Privacy Policy

Who We Are

Cruise Weather is published by MK Ideas ("we", "us"), an independent app studio. This policy applies to the Cruise Weather app for iPhone and to this website. You can contact us at support@mkideas.net.

Data Stored on Your Device

The following data is saved only on your device. We can't see it, and deleting the app deletes it:

• Saved cruises - your trips, including any ports or days you edited
• Home ZIP code - optional, and you can remove it in Settings at any time
• Downloaded weather - the weather already downloaded for your trip, so it works offline at sea
• Settings - such as °F or °C
• Unlocked cruises - a record of which cruises you've unlocked

Data That Leaves Your Device

The app talks only to our own server. The server holds no accounts and no profiles. Everything it receives is described below, and everything the app sends travels over encrypted HTTPS.

Itinerary Lookup (Anthropic Claude)

When you look up a cruise, the app sends our server the cruise line, ship name and sail date. Our server uses an AI model provided by Anthropic to find that sailing's ports and dates on the web. The request contains only the cruise line, ship and sail date - it never contains anything about you. The itinerary we find is saved and shared with everyone who looks up the same sailing. It isn't linked to you or your device.

Weather Data (Apple Weather and NASA POWER)

To get the forecast or typical weather for each day, the app sends our server the map coordinates of your ports and the dates. Our server asks Apple Weather (WeatherKit) for forecasts, and NASA POWER for typical (historical average) weather for days too far ahead to forecast, requesting it by location only. Apple sees our server's request, not your phone or your identity. Weather results are cached by rounded location so the next traveller gets them faster. They are not linked to you.

Home Weather (Your ZIP Code)

If you added a home ZIP code, the app sends it to our server to show the weather at home, and our server asks Apple Weather for the weather in your ZIP code's area. The ZIP is used for that single request and is never stored or logged.

Port Corrections

If you tell us a day of your itinerary is wrong, the app sends the corrected date and port so we can fix the shared itinerary for other travellers. We keep the corrected date and port, with no information about you.

Purchases (RevenueCat)

If you buy weather for a cruise, your purchase is processed by Apple. RevenueCat processes in-app purchases for us. It receives your store purchase record (product, price, date and transaction) under a random, anonymous app ID that isn't tied to your name or email. We use it to confirm purchases and to see total sales.

After you buy, our server keeps the anonymous store transaction number and the sailing it unlocked, so you can restore your purchase on a new phone. No name, email, payment details or device ID. MK Ideas never sees your card.

Server Hosting (Cloudflare)

Cloudflare hosts our server and protects it from attacks. It processes requests, including IP addresses, to deliver them. Our server runs on Cloudflare's worldwide network and our service providers are based in the United States, so requests may be processed outside your country.

IP Addresses

Like every website and app server, ours sees the IP address your request comes from. We use it only to limit abuse (a daily cap on how many new cruises can be looked up), store it only as a keyed hash, don't link it to anything else, and delete it within 48 hours.

Data We Do Not Collect

We do not collect your name, email address, phone number or contacts. We never ask for location permission, so we don't collect your location. We have no user accounts. There are no advertising IDs, device fingerprints or cross-app tracking of any kind, and there is no analytics or usage-tracking software in the app. Apple handles payment, so we never see your payment details.

We don't sell personal information, we don't share it for targeted advertising, and we don't use it to track you across other companies' apps or websites.

Third-Party Services

We use a small number of service providers. None of them receives your name, email or location from us, and none is allowed to use our data for advertising.

Children's Privacy

Cruise Weather is a general travel app and is not directed to children under 13. We don't knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has sent us personal information (for example by email), contact us and we'll delete it.

Data Deletion

Your trips, home ZIP code and downloaded weather are stored on your device. You can remove your home ZIP in Settings, or delete the app to remove everything stored on your phone. There is no account to close because no account is ever created.

To delete your purchase record from our server and RevenueCat, email support@mkideas.net with your App Store order number. After deletion, that purchase can no longer be restored on a new phone.

How long we keep things:

• Itineraries and cached weather - kept as long as they are useful. They contain nothing about you.
• Purchase-to-sailing records - kept so restores keep working, and deleted on request.
• IP address hashes for abuse limits - deleted within 48 hours.
• Emails you send us - kept only as long as needed to help you.

You can use Cruise Weather without giving us any personal information at all. Depending on where you live (for example California, the EU or the UK), you may have rights to access, correct or delete your data. Because we hold almost nothing that identifies you, we may ask for your order number so we can find it. We won't treat you differently for asking.

Changes to This Policy

If we change how Cruise Weather handles data, we'll update this page and the date at the top before the change takes effect. If a change is significant, we'll also note it in the app's release notes.

Contact

Questions or requests about this policy? Email us at support@mkideas.net.