Privacy Policy

Thunder Buddy · Last updated: October 19, 2026

Thunder Buddy is operated by Boltaic LLC (doing business as Thunder Buddy), a Texas limited liability company — "we," "us," and the controller of the data described here. Thunder Buddy helps you and the people you care about stay safe during severe weather. This policy explains what we collect, why, and your choices. We try to collect as little as possible and never sell your data.

What we collect

• Your display name and selected pictures — the name and profile photo you choose, and pictures you upload for saved places. These are stored to display your account and places in the app. Profile pictures can appear to your authorized Buddies. We receive only the pictures you choose to upload, not your entire photo library.
• Your email address and sign-in identity — you can sign in with an emailed six-digit code, Sign in with Apple on supported Apple devices, or Sign in with Google on Android. When you choose Google, we receive a signed identity token containing your Google account identifier, email address and, when supplied, name. We verify it to create or connect your Thunder Buddy account, and store the identifier, email and display name. Some email addresses require an additional email-code check before connecting Google. We do not receive your Google password or request access to your Gmail messages, Google contacts, Drive or Calendar. We use your email for sign-in and essential account notices, not marketing.
• Your phone number — optional. If you provide one, it's an alternative way to sign in, it's how friends you invite find your account, and it's how we send the safety texts you opt into: alert-by-text, and the single look-after text described below. We no longer text check-ins between Buddies; instead, the app can open a text from your own phone, which you send yourself.
• Places you watch — addresses you add (e.g. "Mom's house") and the coordinates we look up for them.
• Device location (precise or approximate) — with your permission, for weather and radar, optional private weather monitoring (shown in the app as "Alerts where I am"), or sharing you explicitly enable with selected people. Background collection requires a separate app choice and device permission on iOS or Android. This is sensitive data.
• Your people — contacts/friends you add and your check-in activity ("I'm OK" / "Are you safe?"), including any sticker you choose to send with one. This includes your Buddy relationships, Circle memberships, and sharing choices. We do not read your device's address book. If you choose to text a Buddy from your own phone, you may pick their contact in your device's contact picker; the app receives only that contact, keeps just the number you choose on your device, and does not send it to us.
• Device push subscriptions — so we can send alerts to your device. On Android, Google Firebase Cloud Messaging processes an app installation identifier, delivery token, basic app/SDK information and notification content to deliver notifications. We associate the delivery token with your Thunder Buddy account. Apple devices use Apple Push Notification service. Notification previews may appear on your lock screen according to your device settings.
• Your subscription status, if you buy Thunder Buddy Premium — which plan you're on, when it renews, and the transaction identifier Apple gives us so we can recognise the purchase (including when it's shared with your family through Apple Family Sharing). We never see your card details. Apple takes the payment; we only ever receive a signed confirmation that one was made. Android currently supports your existing account coverage, but does not offer purchases or purchase restoration through Google Play.
• Basic technical/usage data — e.g. IP address and logs, used for security, abuse prevention, and reliability.
• A count of website page views — we keep a running tally of how many times each page of this website was viewed each day, so we can see whether anyone is finding us. It is only a number: we do not store your IP address, your browser, a cookie, or anything else with it, so these counts can't be traced back to you and can't tell us how many separate people visited. Native screens inside the iOS and Android apps are not counted.

Lock Screen warnings, widgets, look-after and trips

Lock Screen warnings. If Lock Screen warnings are on, your phone gives us a token so we can update the warning shown on your Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island. The warning shows the place name you saved and your Buddies' first names. We delete the token when you turn the feature off, sign out or delete your account.

Widget updates. So your widgets stay current without opening the app, your phone gives us a widget push token. We use it only to tell your widgets to refresh; the push carries no weather, location or Buddy information. We delete it when you remove your last widget, sign out or delete your account.

Look after them for me (Premium). If a Buddy you share a location with has turned this on, we send you a check-in request when an official warning for sudden severe weather covers that location, and one text message to your verified cell number if you do not reply. You can turn this off in Settings. We keep a record of these requests with your other check-ins.

Trips. A place you save for a trip is deleted when the trip ends. How you arrange your people on the Today screen is stored only on your device.

How we use it

• Send severe-weather alerts for the places (and people) you watch.
• Deliver the features you ask for: location sharing you initiate, check-ins, and (premium) alert-by-text.
• Operate, secure, and improve the service.

We use weather data from the U.S. National Weather Service (public data).

Who we share it with

• People you choose — when you share your location or check in, the specific person you authorize can see it. Nobody else.
• Service providers who run the app on our behalf (e.g. cloud hosting, SMS delivery, mapping/geocoding), under contract and only as needed.
• We do not sell or rent your personal information, and we don't share precise location for advertising.
• We may disclose information if required by law or to protect safety.

