Privacy Policy for Reful

Last updated: 2026-04-21

This Privacy Policy explains how the Reful mobile application (“Reful”, “the app”, “we”) handles information when you use it. Reful is a wind and weather utility for the Adriatic coast, published by Sime Basioli (contact: sime@sikira.co).

We designed Reful to be privacy-friendly by default: we do not run our own servers, we do not have user accounts, and we do not track you.

Summary

  • We do not collect, store, or transmit any personally identifiable information on our servers.

  • We do not use analytics, crash reporting, advertising, or tracking SDKs.

  • Your approximate or precise location (if you grant permission) is sent only to Open-Meteo to fetch weather data for your coordinates.

  • Your preferences (wind unit, language, etc.) are stored only on your device.

1. Information we process

1.1 Location data

If you grant location permission, Reful uses your device’s current GPS coordinates (latitude and longitude) to:

  1. Fetch current wind conditions, historical wind data, and forecasts for your location.

  2. Display a local wind compass.

Location is requested only while the app is in use (NSLocationWhenInUseUsageDescription on iOS, ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION / ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION on Android). Background location tracking is disabled and not requested.

Coordinates are sent to Open-Meteo (see §3). We do not store location data on any server controlled by us — we do not operate servers.

If you deny location permission, the app will display limited information without fetching weather.

1.2 Motion sensor data

Reful uses the device magnetometer/accelerometer (NSMotionUsageDescription on iOS, HIGH_SAMPLING_RATE_SENSORS on Android) to power the compass that points toward wind direction. Motion data is processed locally on your device and is never transmitted off-device.

1.3 Preferences stored on your device

The following preferences are saved in the app’s local storage (AsyncStorage) on your device only:

  • Preferred wind speed unit (m/s, knots, km/h)

  • Haptic feedback enabled/disabled

  • Beaufort scale warning enabled/disabled

  • Preferred forecast model

  • Preferred language

  • Onboarding completion flag

These values never leave your device and can be removed by uninstalling the app.

1.4 Screenshot sharing

If you choose to share a screenshot of the compass view, the image is written to your device’s temporary storage and passed to your operating system’s share sheet. Reful does not upload screenshots anywhere.

2. Information we do NOT collect

Reful does not collect, process, or have access to:

  • Your name, email, phone number, or any account identifier.

  • Contacts, photos, calendar, microphone, or camera data.

  • Advertising identifiers (IDFA, GAID).

  • Analytics events, crash reports, or telemetry.

  • Purchase history, payment, or billing information (the app is free and has no in-app purchases).

  • Browsing history or data from other apps.

Reful has no login, no user accounts, and no ads.

3. Third-party service: Open-Meteo

Reful uses Open-Meteo (open-meteo.com) as its sole external data provider. When the app fetches weather data, the following is sent to Open-Meteo’s servers:

  • Your latitude and longitude

  • The date range of the data request

  • The requested weather variables (wind speed, direction, gusts)

Open-Meteo is an open-source weather service based in Bürglen, Switzerland. Per their privacy policy, Open-Meteo does not require an API key, does not require registration, and states that no personally identifiable information is collected. Standard HTTP server logs may briefly retain IP addresses for abuse prevention.

Reful is not affiliated with Open-Meteo.

4. Legal basis for processing (GDPR)

For users in the European Economic Area, the legal bases for processing are:

  • Consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR): for access to your device location when you grant the location permission.

  • Legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR): for local on-device processing of sensor data and preferences, which is strictly necessary to provide the app’s functionality.

You can withdraw location consent at any time via your device’s system settings. Doing so does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

5. Your rights

Because we do not collect or store your personal data on our servers, there is nothing we can access, modify, export, or delete on your behalf. You retain full control on your device:

  • Revoke location permission: iOS Settings → Reful → Location, or Android Settings → Apps → Reful → Permissions.

  • Delete local preferences: uninstall Reful to remove all locally stored data.

  • Opt out of data sent to Open-Meteo: deny or revoke the location permission. The app will not send coordinates to Open-Meteo without a valid location.

Users in the EU/EEA have rights under GDPR (access, rectification, erasure, restriction, portability, objection). Users in California have rights under the CCPA (right to know, right to delete, right to opt out of sale — we do not sell data). To exercise any rights or ask questions, contact us at sime@sikira.co.

6. Data retention

We do not retain any user data on our servers because we do not operate servers. Data stored on your device remains until you delete it or uninstall the app.

7. Children’s privacy

Reful is not directed at children under 13 (or under 16 in the EEA). We do not knowingly collect any personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will take steps to address it, though in practice the app does not collect information that could identify anyone.

8. International data transfers

When the app contacts Open-Meteo, data is transferred to Open-Meteo’s servers (currently located in Switzerland and the European Union). Switzerland is recognised by the European Commission as providing an adequate level of data protection.

9. Security

All network requests from the app use HTTPS (TLS). App Transport Security is enforced — arbitrary loads are disabled. Local preferences are stored using the platform’s standard secure preferences storage (iOS NSUserDefaults/NSSecureUnarchiveFromData, Android SharedPreferences).

10. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The “Last updated” date at the top reflects the latest revision. Material changes will be communicated within the app or alongside an app update. Continued use of the app after changes means you accept the revised policy.

11. Contact

Developer: Sime Basioli
Email: sime@sikira.co