Privacy Policy

Low Carbon Alerts (“the Service”, “we”, “us”) is an educational application that tracks the carbon intensity of the electricity grid and notifies registered users when lower-carbon energy windows are available. This policy explains what personal data we collect, why, and the choices you have. If you have questions, contact us at lowcarbonalertadmin@gmail.com.

Data we collect

• Account details — your name, email address, and a securely hashed password (we never store passwords in plain text).
• Google sign-in data — if you sign in with Google, we receive your Google account ID, email, name, and profile picture.
• Energy profile — optional details you provide during onboarding (such as housing type, appliances, and your active hours) used to personalise recommendations.
• Usage data — notifications sent to and read by you, and, if you enable push notifications, your device’s messaging token.
• Technical data — a secure session cookie that keeps you signed in.

How we use your data

• To create and secure your account and keep you signed in.
• To send low-carbon alerts, weekly summaries, and account emails (such as password resets).
• To personalise the recommendations and content you see.
• To operate, maintain, and improve the Service.

Our legal bases (under the EU GDPR) are your consent, the performance of the service you requested, and our legitimate interest in operating and improving the Service.

Service providers

We share the minimum data necessary with trusted providers who process it on our behalf:

• Google — sign-in (OAuth) and sending account emails via the Gmail API; push notifications via Firebase Cloud Messaging.
• Cloudflare — application hosting and database.
• OpenAI — generating the wording of personalised messages from limited, profile-derived context.

Some providers may process data outside the European Economic Area under appropriate safeguards. We do not sell your personal data.

Cookies

We use a single, essential first-party cookie to keep you signed in. We do not use third-party advertising or tracking cookies.

Data retention

We keep your data for as long as your account is active. You may ask us to delete your account and associated data at any time.

Your rights

Subject to applicable law, you may request access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal data, object to or restrict its processing, and request a copy of your data. To exercise any of these rights, email lowcarbonalertadmin@gmail.com.

Children

The Service is not directed to children under 16, and we do not knowingly collect their data.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Material changes will be reflected by the “Last updated” date above.

Contact

Questions about this policy or your data? Email lowcarbonalertadmin@gmail.com.