Privacy Policy

1. Scope

1.1 This Policy applies to personal and other information we handle through the Service. It does not apply to third-party services, hardware manufacturers, or websites that we do not control, which are governed by their own privacy policies.

2. Information We Collect

We collect the following categories of information:

2.1 Personal and contact information.

• Your mobile phone number, used to send SMS alerts and to authenticate you via one-time passcode (OTP) login.
• Your name.
• Optional additional notification phone numbers you choose to add for alerts.

2.2 Location information.

• The precise GPS coordinates (latitude/longitude) of each weather station on your property, and farm/station names. This precise geolocation is necessary to deliver location-specific forecasts and alerts (see Section 5).

2.3 Message content.

• The content of inbound SMS messages you send to the Service (for example, keywords such as STATUS, RAIN, FROST, STOP, START, HELP) and the content of outbound alerts we send to you.

2.4 Sensor and telemetry data.

• Weather readings from your station(s) — for example temperature, humidity, rainfall, wind, barometric pressure, and solar/UV — associated with a station and timestamp.

2.5 Account and configuration data.

• Crop type, cultivar, planting and biofix dates, alert subscriptions and preferences, and station configuration.

2.6 Authentication, security, and technical data.

• Session tokens (stored in hashed form), login codes/OTPs (stored in hashed form), authentication and login logs, IP addresses (used for rate limiting and security), and general activity logs.

2.7 Payment information.

• Payments are processed by our third-party payment processor, Stripe, under Stripe’s own privacy policy. RainWatch does not collect or store full payment card numbers.

3. How We Collect Information

3.1 Directly from you — when you sign up, log in, configure stations and crops, set alert preferences, add notification numbers, or send SMS messages.

3.2 Automatically — technical and usage data (such as IP address, session tokens, and activity logs) collected as you use the dashboard and messaging features.

3.3 From weather stations and their manufacturer cloud — sensor readings uploaded directly and/or via the Ecowitt manufacturer cloud (for example, api.ecowitt.net).

3.4 From third-party weather and forecast data providers — external weather, forecast, and environmental data associated with your station coordinates.

4. How We Use Information (Purposes)

We use information to:

4.1 Provide the Service — generate and deliver weather and agronomic alerts, forecasts, growth-stage (GDD) tracking, disease/pest pressure indicators, spray-window suggestions, dashboards, reports, and CSV exports.

4.2 Send SMS messages — deliver service alerts and process two-way SMS keyword interactions.

4.3 Authenticate you — send and verify OTP login codes and maintain sessions.

4.4 Secure the Service — rate limiting, abuse and fraud prevention, and protecting accounts and infrastructure using IP addresses and logs.

4.5 Support and communicate — respond to requests and send service and account notices.

4.6 Improve the Service — analyze usage and performance and improve forecasts and models, including through aggregated and de-identified data that does not identify you or any individual.

4.7 Comply with law — meet legal, regulatory, and messaging-compliance obligations.

Lawful bases (where applicable). Where required, we rely on the performance of our contract with you, your consent (for example, to receive SMS), our legitimate interests in operating and securing the Service, and compliance with legal obligations.

5. Precise Geolocation

5.1 Station GPS coordinates are precise geolocation and are treated as sensitive. We collect and use them only to associate a station with its location, retrieve location-specific weather and forecast data, and deliver accurate, site-specific alerts.

5.2 We share station coordinates with weather/forecast data providers only as needed to obtain data for that location, and we do not share your precise coordinates together with your personal contact information with those providers (see Section 7). We do not use precise geolocation for advertising.

6. How We Use and Share SMS Content and Phone Numbers

6.1 SMS delivery providers. To send and receive text messages, we share your phone number(s) and message content with our SMS delivery provider(s) (for example, Twilio and/or Textbelt) solely to transmit those messages.

6.2 No sale; no third-party marketing. We do not sell your phone number or personal information, and we do not share your phone number or message content with third parties for their own marketing purposes. Phone numbers are used only to operate the Service (alerts, two-way SMS, and OTP login). See Section 9.

6.3 Consent and opt-out. You consent to service SMS by providing your number; you may reply STOP to opt out and START to opt back in, and HELP for help. Opting out may prevent alerts and phone-based login.

7. How We Share Information — Service Providers and Subprocessors

7.1 We share information with the following categories of service providers and data recipients, only as needed to provide the Service and under contracts that limit their use of the information:

• Infrastructure / data storage — Supabase (database hosting; stores account, sensor, message, and related data); Vercel (application hosting; processes application data).
• SMS messaging — Twilio and/or Textbelt (SMS delivery; receive phone numbers and message content).
• Payments — Stripe (payment processing; receives the billing information needed to process payments; RainWatch does not store full card numbers).
• Weather-station cloud — Ecowitt (api.ecowitt.net) (weather-station data; receives station telemetry and identifiers; may involve station coordinates).
• Weather / forecast data providers (receive station coordinates, not personal contact information) — Open-Meteo; NOAA / National Weather Service (including SPC, WPC, and GOES products); US Drought Monitor; Rainbow.ai.

