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Privacy Policy
NASA Earth Observatory image modified by SkyTruth
Last updated: 30 Sep 2025. This Privacy Policy replaces and supersedes all prior versions of the SkyTruth Privacy Policy.
Information SkyTruth Collects
Personally identifiable information (PII) is information that can be used to locate, identify or contact you, such as your name or email address.
We may collect PII from you when you interact with our website or applications to:
- Create an account to use SkyTruth services
- Subscribe to email notifications about environmental incidents from one of our services
- Make a donation
- Request support, contact us directly, or partner with us
We use the information you give us to perform the service you requested. We also collect and aggregate usage information through tools like Google Analytics , Heap and Hubspot to help us better understand how SkyTruth services are being used and to help us plan for future enhancements. In some cases, we work with third party companies to fulfill these tasks. There is more more information in the next section about information SkyTruth collects and how it is used.
We may also seek out and evaluate information about potential funding partners, impact partners, media and journalists.
We will not sell or rent your information, and will not give it to anyone else, unless you give us your express permission.
If you have any questions or concerns about this policy, you can contact us at hello@skytruth.org or at the address at the end of this page.
How SkyTruth Uses Information Collected About You and How You Can Control It
At SkyTruth, we make our tools and data freely available to anyone, but our goal is to further SkyTruth’s mission, and to work with and build relationships with people and organizations who share our vision.
Our staff takes your privacy very seriously. Only staff who need information to fulfill a request have access to that information.
We process your information under the following legal bases required by the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):
- Contract: to provide services you request, such as creating and managing your account, delivering notifications, and enabling localization or team features.
- Consent: when you opt in to newsletters, focus groups, or case studies. You may withdraw consent at any time.
- Legitimate Interests: to analyze usage, improve services, and report aggregated impact to funders and partners. We balance these interests against your rights, and you may object at any time.
- Legal Obligations: when required to comply with laws (e.g., donation and financial recordkeeping).
The types of information we may collect, how it is used, and how you can control it is outlined below.
SkyTruth Service Accounts
When you create an account on one of SkyTruth’s Services. Information collected may vary by service. We store this information in tools like Hubspot and in the database associated with the SkyTruth Service where you have an account.
If you use Google or a social media login to create an account with SkyTruth services, you agree to that company’s terms and conditions as they relate to your privacy and information these services may collect about you.
For Monitor, email us at support@skytruth.org to delete your account. For Cerulean, you can remove your account in Account Settings. You can unsubscribe from email notifications through unsubscribe links at the bottom of every email.
| Type | Purpose |
| Email Address | To create an account that allows you access to enhanced feature sets.
To send you email notifications about environmental incidents using one of our services, like SkyTruth Monitor or Verified Slicks in Cerulean. We use tools like MailChimp and Hubspot to send emails to you. To connect your account Heap to analyze user behavior and gain better insights on features you use, and to inform future updates to the services. The data will be anonymized with a unique user ID, your email address will not be exposed or visible in Heap. We may contact you about new features, ask you to participate in a survey or study, case study, or invite you to partner with SkyTruth. |
| Username | To allow you to log in without entering your email address in Monitor. |
| First Name, Last Name | To tie your account to a real person, and because we are interested in building relationships with the people who use our services. |
| Country | To know generally which countries are using ST products and analyze and understand generally how they are being used by different regions. We may use this information to make decisions about service enhancements, such as which languages to add to the services.
We may aggregate this data to fulfill grant requirements in grant reports and report on the number of countries that use SkyTruth services to media, on social media, or for marketing purposes. We may provide information in the aggregate to government officials. We will never provide lists of account holders with personal details to government officials. |
| Organization | To provide better support to organization partners and to be able to see how many people in an organization are using ST services.
Team-level accounts: We may in future provide new features specifically aimed at making it easier for organizations to use and collaborate in ST services. We may provide information to current and potential funders in the aggregate about what country SkyTruth users are from, the areas they are monitoring, the organizations and organization types, etc. We may use trends in organizations to expand or improve product features to better serve various industry sector needs in the aggregate. |
| Organization Type | We may provide information to current and potential funders in the aggregate about what country SkyTruth users are from, the areas they are monitoring, the organizations and org. Types, etc.We may use trends in organization types to expand or improve product features to better serve various industry sector needs in the aggregate. |
If you have a specific use case that prevents you from providing this information to us, please contact us about other ways we might collaborate.
Support Requests
When you contact us to request support or data, or about partnering with SkyTruth, we collect your name, email address, and organization name to help fulfill your request. We use tools like Hubspot, Jira, and Canny to help us manage and respond to these requests.
SkyTruth Newsletters and Blog Updates
we collect your email address in order to send you email updates. We also ask for your name and general location (optional). We use tools like MailChimp and Hubspot to send emails to you.
