Privacy Policy

1. Information we process

Information provided automatically

When you access the site, our hosting and network systems may process standard technical information such as your IP address, browser and device type, requested page, referring page, date and time, response status and diagnostic or security events. We use this information to deliver, protect and maintain the service.

Location

If you allow location access in your browser, Ukkostutka uses the coordinates reported by your device to show your position, centre the map and calculate nearby lightning observations. Your current coordinates are handled in the browser and are not intentionally sent to the Ukkostutka server. If you centre the map on your location, that map centre may be saved on your device as part of your last map view. Map tile requests also reveal the area currently visible on the map to the map provider, just as when you move the map manually.

Browser storage

Ukkostutka uses local browser storage to remember your language, map settings, theme and last map view. This information stays on your device unless you clear it. The core service does not require an account and does not ask you to submit your name, email address or other profile information.

2. How and why we use information

We process information for the following purposes:

• to provide the lightning map, weather layers and requested site features;
• to remember choices you make on your device;
• to understand site usage and improve performance and usability;
• to display, measure and protect advertising;
• to prevent abuse, diagnose faults and keep the service secure; and
• to comply with applicable legal obligations.

Depending on the information and context, the legal basis is our legitimate interest in operating and securing the service, your consent where required for non-essential storage, analytics or advertising, your browser permission for device location, or compliance with a legal obligation.

3. Advertising, analytics and cookies

Google AdSense

Ukkostutka uses Google AdSense. Third-party vendors and ad networks, including Google, may place and read cookies or use web beacons, IP addresses and other identifiers as a result of serving ads on the site. Google and its partners may use advertising cookies to serve ads based on your visits to Ukkostutka and other websites, measure ad performance, limit repeated ads and detect fraud. Depending on your choices and applicable law, ads may be personalised or non-personalised.

The ad technology providers available for the site are shown in the consent message under Manage options. Learn more about how Google uses information from partner sites, read the Google Privacy Policy, or manage personalisation in Google Ads Settings. You can also learn about opt-outs offered by participating advertising companies at YourAdChoices.

Google Analytics

Ukkostutka uses Google Analytics to understand how the site is used. Google Analytics may process information such as pages viewed, interactions, approximate location derived from an IP address, device and browser information, and cookie or similar identifiers. This helps us measure traffic, diagnose problems and improve the service. You can install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on or use your browser and consent controls.

Your consent choices

Where required, the site presents privacy choices before using information for relevant advertising and measurement purposes. You may reject non-essential purposes or manage them individually in that message. You can also delete or block cookies in your browser. Blocking some storage may affect advertising or saved preferences but the Privacy Policy itself does not load advertising, analytics or consent-request scripts.

4. Service providers and sharing

Information may be processed by the following recipients when needed to provide the site:

• hosting, infrastructure, security and technical service providers;
• Google, for AdSense, consent management and Google Analytics;
• CARTO, which supplies map tiles containing OpenStreetMap data; and
• the Finnish Meteorological Institute, which supplies weather data requested by the browser.

These providers may receive technical request information, including an IP address, user agent, referrer and the resource requested. They process information according to their own terms and privacy notices where they act independently. Some providers may process data outside your country. Their privacy notices describe the transfer safeguards they use.

We may also disclose information where required by law, to protect users or the service, or in connection with a reorganisation of the service. We do not ask users to provide personal information for sale.

5. Retention and security

Your Ukkostutka preferences and saved map view remain in your browser until you clear site data. A current location held in memory is discarded when the page is closed or reloaded, although a last map centre may remain in local storage as explained above. Technical logs are kept only for as long as reasonably needed for operation, security, troubleshooting and legal obligations. Google and other third-party providers apply their own retention periods.

We use reasonable technical and organisational safeguards, including encrypted HTTPS connections. No method of storage or transmission is completely secure, so absolute security cannot be guaranteed.

6. Your choices and rights

You can:

• deny or withdraw browser location permission;
• clear Ukkostutka site data, local storage and cookies in your browser;
• use the consent message and linked provider controls to manage advertising choices; and
• use content blockers or browser privacy settings, subject to their effect on site features.

Depending on the law that applies to you, you may have rights to request access, correction, deletion, restriction or portability of your personal data, to object to certain processing, and to withdraw consent at any time. Withdrawing consent does not affect processing that was lawful before withdrawal. You may also lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority. Because Ukkostutka has no user accounts, we may need enough information to verify and locate data relating to a request.

7. Contact and updates

We may update this policy when the service, providers or legal requirements change. The date at the top shows the latest revision. Material changes will be highlighted on the site where appropriate.