Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

FarmWeather.co.za ("FarmWeather", "we", "us") is an independent regional weather data platform serving the Reitz and surrounding farming community in the Free State, South Africa. This policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal information in compliance with the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013 (POPIA).

2. Information We Collect

Account information: Name, email address, farm name (optional), farm location (latitude/longitude), and password (stored encrypted).

Weather data: Readings received from your weather station(s) — temperature, humidity, wind, rain, pressure, solar radiation, UV index, and derived metrics (VPD, dew point, feels like). Also manual weather reports submitted via the website or email.

Technical data: IP addresses in webhook logs (for security and rate limiting), browser session cookies (for authentication).

3. Purpose of Processing

We process your personal information for the following purposes:

To provide your personal weather dashboard and station management; to display weather data on the community map (if you choose public visibility); to send weather alerts such as hail warnings; to generate regional weather summaries and historical analysis; to respond to your support requests; and to maintain the security and integrity of the platform.

4. Legal Basis

We process your data based on your consent (provided at registration or login) and our legitimate interest in operating a community weather service for agricultural purposes.

5. Data Visibility & Sharing

Your data visibility is set to private by default. When set to private, only you can see your station data. When set to public, other registered users who also share their data can see your weather readings on the map and station pages.

Guests (unregistered visitors) cannot see individual station data.

We do not sell, trade, or share your personal information with third parties. We do not display advertising.

6. Data Retention

Weather readings are retained indefinitely for historical analysis and agricultural trend tracking. Your account information is retained for as long as your account is active. Upon account deletion, your personal information and station data are permanently removed.

7. Your Rights Under POPIA

You have the right to: access your personal information; request correction of inaccurate information; request deletion of your personal information; object to the processing of your information; and withdraw your consent at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at admin@farmweather.co.za.

8. Security

Passwords are stored using bcrypt hashing. All web traffic uses SSL/TLS encryption. Access to the database is restricted to authorised personnel only. Webhook tokens are unique 48-character random strings.

9. Cookies

We use only essential session cookies for authentication. We do not use tracking cookies, analytics services, or third-party advertising cookies.

10. Contact

For privacy-related enquiries or POPIA requests:

Email: admin@farmweather.co.za