7.2 Other sharing. We may also share information: (a) to comply with law, legal process, or lawful requests; (b) to protect the rights, property, or safety of RainWatch, our customers, or others; (c) with your direction or consent; and (d) in connection with a merger, financing, acquisition, or sale of assets, subject to this Policy.

7.3 Data location; no international transfers. All of the service providers listed above are based in the United States and process and store information in the United States. We do not transfer personal information outside the United States. We will update this section if that changes.

8. Data Retention

8.1 We retain information for the periods below, after which we delete or de-identify it in the ordinary course, unless a longer period is required to comply with law, resolve disputes, or enforce agreements:

• Sensor/weather readings: retained from station installation through cancellation of the Service; if the Service is not cancelled, retained indefinitely.
• SMS message content (inbound/outbound): retained from installation through cancellation of the Service; if the Service is not cancelled, retained indefinitely.
• Authentication and security logs (including IP addresses): retained from installation through cancellation of the Service; if the Service is not cancelled, retained indefinitely.
• Account and configuration data: deleted immediately upon account closure.
• Hashed tokens/OTPs: retained only as long as needed for authentication and then expired/deleted.

8.2 We may retain aggregated or de-identified data indefinitely.

9. No Sale or Sharing of Personal Information for Advertising

9.1 We do not sell personal information, and we do not “share” it for cross-context behavioral advertising, as those terms are defined under applicable US state privacy laws. We do not use third-party advertising trackers.

10. Data Security

10.1 We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect information, which currently include: encryption of data in transit and, where supported by our providers, at rest; storage of session tokens and login codes in hashed form; access controls and, where implemented, database row-level security; rate limiting; and logging.

10.2 We are working toward SOC 2 but do not currently represent that we hold a SOC 2 report or any other certification. No system is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. You are responsible for safeguarding access to your phone and account.

11. Your Rights and Choices

11.1 Depending on your location and applicable law, you may have the right to access, correct, delete, or receive a copy of your personal information, and to opt out of certain processing. You can always opt out of SMS by replying STOP.

11.2 How to exercise. To make a request, contact us at support@rainwatchnc.com. We will verify your request as required and respond within the timeframe required by law. We will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights.

11.3 Because RainWatch provides a business-to-business service, some state privacy laws may treat certain information as business or commercial data; we nonetheless honor reasonable requests consistent with applicable law.

12. Your California Privacy Rights (CCPA/CPRA)

12.1 If you are a California resident, you have rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the CPRA, including the rights to: know/access the personal information we collect, use, and disclose; correct inaccurate personal information; delete personal information (subject to exceptions); and opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information. We do not sell or share personal information as described in Section 9. You may also have the right to limit the use of sensitive personal information; we use sensitive information (such as precise geolocation and account credentials) only to provide and secure the Service.

12.2 Categories. In the preceding 12 months, we have collected the categories described in Section 2 (identifiers such as phone number and IP address; precise geolocation; account/commercial configuration data; and electronic/message content) and disclosed them to the service providers listed in Section 7 for the business purposes described in Section 4.

12.3 How to exercise. Submit a request to support@rainwatchnc.com. You may use an authorized agent as permitted by law. We will not discriminate against you for exercising these rights.

13. EU/UK Users

13.1 The Service is offered to customers in the United States and is not directed to individuals in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom. We do not knowingly offer the Service to, or collect personal information from, EU/UK residents. If this changes, we will update this Policy to address the EU/UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and related requirements.

14. Children’s Privacy

14.1 The Service is intended for adults operating agricultural businesses and is not directed to children under 18, and in no event to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from minors. If you believe a minor has provided us information, contact support@rainwatchnc.com and we will delete it.

15. Cookies and Local Storage

15.1 The dashboard uses a single httpOnly session cookie for authentication and browser local storage for non-sensitive display data (such as interface preferences). We do not use third-party advertising cookies or trackers. Blocking the session cookie will prevent you from logging in.

16. International Users and Data Location

16.1 RainWatch operates in the United States, and information is processed and stored in the United States. If you access the Service from outside the United States, you understand your information will be processed here.

17. Changes to This Policy

17.1 We may update this Policy from time to time. We will post the updated version with a new “Last Updated” date and, for material changes, provide additional notice where required. Your continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes acceptance.

18. Contact and Data Requests

RAINWATCH LLC (RainWatch) · 721 Wild Berry Ct., Waxhaw, NC 28173 · Email: support@rainwatchnc.com · Data requests: support@rainwatchnc.com