Station Pass — Privacy Policy
Last updated: 2026-09-30
This privacy policy applies to the mobile app "Station Pass" on Android and iOS:
- Google Play: package com.moon.isspass, developer "janey-moon"
- Apple App Store: bundle ID com.moon.isspass, seller "Heekyung Moon"
The app is developed and operated by Heekyung Moon (Google Play developer name: janey-moon).
Contact: ansgml2100@gmail.com
OVERVIEW
Station Pass does not require an account, and we do not sell personal information. The app predicts when the International Space Station, the Chinese space station (Tiangong) and the Hubble Space Telescope pass over the viewing places you save, and it can remind you before a pass. Your places, settings and sighting log are stored locally on your device. The app downloads public orbit data from CelesTrak, and it uses Google services for analytics, crash reporting, remote configuration, and advertising.
LOCATION
The app asks for location permission ("while using the app") only when you tap "Use my location" while adding a viewing place. It then reads one position at balanced (not highest) accuracy; on Android the app requests approximate location only. That position is saved as the coordinates of the new place and used on the device to calculate passes and to suggest a time zone from the built-in city list. The app does not read your location in the background and does not track it over time. If you decline, you can still add a place by searching the built-in city list or by typing coordinates.
NOTIFICATIONS
If you turn on pass reminders on the Places screen, the app asks for notification permission. Reminders are scheduled on your device for up to 20 upcoming passes, using your reminder settings (which objects, how many minutes before, bright passes only, quiet hours). A reminder shows the object, the predicted start time and the directions to look. If you decline, the rest of the app works without reminders.
INFORMATION STORED ON YOUR DEVICE
The app stores one document containing:
- up to 100 viewing places, each with the name (up to 40 characters), latitude and longitude, time zone and how it was chosen, your horizon settings (minimum elevation and blocked directions), and the time it was created;
- which place is active, your planning settings (twilight limit and objects shown), and your reminder settings;
- a sighting log of up to 500 entries. When you mark a pass as seen, the entry keeps the object, the pass time, a copy of the place name, coordinates and time zone, the pass's maximum elevation, and an optional note of up to 120 characters.
The app also stores the downloaded orbit data with its download times, the times of recent full-screen ads (to space them out), app-use count, whether the review prompt was shown, and cached advertising and More Apps configuration. If saved data is found to be damaged, a copy of it is kept on the device so it is not silently lost.
ORBIT DATA (CELESTRAK)
To calculate passes, the app downloads the current orbital elements of the three objects from CelesTrak (celestrak.org). Each request contains only the object's catalog number and an app identifier; it does not contain your places, coordinates, or any other data you saved. The app checks at start, when it returns to the foreground and every 10 minutes whether new data is due, downloads at most about once every 12 hours unless you refresh, and waits longer after errors. Like any website, CelesTrak receives your IP address and basic request information when the app connects to it.
The developer does not run a server that receives your places or log. The app reads developer-controlled advertising settings and a More Apps list from Google Cloud Firestore, but it does not upload your places, coordinates, or sighting log. Icons in the More Apps list are loaded from the addresses in that list.
ANALYTICS, CRASH REPORTING, AND ADS
Google Firebase Analytics may process limited app-usage and technical information, such as app version, device type, and app-instance identifiers. The app records these events: app launch, start screen view, splash ad shown, tracking prompt result (the status), app session (the running count of sessions), review prompt shown / accepted, review from menu, menu open, privacy policy open, credits open, More Apps open, tab opened (which tab), place created (whether its time zone came from a city, a suggestion or your choice), pass opened, pass marked as seen (which object), Look now opened, opened from a reminder, and ad revenue (ad format, value, currency, precision). These events do not include place names, coordinates, times of passes, or log notes.
Google Firebase Crashlytics may process crash reports and related technical information needed to diagnose app problems.
The app shows banner ads, full-screen ads (app-open and interstitial), and on Android an ad in the exit dialog, through Google AdMob. No other ad mediation network is configured. Google may process advertising identifiers and device, app, consent, network, and ad-performance information to provide and measure ads, and may use an IP address to estimate an approximate location. This is separate from the location permission described above; the app does not pass your places or coordinates to the ad service.
Banner ads appear only on the Passes, Places and Log tabs, and not while a pass detail or the Look now screen is open. No full-screen ad is shown while Look now is open, from 15 minutes before a visible pass until shortly after it ends, or for 30 minutes after you open the app from a pass reminder.
PERMISSIONS AND ADVERTISING CHOICES
Feature permissions: location (while using the app, when you tap "Use my location"; approximate on Android) and notifications (when you turn on reminders). The app does not request camera, microphone, contacts, photos, Bluetooth, background location, or health data.
Where required (for example in the EEA and UK), Google's consent message (UMP) is shown first, and personalized advertising stays off unless your choice allows it. On iOS, the App Tracking Transparency prompt is shown only after that step and only when personalized advertising is allowed. If tracking is not allowed, the IDFA is not available to the app or its ad partners. If the consent message cannot be loaded, the app requests only non-personalized ads and does not show the tracking prompt. The app works whatever you choose.
You can change location, notification and tracking permissions in your device Settings at any time. Where Google requires it, the app menu shows "Privacy choices", which reopens the consent message so you can change your advertising choice. The menu also links to this policy.
STORAGE AND YOUR CONTROL
You can delete any viewing place on the Places screen and any entry on the Log screen; deleting a place does not delete sightings already logged there. Turning reminders off removes the app's scheduled reminders. You can also clear the app's data on Android or delete the app. Local data may be included in an Apple, Google, or device backup depending on your backup settings; uninstalling normally removes the active copy but may not remove an older backup.
Because we do not receive your places or log, we cannot delete them for you; the controls above remove them from your device. For questions about data processed by Google or CelesTrak, or to ask us for help with a privacy request, contact us at the address below.
Data processed by third parties is retained according to their service settings and policies:
- Google Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy
- Firebase privacy information: https://firebase.google.com/support/privacy
- Google advertising technologies: https://policies.google.com/technologies/ads
- CelesTrak: https://celestrak.org/
We use these services under their applicable terms, and we ensure that third-party service providers with whom we share user data provide the same or equal protection of that data as stated in this policy.
SECURITY
Your saved data is kept in the app's private storage on your device, which the operating system protects from other apps; it is not separately encrypted by the app, so protect your device with a passcode. Apart from the limited analytics events described above, the app does not upload your saved data. Communication between the app and Google services and CelesTrak uses encrypted connections (HTTPS/TLS). No method of storage or transmission is completely secure, but we limit what the app collects to what is described in this policy.
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Pass times, directions and brightness are predictions from published orbit data and can change when a station adjusts its orbit or when the data is old. The app does not know the weather: clouds, haze, light pollution or buildings may hide a pass. Reminders are best effort; your phone may deliver them late (for example with battery saver or Do Not Disturb). Always check the sky around the predicted time.
CHILDREN
The app is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children.
CHANGES
We may update this policy if the app or its services change. The date above shows the latest revision.
CONTACT
Heekyung Moon (Google Play developer: janey-moon)
Email: ansgml2100@gmail.com