Last updated August 5, 2026

Privacy Policy

The Star Window is operated by Dalton McKown. This policy explains the information used to provide forecasts, accounts, saved places, product analytics, and forecast feedback.

Questions about privacy or data controls can be sent to thestarwindow@gmail.com.

Information we process

• Account information: email address, password hash and salt, account timestamps, and security records. Raw passwords are not stored.
• Saved and planning information: saved places or events, their labels and links, alert preferences when available, and forecast recheck history.
• Forecast feedback: forecast snapshots, whether a user went outside or saw stars, observed times, satisfaction, reminders, and derived reliability records.
• Product analytics: pseudonymous browser and session identifiers, landing and page paths without query strings, hostname-only referrers, and allowlisted interaction properties. Current first-party collection stores one-way identifier keys, not raw user-agent strings, IP addresses, precise coordinates, or account identifiers.
• Approximate or precise location: only when a user selects a place, supplies a location, or grants browser geolocation permission. Browser geolocation is not silently enabled.

How information is used

• Authenticate accounts and maintain secure sessions.
• Save and synchronize supported places and events.
• Generate, display, recheck, and improve forecast decisions.
• Measure whether users can complete important planning tasks and return for later checks.
• Evaluate forecast reliability after enough independent outcomes exist.
• Protect the service, enforce limits, investigate failures, and prevent automated QA traffic from affecting product analytics.

The Star Window does not currently sell personal information or use personal information for targeted advertising.

Cookies and browser storage

The service uses cookies and browser storage for authentication, CSRF protection, saved-place backup, pseudonymous analytics, remembered preferences, outcome prompts, and exclusion of staff or automated testing traffic.

Authentication sessions can last up to 30 days. Analytics and saved-place browser identifiers may last up to one year unless cleared earlier. Logging out removes the active server session; account deletion also clears Star Window browser records in the browser used for deletion.

Service providers

The Star Window uses Vercel for hosting and web analytics and Neon for managed database storage, including current first-party behavior events. Google APIs and Google Sheets may contain historical internal pseudonymous reports; they are not the current collection source. Forecast pages also identify their active weather and astronomy data sources.

Email delivery and route-based travel recommendations are not active public capabilities. If new providers become active, this policy will be updated before their data use is represented as part of the service.

Retention

• Account records and saved items remain until removed by the user or the account is deleted.
• Authentication sessions expire after at most 30 days.
• Star Window-controlled behavior analytics are retained for no more than 14 months.
• Anonymous forecast-outcome and calibration evidence is retained for no more than 24 months.
• Disabled alert records and delivery history are retained for no more than 12 months unless temporarily needed to investigate security or abuse.
• Account-export security records are retained for no more than 24 months.

Third-party processors may maintain backups, logs, or independently controlled retention according to their own policies. Anonymous records may not be attributable to a specific account and therefore may not be individually exportable or deletable.

Your controls

Signed-in users can remove saved items, download supported account data, and permanently delete their account after signing in to their account. Export and deletion require authentication, password confirmation, same-origin checks, and CSRF protection.

Account deletion removes account-linked sessions, saves, login codes, supported alert records, export audit records, and attributable outcome records. It cannot reliably identify historical anonymous analytics or guest outcome records.

You can also clear cookies and browser storage through your browser. For another privacy request, email thestarwindow@gmail.com.

Children and changes

The Star Window is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. Contact us if you believe a child has supplied personal information.

This policy may change when the service, providers, or legal requirements change. The updated date will identify the current version. Material changes will be presented through a reasonable notice on the service.