Last updated: September 26, 2026
This policy explains what information Night Sky Today (“we”, “us”) collects when you use nightskytoday.com (the “Site”), how it is used, and the choices you have. We keep this short and in plain language. If anything is unclear, contact us.
1. Who is responsible
The Site is operated by Night Sky Today. You can reach the data controller at [email protected].
2. Information we collect
2.1 Your chosen location
The Site shows moon and sky times for a city. When you pick a city, or accept the one we suggest, we store that choice in a cookie on your device (lunar_loc and lunar_loc_tz) so pages open in the right place next time. On your first visit we suggest a city using the approximate country and region provided by our network provider (Cloudflare) from your IP address, or, failing that, your browser’s time zone. We do not store your IP address for this purpose, we never use precise GPS location unless you press “Use my location” and allow it in your browser, and the suggestion is only a starting point you can change at any time. You can clear the choice by deleting the cookie or picking another city.
2.2 Push notifications
If you turn on notifications, your browser gives us an anonymous subscription address issued by your browser vendor (for example Google, Apple or Mozilla) together with the topics you ticked and the time you subscribed. We store this so we can send the alerts you asked for. We do not receive your name, email address or device identity. We also count, per notification, how many devices received it and how many opened it; these counts are not linked to individual subscriptions. You can unsubscribe at any time using the “Notifications on” button on the Site or your browser’s notification settings; unsubscribing deletes the subscription from our records. Subscriptions that stop working are deleted automatically.
2.3 Server logs
Like almost every website, our servers and our network provider record standard technical data when you load a page: IP address, browser type, the page requested, referring page, and the time. We use this only to keep the Site secure and working, and logs are deleted automatically after a short period.
2.4 Analytics
We use Google Analytics to understand which pages are read and how the Site performs. Google Analytics sets cookies and collects information such as pages viewed, approximate location, device and browser type. IP addresses are truncated by Google before storage. You can opt out with Google’s browser add-on. Google’s own policy is at policies.google.com/privacy.
2.5 Advertising
We show advertising, including through Google AdSense. Google and its partners may use cookies and similar technologies to serve ads based on your earlier visits to this and other websites, and to measure them. You can opt out of personalised advertising at Google Ads Settings and, for other vendors, at aboutads.info or youronlinechoices.eu. Where the law requires it (for example in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland) we ask for your consent before advertising cookies are set, and you can change your choice from the link in the footer.
2.6 Affiliate links
Some articles contain links to retailers (for example, for binoculars or camera gear). If you buy through such a link we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. The retailer may set a cookie to attribute the sale. We mark affiliate links in the article and they do not affect the price you pay or our recommendations.
2.7 Email you send us
If you email us we keep the correspondence for as long as needed to answer you and for a reasonable time afterwards for reference.
3. Cookies we set ourselves
| Cookie | Purpose | Lifetime |
|---|---|---|
lunar_loc, lunar_loc_tz |
Remember the city and time zone you chose | 1 year |
swp_dismissed_until (local storage) |
Remember that you closed the notification prompt | Up to 1 year |
| WordPress login cookies | Only for site staff who sign in | Session / 14 days |
Third-party cookies from Google Analytics, advertising vendors and affiliate retailers are described above and governed by those companies’ policies.
4. How we use information
- To show sky data for your chosen city and remember that choice.
- To send push notifications you asked for.
- To keep the Site secure, detect abuse and fix errors.
- To understand how the Site is used and improve it.
- To fund the Site through advertising and affiliate commissions.
- To answer your messages.
Where privacy law requires a legal basis, we rely on your consent (advertising cookies, push notifications, precise location), on our legitimate interest in running and improving a free website (security, analytics with truncated IP addresses, remembering your city), and on performing what you ask of us (answering your email).
5. Sharing
We do not sell your personal information. We share data only with the service providers named above (hosting and network provider, Google for analytics and advertising, browser push services, affiliate retailers when you click their links), each acting under its own privacy terms, and when required by law.
6. International transfers
The Site is hosted and served through a global network; our providers may process data in the United States and other countries. Where required, transfers rely on standard contractual clauses or equivalent safeguards offered by those providers.
7. Retention
Location cookies expire after one year. Push subscriptions are kept until you unsubscribe or they stop working. Server logs are kept for a short operational period. Analytics data is retained according to Google Analytics settings (currently 14 months). Email is kept as described above.
8. Your rights
Depending on where you live, you may have the right to access, correct or delete personal information we hold about you, to object to or restrict certain processing, to withdraw consent, to data portability, and to complain to a supervisory authority. Residents of California and some other US states have rights to know, delete and opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information; we do not sell personal information, and the advertising opt-outs in section 2.5 cover “sharing” for cross-context advertising. To exercise any right, email [email protected]. We may ask for enough information to confirm the request is genuine. Because push subscriptions and location cookies are anonymous, the fastest way to delete them is to unsubscribe and clear cookies in your browser.
9. Children
The Site is a general-audience reference. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 (or the higher age required in your country). If you believe a child has provided us personal information, contact us and we will delete it.
10. Security
The Site is served over HTTPS. Access to our systems is restricted to the people who run the Site. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, but we take reasonable steps to protect the small amount of data we hold.
11. Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control
We honour Global Privacy Control signals as an opt-out of personalised advertising where the law recognises them. Our own cookies are not used for tracking across other sites.
12. Changes
We will post any changes on this page and update the date at the top. Significant changes will be announced on the Site.
13. Contact
Questions about this policy: [email protected], or use the contact page.