Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

AstroLog is operated for members of an astronomy club or observatory. The site administrator(s) for this installation are the data controllers for member accounts and observing records stored here.

2. Information we collect

• Account details — name, display name, email address, password (stored hashed), timezone, preferences, optional biography and avatar, and optional website or social links you add to your profile.
• Observing data — observing logs, notes, ratings, equipment, locations (including coordinates if you save them), and uploaded images or sketches.
• Public profile settings — whether you enable a public profile page, your chosen public URL slug, and the profile fields you choose to show there.
• Technical data — session cookies, IP address in security or audit logs (including sign-in attempts), and basic server logs needed to run and protect the service.

3. How we use your information

• To provide your personal observing log and related features (statistics, search, exports).
• To administer membership (invitations, roles, account support).
• To keep the platform secure (authentication, abuse prevention, activity auditing, backups).
• To calculate optional astronomical context (for example moon phase) from dates and locations you provide.
• If you enable a public profile, to publish the limited information described in section 5 on a shareable page.

We do not sell your personal data. We do not use your observing records for advertising.

4. Observing locations

Precise coordinates may identify a home address. By default, locations and observations are private to your account. Public profiles do not publish your saved locations, coordinates, or individual observing logs. Do not share home coordinates elsewhere unless you intend them to be public.

5. Public profiles

Public profiles are off by default. Only you can enable yours from Profile settings. Anyone with the link (including people who are not club members) can view an enabled public profile.

When enabled, visitors can see:

• Your display name (or account name if no display name is set)
• Your avatar and biography, if you have added them
• Website and social links you have saved on your profile
• High-level observing statistics derived from your logs (for example observing nights, total observations, unique objects, Messier progress, most-observed object name, and observations this year)

Visitors cannot see:

• Your email address or password
• Individual observing logs, notes, ratings, or uploaded photos/sketches
• Your equipment list or saved locations / coordinates
• Private club pages, admin tools, or other members’ data

You can turn the public profile off at any time. Changing or clearing biography, avatar, or links updates what appears on the public page after you save. Choose a display name and bio you are comfortable sharing outside the club.

6. Sharing within the club

Administrators of this AstroLog installation can access account and system information needed to run the club platform (for example resetting accounts, reviewing activity logs, or creating backups). Other members only see content you choose to share according to privacy settings.

We do not use third-party advertising networks. Optional weather or map services may send search text or coordinates to Open-Meteo when you use those features; see our Cookies page.

7. Retention

We keep your account and observing history while your membership is active. You may export your observations. Administrators may suspend, anonymise, or delete accounts according to club policy. Soft-deleted records may remain for a period to protect historical log integrity. Activity and security audit logs may be retained for a limited period (configurable by administrators; often around 90 days) and then automatically removed.

8. Security

We use industry-standard measures such as hashed passwords, CSRF protection, and access controls. No online service is perfectly secure; please choose a strong unique password.

9. Your rights

Depending on applicable law (including UK GDPR where relevant), you may have rights to access, correct, export, or delete your personal data. Contact your club administrator to exercise these rights. You can also disable your public profile and update or remove profile fields yourself at any time.

10. Children

AstroLog is intended for club members. Junior members should only use the service with parental or guardian consent and under club rules. Junior members (or their guardians) should not enable a public profile unless the club and parent/guardian agree it is appropriate.

11. Changes

We may update this policy from time to time. The “Last updated” date at the top will change when we do.

12. Contact

For privacy questions, contact the AstroLog administrator for your observatory or astronomy society.