Location, specifically

Precise location is shared only with the people you authorize, one at a time, and you can stop sharing or revoke access at any time. Each direction is separate: sharing your location with a Buddy never gives you theirs, and never switches anything on for them.

Location links you send to someone without an account are short-lived by design and expire automatically. Buddy sharing is a standing permission you control instead — see Retention & deletion below for exactly how long we keep a position and what deletes it.

In Location & sharing, choose Off, While Using, or optional background device updates. While Using is requested first. iOS and Android control actual delivery; background updates are movement-based, may be paused or delayed, and are not continuous tracking or an emergency service. Approximate location works too.

On Android, the app explains background collection before asking you to allow it. If you choose to continue, Android may open device settings for Allow all the time access. While background updates are active, Android displays a location-service notification. Battery settings, connectivity and force-stopping the app can delay or stop updates. Use Stop device updates in Location & sharing to stop collection from this phone.

Device permission does not grant anyone else access. Private weather monitoring stores your latest position to check weather alerts at that point. You separately select each Buddy, foreground-only or background sharing, and an end time (one hour, tonight, or until turned off). Existing shares remain foreground-only unless you explicitly change them. Joining a circle never expands your location audience.

Pause all Buddy sharing hides selected places and device positions from recipients while allowing private weather monitoring to continue. Stop device updates stops collection and removes private and shared device coordinates; saved-place sharing is independent. An offline phone stops local collection immediately, but server changes need a connection and confirmation. Widgets, Watch and other devices may retain an earlier snapshot until refreshed.

Widgets and Apple Watch

When you connect Buddies in Widgets & Watch settings, your selected Buddies’ names and permitted weather can appear on your Home Screen, Lock Screen and paired Watch. Shared place names are optional. Check-in requests and replies appear in a separate widget and Watch screen only if you enable them; Lock Screen and Watch complications show a pending count without reply details. Weather widgets do not show check-in statuses.

The service checks Buddy relationships and location-sharing permissions on every companion refresh. It uses shared coordinates to request a forecast from Apple Weather, without sending your account or Buddy names to that provider. Buddy coordinates are not included in weather or check-in snapshots. If you separately enable all shared Buddies on radar widgets, the app retrieves permitted last-shared positions to compose a map image with Buddy names. Map tiles come from Esri and RainViewer; Buddy names are drawn on your device and are not sent to these providers. The cached image hides after 15 minutes without a permission refresh. Your own selected weather place is stored on your devices to load its forecast and radar.

Companion access uses a limited credential stored in your devices’ Keychain. It expires after 30 days or when the associated sign-in ends. You can revoke it from Widgets & Watch. A disconnected device may display its cached Buddy snapshot until the 15-minute display expiry; sharing changes take effect on the next successful refresh. Apple controls widget refresh scheduling. A Watch check-in is sent only after you tap Send, and is not queued for later transmission while offline.

Calendar Buddy connections and household weather

If you explicitly approve a Calendar Buddy connection, we share your display name and an opaque account identifier with Calendar Buddy. Adults who manage that Calendar Buddy household can see the connected account name. This initial connection does not provide Buddy locations, check-ins, journeys or private alerts. The separate credential expires after 30 days; reconnecting requires another approval. Signing out of your phone does not disconnect an already approved connection.

When you connect Buddy weather, choose up to eight accepted Buddies to show in Calendar Buddy. Their existing place or location sharing with your Thunder Buddy account applies across your connected devices, including household displays. No separate permission is required from a Buddy for each screen. Anyone who can see your Calendar Buddy display may see the cards you choose to display.

Each Buddy controls access through normal Thunder Buddy sharing. Stopping or pausing sharing, blocking, or removing the relationship removes access on the next refresh. Snapshots expire within 60 seconds, so already displayed weather can remain briefly. Optional general labels use Home, Work, School, Vacation place, Shared place or Last known location. Calendar Buddy does not receive coordinates, street addresses, contact details, check-ins or journeys. A saved place does not mean the Buddy is there; device weather requires a position no more than an hour old.

You can remove selected Buddies or labels from the Calendar connection at any time. Adding them requires your own connection approval, not another approval from the Buddy. Existing account-only connections remain account-only until you choose to connect Buddy weather.

Home forecasts, city search and official weather alerts work separately from account linking. Apple Weather supplies home and permitted Buddy forecasts; requested weather coordinates are sent to Apple without Buddy names, account identifiers or connector credentials. Forecasts stay in temporary memory and are removed by their expiry. Official U.S. alerts are supplied separately by NWS.