You can opt out at any time by following Unsubscribe links at the bottom of every email.
Donations
For online donations, we process donations through Pledge, which uses Stripe as its credit card payment processor. For offline donations, we may collect your name, address and phone number, if given to us. We use the information we collect from you, like your name and email address, to process the donation, and to send you a receipt and thank you letter for your donation. We use tools like Instil and Hubspot to securely manage donor and funder information.
You can opt not to share PII with SkyTruth when you make a donation. For financial and legal reasons, you must share this information with Pledge and Stripe.
Job & Internship Applications
When you apply for a job with SkyTruth, information you give us (resume/CV, work samples, and cover letter, etc.) is used only in connection with the job application process. We use tools like Teamtailor to retain applicant information for a limited period to comply with legal requirements and internal hiring needs.
We collect your email address, name, organization name, description of your request, and communications we have with you.
You can email us at support@skytruth.org If you wish for your information to be removed sooner.
Case Studies and Focus Groups
If you agree to work with us in a focus group, or for a case study, we may also collect personal information about you. We use tools like Hubspot and dovetail to securely store this information.
Information typically collected includes your name, contact information (email, organization/affiliation), professional role, opinions, experiences, or feedback related to SkyTruth’s products and programs. We may also collect recordings or notes from the session if you give explicit consent.
Participation is opt-in only. You can choose to withdraw participation at any time, and you can email us support@skytruth.org if you wish for your information to be removed.
Funders, Media, Partnerships with Nonprofit Organizations
We may seek out information about potential funder organizations, journalists and media outlets and other nonprofit organizations we might partner with. We collect information about these organizations, as well as names and contact information and communications with them. We use tools like Hubspot to securely store this information.
You can email us at support@skytruth.org if you wish for your information to be removed. If your organization has provided a grant to SkyTruth, we have legal and financial obligations to securely store information for recordkeeping purposes.
SkyTruth Social Media
If you interact with SkyTruth’s social media sites, you agree to those companies’ terms and conditions as they relate to your privacy. Please refer to the specific platform’s website for more information.
Your Privacy Rights
If you live in certain countries or certain states in the US, you may have certain privacy rights that we’ll do our best to honor. You should know that in some cases, these rules may not apply to nonprofit organizations, but we’ll still do our best to accommodate you.
How We Keep Your Information Secure
We take steps to ensure that your information is treated securely and in accordance with this privacy policy.
SkyTruth’s website and map apps all use SSL/HTTPS. This ensures the protection of PII and other data by encrypting it so it’s transferred securely. Our donation partner Pledge and all of our other third party partners also use SSL/HTTPS. No data transmissions over the Internet can be guaranteed to be completely secure, however, and we cannot guarantee or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us.
Once we receive your information, we make reasonable efforts to ensure security on our systems, and to ensure the third party services we use do the same.
If SkyTruth learns of a security systems breach we will attempt to notify you electronically without undue delay so that you can take appropriate protective steps. You agree that we may communicate with you electronically regarding security, privacy, and administrative issues relating to your use of SkyTruth’s websites and applications.
Information Retention
We retain personal information only as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by law. In some cases, we are required by law or for financial reasons to keep your information for a certain amount of time. If you make a donation, for example, we will need to keep a record of the donation, even if you ask us to delete your information.
Children
At SkyTruth, we welcome citizen scientists of all ages. If you are under the age of 18, you should know that we collect that same PII about you as everyone else.
If you are under the age of 18 and are visiting our website (like http://skytruth.org), or using our map apps to monitor areas and issues you care about, you should know that in using them, you are giving your consent for us to collect some personal information about you (see “Information SkyTruth Collects About You” for details)
We will not sell or rent your information, and will not give it to anyone else, unless you give us your express permission.
If you are a parent or guardian of a child under 18, and you have questions or concerns, or wish to have a child’s information removed from our systems, you can contact us at hello@skytruth.org or at the address at the end of this page.
Changes and Updates
We may occasionally update this Privacy Policy. When we do, we will also revise the “effective date” at the top of this page. If we make changes to how we collect or use your personal information, we will attempt to contact you and, where required, seek your consent or provide an opportunity to opt out. We encourage you to periodically review this Privacy Policy to stay informed about how we are protecting personal information that we collect. Your continued use of SkyTruth’s website, applications, and services constitutes your agreement to this privacy policy and any updates.
Contacting SkyTruth
If you have questions, concerns or comments about this policy and/or how your personal information is used, please email us at hello@skytruth.org. You can also write us at:
Privacy and Data Policy Administrator
SkyTruth
P. O. Box 3283
Shepherdstown, WV 25443 USA
