylvania, USA. We are responsible for the app and for the small amount of data described below. "We" and "us" in this policy mean JC Mobile App Studio LLC. Contact: contact@jcmobileappstudio.com.

Short version

• No accounts, no ads, no analytics or tracking SDKs. We never ask for your name, email, or phone number.
• A weather app has to ask weather services about a place, so your location (coordinates or a place you search) goes to the weather providers listed below.
• On iPhone, AI text (the daily briefing, alerts wording, Pet Walk, packing list, horoscope) is written by Apple Intelligence on your iPhone when it can be. On iOS 27 it can use Apple's Private Cloud Compute next. If neither works, VeraCast sends the request to Google's Gemini through a relay we run on Cloudflare. That request can include your place name, the weather, and your display name, pet names, or zodiac signs if you set them.
• "Ask Vera" on iPhone only ever uses Apple Intelligence or Apple's Private Cloud Compute. It never goes to Gemini. If neither is available, it does not answer.
• On Android, the AI features run on your phone with Gemini Nano or a small model VeraCast downloads once. No AI text is sent to a cloud AI service.
• If notifications are on, our alerts relay stores a push token and the National Weather Service zone codes for your area (not your coordinates) so it can push severe weather warnings.
• Your saved places, settings, names, and logs stay on your device. We do not sell your data.

What reaches us, and what goes to others

What reaches servers we operate. We run one small server, a Cloudflare Worker called the VeraCast alerts relay (veracast-alerts-worker.jcmappstudio.workers.dev), with a Cloudflare D1 database. It does three things:

• Severe weather push. It stores your device's push token (from Apple Push Notification service on iPhone, or Firebase Cloud Messaging on Android), the NWS county and forecast zone codes for your area (for example "PAC075"), the platform, and when it was last updated. Every few minutes it checks the National Weather Service for active alerts in the stored zones and sends a push when one is issued. It also keeps a short list of which alerts it already sent to which token, so you are not notified twice. On iPhone this registration only happens if you have allowed notifications. On Android, VeraCast registers when the app starts and has a last known location for you.
• Pollen relay. To show the pollen forecast, the app sends your coordinates to the relay, which forwards them to the Google Pollen API with our key and passes the answer back. This is how both the iPhone and Android apps get pollen data.
• Gemini relay (iPhone only). When the iPhone app needs Gemini (see "AI features"), it sends the request text to the relay, which forwards it to Google's Gemini API with our key and passes the answer back.

Requests to the relay carry a shared app key, not anything that identifies you. The relay code does not save pollen coordinates or Gemini request text to its database or its logs. Cloudflare, which hosts the relay, processes requests (including your IP address) under the Cloudflare privacy policy.

What third parties receive, under their own policies. VeraCast talks to these services directly from your device (or through the relay above, where noted). Each receives the request and your IP address, and handles it under its own privacy policy:

• Apple (iPhone): WeatherKit, the main forecast source on iPhone, gets your coordinates. Apple also turns coordinates into a place name, draws the map, and calculates driving routes for trip weather. Apple Intelligence and Private Cloud Compute, push notifications, and App Store purchases also go through Apple. Apple privacy policy.
• Open-Meteo: forecasts (the main source on Android, and on iPhone for minute by minute rain, wind maps, ensemble and extended forecasts, air quality, marine, historical weather, and the Apple Watch app and widgets), plus place search. Gets coordinates or the place name you type. Open-Meteo terms and privacy.
• National Weather Service and NOAA: US alerts, forecast zones, station observations, storm cells, Storm Prediction Center outlooks, National Hurricane Center storm maps, tide stations, and space weather. Gets coordinates or a zone or station code. On iPhone the news feed also reads public NWS, NOAA and climate.gov news feeds, which contain no location. NWS privacy policy, NOAA privacy policy.
• USGS (iPhone): earthquake reports near your area. Gets coordinates. US Department of the Interior privacy policy.
• RainViewer: animated radar images for the map area you are viewing. RainViewer privacy policy.
• Google: the Pollen API (through our relay, gets coordinates); the Gemini API (iPhone only, through our relay, see "AI features"); Firebase Cloud Messaging (Android push delivery); Google Play (Android purchases); and Gemini Nano through Android's AICore, which runs on your phone. Google privacy policy, Gemini API terms, Firebase privacy information.
• OpenFreeMap (Android): base map tiles for the map area you are viewing. OpenFreeMap privacy policy.
• OSRM demo server (Android): driving routes for trip weather. Gets the start and end points you enter. Project OSRM.
• Hugging Face (Android, only if you choose to download it): the one time download of the on-device language model. The download contains no personal data. Hugging Face privacy policy.

None of these requests include your name, email, contacts, or an advertising ID. VeraCast has no account to attach them to.

Location

With your permission, VeraCast uses your device location to show weather where you are, or you can search for places instead. VeraCast asks only for location while you use the app. It does not ask for background (Always) location on either platform. To keep alerts and scheduled notifications working when the app is closed, it saves your last known location on your device and uses that. Your precise coordinates are sent to the weather services above; our alerts relay only receives zone codes. You can change or revoke location access in iOS Settings, Privacy & Security, Location Services, or in Android Settings, Apps, VeraCast, Permissions.

AI features

On iPhone. VeraCast writes its briefings, alert wording, spoken Now Brief, rain nowcast notes, Pet Walk advice, packing lists, and the Premium Astro-Weather Horoscope with a language model, tried in this order:

1. Apple Intelligence on your iPhone, on iPhones that support it. Nothing leaves the phone.
2. Apple Private Cloud Compute, on iOS 27 when the on-device model is not available. The request goes to Apple's servers, which Apple designed so the request is not stored and is not visible to Apple or to us.
3. Google Gemini, through our Cloudflare relay, if the Apple options are not available, fail, or take too long. This can happen even on an iPhone with Apple Intelligence, for example if the on-device model times out.

