Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Storm Hawks (“we,” “us,” or “our”) collects, uses, and shares information when you visit our website, submit a storm report, create an account, or join our team. By using the site, you agree to the practices described here.

Information we collect

• Account information. When you sign up, we collect your name, email address, and a securely hashed password. We never store your password in plain text.
• Storm submissions. If you send in a report, we collect the details you provide (such as your name, location, description, and optional email) and any photos or videos you upload, along with your IP address at the time of submission.
• Team member data. If you join the crew, we may collect additional information tied to your role, including timeclock entries with trip locations and mileage, training and certification records, a public profile you choose to publish, and — only when you actively enable it — your live GPS location.
• Technical information. We process basic technical data such as your IP address and browser information to operate the site and keep it secure.

How we use your information

• To operate your account and keep you signed in.
• To review storm reports and team applications.
• To run team features such as timeclock, trainings, certifications, and — with your consent — live location sharing.
• To secure the site and prevent abuse.

Location sharing

Live location tracking is opt-in and off by default. It only runs for team members who explicitly choose to broadcast their position, and it stops as soon as you turn it off. We store only your most recent position while you are sharing, and it is automatically removed from the public map a few minutes after you stop.

Cookies

We use a single, essential session cookie to keep you logged in. It is strictly necessary for the site to function and is not used for advertising or third-party tracking.

Service providers

We rely on a small number of third parties to run the site. Uploaded media is stored and served through Bunny.net’s content delivery network, application data is stored with our database provider, and our map uses tiles from OpenStreetMap. Embedded live streams are served by the streaming platform you watch them on (such as YouTube or Twitch), which may set their own cookies. These providers process data only as needed to deliver their service.

Data retention

Storm submissions are automatically deleted after a set retention period (30 days by default). Account, training, and team records are kept for as long as your account is active. You can ask us to delete your account and associated data at any time.

Your choices

• Update your profile and password from your account settings.
• Turn live location sharing on or off at any time.
• Make your crew profile public or private.
• Request access to or deletion of your data by contacting us.

Children

The site is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the “Last updated” date above.

Contact

Questions about this policy? Email us at info@stormhawks.net.