METAR MenuBar — Privacy Policy

Effective date: 2026.

METAR MenuBar is a single-developer macOS menu-bar app that fetches publicly-available aviation weather (METAR) reports for one or more airports the user chooses. This document describes everything the app sends, stores, and reads — there is intentionally not much to it.

What we do not collect

• No accounts, sign-in, or user identifiers.
• No analytics, telemetry, crash reporting, or advertising SDKs.
• No location data — the app never asks for Location services permission.
• No address book, photos, microphone, camera, or any other personal data.

Outbound network requests the app makes

• aviationweather.gov — official US FAA Aviation Weather Center. The app fetches the latest METAR report for each airport ICAO identifier the user has added. Only the ICAO codes are sent. No identifier that could be tied to the user is transmitted.
• davidmegginson.github.io — public CSV mirror of the OurAirports dataset. Downloaded once and cached locally so the "Add Airport" search box can match airports by name or city without a network request per keystroke.
• Apple's geocoding service (via CLGeocoder) — to look up the IANA timezone of an airport from its latitude/longitude, so the menu can show the airport's local time. Apple's own privacy policy governs this lookup.

All requests use HTTPS. No personal information is included in any of them.

What the app stores on your Mac

• The list of airport ICAO codes you have added.
• Which airport is currently selected.
• Your chosen refresh interval (default 30 minutes).
• A cached copy of the OurAirports CSV (in ~/Library/Containers/<bundle>/Data/Library/Caches/ when sandboxed), refreshed weekly or on demand.
• Per-airport timezones the app has resolved (in memory only, for the duration of a session).

These are stored locally on your Mac. They are never transmitted to me or to any third party.

Children

The app is not directed at children. It does not collect any personal information from anyone, regardless of age.

Changes to this policy

Any future changes will appear on this page. Material changes will bump the effective date at the top.

Disclaimer (aviation use)

Not for navigation or flight planning. METAR MenuBar is an informational convenience tool. It is not a substitute for an official FAA preflight weather briefing. Pilots must obtain a complete briefing from an authorized source — Leidos Flight Service (1-800-WX-BRIEF / 1800wxbrief.com) or the FAA Aviation Weather Center (aviationweather.gov) — before every flight. Do not use this app to make go/no-go decisions.

The app is provided as is, without warranty of any kind, express or implied. The author makes no representation that the weather data displayed is current, complete, accurate, or free from errors, delays, or omissions, and assumes no liability for any use of this application. See the project README for the full disclaimer.

Contact

Mike Bell — bell@mac.com