A request sent to Gemini contains the text needed to write that piece: your location's name (city or place, not coordinates), the forecast and conditions used, pollen levels, and, depending on the feature and what you set in the app, your display name, your pets' names, a trip's name, your zodiac sign, rising sign and moon sign, and the moon phase or visible planets. It does not contain your coordinates, contacts, calendar events, photos, or any account. The daily horoscope notification (Premium, if you turn it on) is always written with Gemini, because it is generated in the background. We do not store these requests or answers on our servers. Google processes them under the Gemini API terms linked above. Depending on the Gemini service tier, Google may keep request content for a limited time for abuse monitoring and, on unpaid tiers, may use it to improve its products, which can include human review. If that matters to you, leave your display name and pet names blank.

Ask Vera and "Why?" on iPhone. These use only Apple Intelligence on your iPhone or, on iOS 27, Apple Private Cloud Compute. They never fall back to Gemini. If neither is available, VeraCast says it can't answer.

On Android. The daily briefing, Ask Vera, the spoken Now Brief, and the horoscope are generated on your phone. VeraCast uses Gemini Nano through Google's AICore on phones that support it. On other phones it offers to download a small open language model (Qwen 2.5, about 1.6 GB, from Hugging Face) that then runs on the device. If neither is available, VeraCast writes a simpler summary from built in templates. The Android app does not send AI requests to Gemini or any other cloud AI service. The Now Brief is read aloud by your phone's own text to speech.

Calendar (Premium, optional)

If you turn on weather for your events, VeraCast asks for calendar access and reads your upcoming events on your device to show their forecast and warn you about rain. Event titles and locations are used only on your device, for example in a local notification. They are never sent to us, to a weather service, or to an AI service.

What stays on your device

Your saved places, units and display settings, display name, pet names, zodiac signs, custom alert rules, storm log, trips and packing lists, cached forecasts, and AI usage counts are stored on your device. They are shared with VeraCast's own widgets, your Apple Watch, your Wear OS watch, and Android Auto over local links between your own devices. They are not sent to us. Your device's own backup (iCloud Backup on iPhone, Google backup on Android) may include this app data if you have backup turned on. Deleting VeraCast removes it from the device.

Subscriptions

VeraCast Premium is billed by Apple through the App Store on iPhone and by Google Play on Android. Apple or Google handles the payment. We never see your card, Apple ID, or Google account. The app checks your subscription status with Apple or Google on your device; we do not run a purchase server. Apple and Google give us sales reports that do not identify you. You can manage or cancel in your Apple Account settings or in Google Play, Subscriptions.

Diagnostics

VeraCast includes no analytics or crash reporting SDK. If you opted in to sharing with app developers in iOS Settings, Privacy & Security, Analytics & Improvements, Apple may give us crash reports and performance metrics that do not identify you. On Android, Google Play may do the same based on your device settings, and Firebase Cloud Messaging, which delivers push alerts, uses a Firebase installation ID and may send Google basic delivery data.

Sale, sharing, and targeted advertising

We do not sell your personal data, share it for cross-context behavioral advertising, or use it for targeted advertising. VeraCast has no ads and no ad SDK on either platform, and it does not use your device's advertising ID.

Data retention

• On your device: until you delete it in the app or uninstall VeraCast.
• Alerts relay: your push token and zone codes stay until your device registers again (the old zones are replaced), or until Apple or Google tells us the token is no longer valid, which happens after you uninstall the app. The record of alerts already sent is deleted after about two days.
• Pollen and Gemini requests through the relay: not stored by us.
• Third parties (Apple, Google, Cloudflare, weather providers): kept according to their own policies.

Your privacy rights

Depending on where you live (for example California, Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, Texas, Oregon, Indiana, Kentucky, Rhode Island and other US states, or the EU/UK), you may have the right to access, correct, delete, or get a copy of personal data, and to opt out of targeted advertising, sale, or profiling. Many of these laws may not apply to a studio our size, but we honor these requests from everyone.

The only personal data we hold is the push token and zone codes on the alerts relay. To exercise a right, email contact@jcmobileappstudio.com. Because we have no accounts, we may ask you to turn off VeraCast notifications or uninstall the app so your token stops being valid, or for other details to find your record. We respond within 45 days, and we won't treat you differently for asking. If we decline, you can appeal by replying to our answer with "Appeal", and we'll respond within 45 days (60 days at most where the law allows). If the appeal is denied, you may contact your state attorney general.

Children

VeraCast is a general weather app and is not directed to children under 13. We don't knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided personal information through VeraCast, contact us and we will delete it.

International users

The little data we hold (the alerts relay) is processed in the United States on Cloudflare's network. Third-party services may process data in other countries under their own policies.

Security

All network requests VeraCast makes use encrypted HTTPS connections. The relay keeps our Google API keys server side, so they are not inside the app. Data on your device is protected by your platform's security and your device passcode. No system is perfectly secure, so we keep what we hold to the minimum above.

A note on weather and astro features

VeraCast's forecasts, activity outlooks, and alerts are provided for general information and can be incomplete, delayed, or wrong. For life-safety decisions, always rely on official sources such as the National Weather Service and local authorities. The Astro-Weather Horoscope is for entertainment.

Changes

When this policy changes, we update the "Last updated" line above and post the new version at this address. Material changes are also noted in the app's release notes.

Contact

Questions or requests, in English or Español: contact@jcmobileappstudio.com