![]() ![]() ![]() If you don't travel long distances every day for work or don't mind updating your location in your weather app to a new city when you do, you might want to consider turning off location tracking for the app altogether.įor folks that live and work in the same city or general geographic region, skipping tracking and simply plugging in your town into the app is more than likely sufficient to get the updates they need-no precise or general location sharing required. You could also set the app only to check your location when you are using it (but that's a compromise in itself, too). At the same time, it will also save you from updating the location if you are traveling over long distances and want the weather updates to stay current. By doing so, your weather app will know you're somewhere in, say, Los Angeles, and not every address you've visited and the route you took to work. You can turn off precise location data on an app-level basis in both Android and iOS. ![]() If you love a particular weather app and its design or feature set so much, you just can't imagine giving it up, consider restricting or disabling the location tracking.įor most purposes and inquiries, your weather app doesn't need to know your exact location. Disable or Restrict Location Tracking for Your Weather App You can do the same on your Android phone by checking in the Play Store to review permissions and using features like the Privacy Dashboard to review how apps use data on your phone. You can review iPhone app privacy details before downloading them, after you've downloaded them, and even actively monitor what they are doing on your phone. How does your weather app use data? What is the company's privacy policy? Is the company currently in the news, or has it been in the past for privacy concerns or violations? With the number of weather app options out there, it's probably wise to steer clear of any apps with any negative press rather than assume the companies have changed their ways. Privacy transparency has improved over time thanks to public awareness and in response to pressures from legislation in the European Union and California. Check out the app's entry on both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store. Search for information about your weather app of choice. We hate to tell you to ditch it, but you should give serious consideration to doing so if it doesn't pass a basic privacy audit. You probably have an app already installed on your phone. Give Your Current App a Privacy Audit (And Be Prepared to Ditch It) While we'll suggest some great privacy-centered weather apps in the next section, let's talk about best practices and considerations first. In 2019, security researchers revealed many weather apps were to be not only tracking and collecting data, but also subscribing users to services, faking advertisement clicks, and other outright fraudulent activities. The app stores have been filled with shifty weather apps for years, not unlike the veritable epidemic of shifty flashlight apps. They later settled out of court but kept up with the user tracking and data sales, just with an updated privacy policy.Īnd that's just highlighting very high-profile apps used by tens of millions of people. The company was sued on the grounds that the app was collecting and selling user data in a way that was not clearly disclosed to the users and a violation of their privacy. In 2019, it was the Weather Channel app's turn in the hotseat. Notable to our discussion here about weather apps, the popular weather app WeatherBug was found to be sharing user's precise location data with 40 different companies. In 2018, the New York Times tested many popular apps and tracked their data collection and distribution patterns. It might not be the best app or most well-known app, but it's out there, and you can monetize it. Bang out an app, tap into the National Weather Service or similar agency, and boom, you've got something you can throw on the app store. government through the National Weather Service, there is a very low bar to entry for app developers to get their foot in the door. Second, because weather data is provided for free by many governments, including the U.S. Who doesn't like having the little computer in their pocket check the weather for them and even push notifications to their watch? From getting rain information to help you plan your work day or air quality warnings to help you plan a hike or bike ride, weather apps are indispensable tools for lots of people. First and foremost, people love weather apps. And not just the number of them but the number of times they've been downloaded-some of the most popular weather apps have millions of downloads. If you've searched for weather apps in the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store, you've likely been shocked by the sheer number of them. Why Are Weather Apps Such a Privacy Nightmare? ![]()
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