Privacy Policy

Golden Hour Time helps photographers, cinematographers, and videographers plan around natural light. This Privacy Policy explains what information is used and handled by the site, how it is handled, and which third-party services are involved.

Overview

The site calculates solar event times (golden hour, blue hour, sunrise, sunset) and sun position for any selected location and date. It can also display weather information from an external service when requested. All solar calculations are performed locally in your browser. No user accounts, server-side session storage, or tracking systems are implemented.

1. Information We Collect

Location and date information

When you use the calculator, you select or enter a location (city name or GPS coordinates), a date, a time zone, and a light condition (Golden Hour, Blue Hour, Full Report, or Sun Position). The latitude, longitude, time zone identifier, and date are used to compute solar events locally in the browser using the SunCalc.js library. This information is not transmitted to any server operated by Golden Hour Time.

Weather information

When Full Report mode is selected, the browser sends weather requests to Open-Meteo (forecast endpoint: api.open-meteo.com/v1/forecast; historical endpoint: archive-api.open-meteo.com/v1/archive). The request includes the latitude, longitude, time zone identifier, and selected date. The weather response is processed locally and displayed in the browser.

Theme preference

The site stores your light or dark theme preference in the browser's localStorage under the key golden-light-theme. This value is not transmitted to any server and is not shared with third parties.

Contact form submissions

The site provides a contact form that collects your name, email address, selected subject, and message. At present, the form performs client-side validation only. There is no backend service configured to receive or store these submissions. The form displays a confirmation message locally but does not deliver messages. A backend integration (such as Formspree, Netlify Forms, or a custom server endpoint) is required for actual delivery.

Technical and server information

Because this is a static website, no server-side session or user data is stored by Golden Hour Time. Technical information such as your browser type, operating system, and approximate network information may be handled by the hosting provider or by external services (Open-Meteo, Google Fonts) according to their own practices. Specific hosting provider details (for example, whether the site uses Cloudflare Pages, Vercel, or another service) have not been fully verified from the available source files.

2. Cookies and Local Storage

The site does not use cookies. Theme preferences are stored in browser localStorage (key: golden-light-theme) as described above. No other browser storage is used. You can clear this preference through your browser settings at any time.

3. Third-Party Services

The following external services are contacted by the site based on verified code inspection:

• Open-Meteo (weather data). When weather information is requested, the browser communicates with api.open-meteo.com or archive-api.open-meteo.com. Open-Meteo operates under its own privacy policy and terms. The request includes latitude, longitude, time zone, and date. The response is processed locally.
• Google Fonts (typography). Fonts are loaded from fonts.googleapis.com and fonts.gstatic.com using the families Inter and JetBrains Mono. Requests to Google Fonts are made directly by your browser and are subject to Google's privacy policies.

No analytics, advertising, tracking, or profiling services are configured. No additional third-party providers have been identified in the source code. The hosting or deployment provider (for example, Cloudflare Pages or another service) is mentioned in planning documentation but has not been fully verified from the current implementation.

4. How We Use Information

The information handled by Golden Hour Time is used for the following verified purposes:

• Providing solar calculations (golden hour, blue hour, sunrise, sunset, sun position, and full daily reports).
• Displaying weather information from Open-Meteo when Full Report mode is selected.
• Maintaining your theme preference locally.
• Receiving and displaying contact form input locally (delivery requires an external service not currently configured).

The site does not sell, trade, or share any personal information. There are no user accounts, no server-side profiles, and no marketing or advertising integrations.

5. Data Retention

Because Golden Hour Time is a static website with no server-side database or user account system, there is no persistent storage of location, date, or calculation history on servers operated by the site. The following practices apply:

• Browser storage: Theme preference (localStorage) remains in the browser until cleared by the user.
• Weather requests: Sent directly from the browser to Open-Meteo; no weather response is stored by Golden Hour Time.
• Solar calculations: Performed locally; no calculation data is transmitted or retained externally.
• Contact form: Input is validated locally; no server storage is configured. Without a backend integration, messages are not delivered or retained.
• Server logs and analytics records: Specific retention practices for server logs (if any) have not been fully verified. The hosting or deployment provider may maintain its own logs according to its policies.

If a data deletion or access request relates to any external service (Open-Meteo, Google Fonts, or a hosting provider), you must contact that service directly.

6. Children's Privacy

Golden Hour Time does not knowingly collect personal information from children. The site is a planning tool for photographers and videographers. If you believe a child has submitted information through the contact form, please contact us through the Contact Us page so we can assist with appropriate action.

7. Your Privacy Rights

Available rights depend on your location and applicable privacy laws. Because Golden Hour Time is a static site with minimal data handling, there is no centralized user database or account system. You can:

• Clear your theme preference by removing the golden-light-theme entry from your browser's local storage.
• Request assistance with any privacy-related concern through the Contact Us page.

Full automated access or deletion capabilities are not implemented because there is no persistent user data storage. If external service configurations (for example, a form backend or analytics service) are added in the future, this policy will be updated accordingly.

8. Data Security

The site uses standard browser security practices. Solar calculations are performed locally. Theme preferences are stored locally without transmission. No sensitive credentials or personal data are stored by Golden Hour Time. The site does not claim any specific security certification. External services (Open-Meteo, Google Fonts, and any hosting provider) are responsible for the security of their own systems. Because the contact form currently lacks a backend integration, messages are not transmitted over the network and are not subject to transmission-level security measures configured by the site.

9. Changes to This Policy

This Privacy Policy may be updated as the service or its data practices change. Any significant updates will be reflected with a revised "Last updated" date. Continued use of Golden Hour Time after changes indicates acceptance of the updated policy.

10. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how information is handled, please visit the Contact Us page.