This policy is being finalized and may change before EmberWize's public launch.
Privacy policy
Who we are
EmberWize is made by Probably Works Studio LLC, California (probablyworks.studio). Questions about this policy: contact@probablyworks.studio.
The short version
- There are no accounts. The places you pick are saved on your own device.
- To show what's nearby, the app sends the coordinates of the place you're viewing to our server. Our server uses them to answer and doesn't store them. It caches results by a rounded area of about 10 km, in memory only.
- Our server logs record your IP address and which page of our service was requested. They never record coordinates, place names or address searches.
- Public data feeds are fetched by our server, so those agencies don't see your device. Map images are loaded by your device directly from the map provider.
- The web app hosts its own code and fonts and makes no requests to Google. It talks only to our server and the map tile provider (OpenStreetMap by default).
- This website has no analytics, ads, cookies or third-party scripts.
- We don't sell your information or use it for advertising.
This website
This site is a set of static pages. It sets no cookies and runs no analytics, advertising or third-party scripts. Its fonts and images are hosted on the site itself, so loading it contacts no one but our web host.
Like any web server, our host receives your IP address, browser details and the pages you request.
The EmberWize app (public version)
What stays on your device
The place you choose (its coordinates and the name you see) is saved in the app's storage on your device. On the web, that's your browser's local storage. The app also keeps a copy of the most recent data it downloaded, so it can show something if you lose connection. Clearing the app's data or your browser's site data removes all of this.
If you tap "use my location", the app asks your device for permission and reads your position once. That position is then treated like any other place you choose.
What the app sends to our server
- For nearby data: the latitude and longitude of the place you're viewing, the search radius and, optionally, a short place name to show in the app. These go in each request, over HTTPS.
- For address search: the text you type into the search box.
Your device also sends what every internet connection sends: your IP address and basic technical details such as the app or browser version.
What our server does with it
- Answering your request. The server rounds your coordinates to a grid square of 0.1° (about 11 km north to south) and uses that square to collect public data. Your exact coordinates and place name are used only to work out distances in the reply. They are not saved.
- Caching. To avoid asking the same agencies again and again, results are kept in memory for each grid square and search radius. Results last from one minute to 15 minutes, depending on the source. Place details for a square (its county, state and weather office) last up to 24 hours, and its place name up to 7 days. At most 500 squares (and 2,000 place lookups) are kept, and everything is cleared when the server restarts. These caches hold no IP addresses and no exact coordinates.
- Address search. Search text and its results are cached in memory for up to 24 hours (10 minutes if nothing was found), so repeat searches don't go out again. The cache isn't linked to who searched.
- Rate limiting. To keep the service fair and protect it from abuse, the server counts requests per IP address. The counters are held in memory only, for up to the 20,000 most recent addresses, and are lost on restart.
- Logs. Each request writes one log line: the IP address, the request type, the page path (with no query string, so no coordinates or search text), the response code and how long it took. Error messages strip out web addresses that could contain locations.
- Saved files. The only thing the server writes to disk is a copy of the shared public feeds (national fire, storm and earthquake data), so it can restart quickly. That file contains no visitor information.
Who else receives information
Public data providers
Our server, not your device, requests data from the National Weather Service, NIFC / WFIGS (ArcGIS), CAL FIRE, Cal OES and Genasys (California only), USGS, GDACS, the National Hurricane Center and NASA FIRMS. Location-based requests use the centre of your rounded grid square, never your exact point. Several feeds (NASA FIRMS, USGS, GDACS, hurricanes and national fire data) are downloaded in full and filtered on our server, so no location is sent for them at all. These providers see our server's address, not yours.
Address search and place names (OpenStreetMap Nominatim)
Our server sends the text you search for to the Nominatim geocoding service run by the OpenStreetMap Foundation. To name the area you're viewing, it also sends the grid square's centre. Requests come from our server and are identified as EmberWize, with our contact address, as Nominatim's usage policy requires. They carry no information about you. We send at most one request per second. See the OpenStreetMap Foundation privacy policy.
Map images
The map background is made of image tiles that your device loads directly from the tile provider. By default that is OpenStreetMap (tile.openstreetmap.org, run by the OpenStreetMap Foundation). The provider receives your IP address, the tiles you view (and so the map area and zoom level), and standard browser details.
Web app resources
The EmberWize web app hosts all of its own files, including its rendering engine (CanvasKit) and fonts. It makes no requests to Google or any other third-party service. The only places it connects to are our server and the map tile provider described above.
Legal requests
We would share information only if the law requires it. Because we keep so little, there's little we could share.
Early-access email
If you email us about early access, we use your email address and message to reply and to set you up, and for nothing else. To have your emails deleted, write to contact@probablyworks.studio.
Children
EmberWize is a general information tool and isn't directed at children under 13. We don't knowingly collect personal information from children.
Your rights, including California residents
We don't sell or share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising, as defined in the CCPA/CPRA. Because there are no accounts, we usually can't link logs or caches to a person. You can still email contact@probablyworks.studio to ask what we hold about you or to have it deleted.
Security
The app and this site are served over HTTPS. The server runs with restricted permissions and stores no visitor data on disk.
Not a warning system
EmberWize is an information aid, not an official alert service. Always follow official evacuation orders and call 911 in an emergency.
Changes
If this policy changes, we'll update the date at the top of this page.