Privacy Policy
Backyard Rain: Rain Totals, the Android app on Google Play. Effective November 11, 2026.
| App | Backyard Rain: Rain Totals |
|---|---|
| Package | com.hydroengineer.backyardrain |
| Developer | Stone Lake Application Development (Google Play developer name) |
This page covers the Android app only. The Alexa skill has its own privacy policy.
What the app uses
The address or ZIP code you type. The app uses it only to find the map spot where rainfall is read. A street address is sent once, directly from your phone, to the U.S. Census Bureau geocoder to get coordinates. A ZIP code is looked up on the phone from a built-in table and is not sent anywhere.
The app does not use your phone's location (GPS) and does not ask for location permission.
What the app stores, and where
On your phone only, in the app's private storage: the name you give each place, the matched address line the Census geocoder returned, and the coordinates rounded to three decimal places (about 100 meters), plus a cache of rainfall numbers. None of it is uploaded to the developer. The developer runs no server for this app and never receives your address or location.
Who else sees what
- U.S. Census Bureau geocoder: the street address you type, once, when you add a place.
- National Weather Service API (api.weather.gov): the place's rounded coordinates, for the 3-day rain forecast used in watering advice (Premium).
- NOAA's public rainfall files on Amazon Web Services (noaa-mrms-pds): the app downloads national rainfall files; no information about you is sent.
Like any web server, these services may log standard request data such as your IP address. The developer does not receive those logs.
Deleting your data
Remove a place in the app's Settings. Uninstalling the app or clearing its storage in Android settings deletes everything. Device backup is turned off for this app.
Purchases
Backyard Rain Premium is a one-time in-app purchase sold and billed by Google Play. The app asks Google Play only whether you own it; it never sees your name, email address, or payment details. Google handles the purchase under the Google Privacy Policy.
No ads, no analytics, no accounts
The app shows no ads and contains no advertising, analytics, or crash-reporting SDKs. There is no sign-in and no account. Nothing is sold or shared for advertising, and nothing is used to build a profile.
Children
The app is not directed to children under 13 and does not knowingly collect personal information from them.
Changes
If this policy changes, the updated version will be posted at this address with a new effective date.
Contact
Stone Lake Application Development: hello@hydrocomplete.com