You can manage and disconnect Calendar Buddy connections here or disconnect in Calendar Buddy. Revocation prevents further server access immediately; Calendar Buddy learns of it on its next successful status check. Account deletion also removes all connections. Disconnecting Calendar Buddy leaves phone, TV, Watch and widget sessions intact.

Apple TV

Apple TV is a shared screen. After signing in, you choose a saved forecast place and up to four Buddies to display. Buddy place names are hidden by default. The TV does not collect its location or send location updates or check-in replies. Anyone watching the screen can see the information you choose to display.

Your TV sign-in is stored in that TV’s Keychain, and display choices are stored in its app preferences. Buddy forecasts are kept only in memory, expire after 15 minutes, and are cleared when the app leaves the foreground. Sharing changes apply on the next refresh. A privacy cover appears when you return. The system Top Shelf contains only Thunder Buddy branding.

Signing out on TV removes its local account access and revokes its server session when connected; it does not change your phone’s location choices. Account deletion is completed on your phone. TV settings provides a Manage account on phone QR code. Scanning it opens account management and does not delete anything; sign in and explicitly confirm deletion on your phone, or use Delete account in the iPhone app’s Settings. Apple subscriptions must be managed separately in Apple’s subscription settings.

Optional phone sign-in uses a short-lived TV code and requires your approval on the phone. Pending requests expire after ten minutes or a server restart. Approval creates a separate TV session; the phone does not receive the TV’s private device code or session token.

Text messages (SMS)

By giving your number you consent to receive account texts (login codes) and the safety texts you opt into. Message frequency varies; message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out or HELP for help. Opting out of safety texts won't stop weather push alerts.

No mobile information will be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. All of the above categories exclude text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with any third parties. Your phone number is used only to deliver the messages you asked for and, where you choose, to let friends you invite find your account.

Retention & deletion

We keep data only as long as needed to provide the service. Location is retained differently depending on how you shared it:

• One-time location links expire on their own. The position is kept briefly and then removed, with no account needed on either side.
• Buddy sharing keeps the most recent shared position until your selected end time or revocation. Older shares remain enabled until you turn them off. Expiration stops access on the server without waiting for your app; expired device coordinates are removed during housekeeping. Positions carry observation times and accuracy, not a promise that you are still there.
• Private weather monitoring retains only the latest device position, for up to 24 hours. Expired positions are excluded immediately and removed during server housekeeping. Disabling private monitoring, stopping device updates, signing out, or deleting your account removes that private position from active storage. We do not build a route history. Operational backups may retain earlier database snapshots until those backups are retired; they are not used to display locations or send alerts.

Turning a Buddy's switch off, removing that Buddy, or using Stop sharing with everyone in Settings deletes the stored position immediately — in both directions when you remove a Buddy. You can delete your account and all associated data at any time; contact us or use in-app account deletion.

Delete your Thunder Buddy account

You can request deletion without installing the app. Open Thunder Buddy account management, sign in with the email address or phone number for your account, choose Delete my account, and confirm. In the Android or iPhone app, open Settings → Delete account and confirm. These actions delete your Thunder Buddy account; they do not delete your Google or Apple account.

If you cannot sign in, email [email protected] with the subject Thunder Buddy account deletion. Identify the email address or phone number on the account so we can help verify the request. Do not send passwords or sign-in codes.

Deletion removes your account and its associated saved places, uploaded pictures, Buddy relationships, check-ins, sharing settings, stored device positions, app sessions and push registrations from the active Thunder Buddy service. Operational backups may contain earlier snapshots until those backups are retired, as described above. Deleting your account does not cancel an Apple subscription; manage that separately in Apple's subscription settings. You do not need an active subscription to request deletion.

Security

Data is encrypted in transit (HTTPS), access is scoped per account, and secrets are stored in a managed vault. No system is perfectly secure, but we treat location and phone data as high-sensitivity.

Your rights

Depending on where you live (e.g. California/CCPA, EU/UK GDPR) you may have rights to access, correct, delete, or limit use of your data, and to opt out of "sharing." Contact us to exercise them. Precise geolocation is treated as sensitive personal information.

Children

Thunder Buddy isn't directed to children under 13 (or the minimum age in your region) and we don't knowingly collect their data.

Not a substitute for official warnings

Thunder Buddy is a best-effort safety aid, not a replacement for official NWS alerts, Wireless Emergency Alerts, local authorities, or 911. Delivery isn't guaranteed. In an emergency, follow official guidance.

Changes & contact

We'll update this policy as the app evolves and note the date above. Questions, or to exercise any privacy right described above, contact [email protected] or write to Boltaic LLC, dba Thunder Buddy, Texas, United States.