Last updated: 24 October 2026
This policy covers the HB9V mobile app (iPhone and Android), published by the Radio Amateurs of Canton Vaud. It explains, in plain terms, what data the app uses and why.
In summary
- No account, no advertising, no ad tracking, no selling of data.
- Your logbook and your settings stay on your phone.
- The camera and motion sensors are used only for the Sky screen, on the device. No images are recorded or sent.
- Your position, rounded to about one kilometre, is used for the local weather and, if you enable them, for alerts.
Data stored on your phone
Your callsign, your QTH, your preferences (theme, alerts) and the QSOs in your logbook are stored only in the app’s memory. They leave your phone only if you export your logbook yourself in ADIF format. Uninstalling the app deletes them.
Location
If you allow it, the app reads your position to calculate satellite passes, distances to repeaters and the weather at your QTH. Satellite and repeater calculations are done on the phone. For the weather, a position rounded to a hundredth of a degree (about one kilometre) is sent to our server app.hb9v.ch, which queries the Open-Meteo service without passing on any other information. You can also enter your QTH manually without giving access to your location.
Notifications and alerts
If you enable alerts (strong wind, solar flare, new blog articles), our server stores an anonymous notification token provided by Apple or Google, the device type, the rounded position, the callsign entered if there is one, and your alert choices. This data is used only to send you the alerts you have requested. Notifications pass through the Expo service and through Apple (APNs) or Google (Firebase Cloud Messaging). Disabling alerts in the app immediately deletes this record from our server.
Camera and sensors
The Sky screen displays the camera image and uses the compass and accelerometer to place the satellites in the sky. Everything happens live on the phone: nothing is photographed, recorded or sent. The microphone is never used.
Error reports
If the app crashes, it sends a technical report to app.hb9v.ch (error message, app version, phone operating system). It contains no personal data and is used only to fix bugs.
Embedded content
Some tools display pages from our own services (xlx.hb9v.ch, aprs.hb9v.ch, hb9v.ch). The world map is a hb9v.ch page displayed in the app: your QTH and the QSOs in your logbook are passed to it within the phone for display, without being sent to a server. On Android, the repeater map uses OpenStreetMap tiles, which receive the device’s IP address as with any website. Satellite data (Celestrak) and solar activity data (NOAA) are retrieved by our server, not by your phone.
Hosting and retention
The app’s server is hosted in Switzerland, by Infomaniak. The server’s technical logs are kept for 14 days. Alert subscriptions are kept for as long as alerts remain enabled.
Children
The app is not specifically aimed at children and does not knowingly collect any data about them.
Your rights
In accordance with the Federal Act on Data Protection (nFADP) and, where applicable, the GDPR, you can request access to your data or its deletion. The simplest way: disable alerts and uninstall the app. For any questions, write to us via the contact page.
