Privacy Policy & GDPR

What MeteoEdu does, and does not do, with personal data.

Last updated: September 2026

🏛️ Who we are

MeteoEdu is an educational platform operated by the National Institute for Earth Physics (INFP / NIEP), Romania, through its GeoEduLab. It gives pupils, teachers and researchers access to real weather station data.

Data controller: National Institute for Earth Physics (INFP), Măgurele, Romania.

📋 What data we process

In short: almost none. Here is what happens, part by part:

Where	What data	How long
Download page	No personal data. After each download, an anonymous usage record: station(s), date range, resolution, time mode, file format, page language and time.	Kept as anonymous statistics
Home, Explore, Exercises	None: no accounts, no forms.	—
Live class quiz	Display name (max. 30 characters) and answers	Server memory only; deleted automatically at most 1 hour after the session was created
Server logs	Date and time, page requested, status, referrer, browser user-agent, shortened IP address	As long as needed for security and operation
localStorage (your browser)	Chosen language, exercise progress, points and badges, some preferences (e.g. selected stations)	Only on your device, until you clear it
Map on the Explore page	IP address and user-agent, sent by your browser to OpenStreetMap	Under the OpenStreetMap Foundation's policy
Emails you send us	Your address and your message	As long as the exchange needs

Download page. We do not ask for your name, email or anything else. The data files are built in your browser from public station data. To see how the service is used, each download sends an anonymous record with only the station(s), date range, resolution (all readings or daily summary), time mode (local or UTC), file format, page language and time. It contains no name, no email, no IP address and no identifier, so it cannot be linked to a person.

Live class quiz. To join a teacher's session, a pupil types a display name (at most 30 characters). The name and the answers are held only in the server's memory for the duration of the session, are never written to a database or a log file, and are deleted automatically at most 1 hour after the session was created.

Server logs. For each request, our web server records the date and time, the page requested, the response status, the referring page and the browser's user-agent, plus an IP address that is shortened before it is written: an IPv4 address loses its last part (e.g. 86.120.123.0) and an IPv6 address keeps only its first two groups. A shortened address no longer identifies a person.

Fonts and the chart and map libraries (Plotly, Leaflet) are served from our own server, so your browser makes no requests to Google or to other content delivery networks.

One exception: the map. The map on the Explore page loads its tiles from OpenStreetMap (tile.openstreetmap.org), run by the OpenStreetMap Foundation in the United Kingdom. When the map is displayed, your browser sends your IP address and user-agent to OpenStreetMap. Their privacy policy: osmfoundation.org/wiki/Privacy_Policy

🧒 Children and pupils

MeteoEdu is designed to be used without giving any personal data. Pupils under 16 should use the live quiz only together with a teacher, and with a nickname.

Teachers: ask pupils to join the quiz with a nickname or a first name only, never a full name.

🎯 Why, and on what legal basis

Live quiz: to run the classroom activity the teacher started.
Server logs: to keep the service secure and running.
Emails: to answer you.
Anonymous download records: to count how the service is used. They contain no personal data.

Legal basis: INFP's public-interest educational activity (GDPR Art. 6(1)(e)) and our legitimate interest in running a secure service (Art. 6(1)(f)).

🗓️ How long we keep data

Live quiz: at most 1 hour after the session was created, in server memory only.
Server logs: only as long as needed for security and operation, and only with the shortened IP address.
Emails: only as long as needed for that exchange.
localStorage: on your device until you clear it in your browser settings. We cannot see it.
Download page: the anonymous usage records are kept as statistics; they contain nothing personal.

🔒 Who we share it with

Nobody. We do not sell, rent or share personal data with any third party, advertiser or commercial partner.

Our servers are operated by INFP in Romania, within the European Union. The only exception is the map on the Explore page, for which your browser contacts OpenStreetMap directly (see above).

⚖️ Your rights under GDPR

You have the following rights:

Right of access – find out what data we hold about you and get a copy.
Right to rectification – have inaccurate data corrected.
Right to erasure – ask us to delete your data.
Right to restriction – ask us to limit the processing.
Right to object – object to processing based on legitimate or public interest.
Right to complain – to a supervisory authority; in Romania this is ANSPDCP (www.dataprotection.ro).

Because quiz names disappear within 1 hour and IP addresses are shortened before they are stored, we usually hold nothing that can be linked to you. Write to us anyway: we will check and reply within 30 days.

🍪 Cookies & local storage

MeteoEdu uses no cookies, no analytics, no tracking and no ads.

We use your browser's localStorage to remember your chosen language, your exercise progress, points and badges, and some page preferences (for example the selected stations). This data never leaves your browser, and you can clear it at any time in your browser settings.

Questions or requests?

Write to the INFP GeoEduLab team. We reply within 30 days. Your email is used only to answer you.

The contact address will be published here shortly.