Privacy Policy · Quake Watch World

CloudEx Inc. ("we", "us", or "our") operates the "Quake Watch World" app (the "Service"). This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and the choices available to you. By using the Service, you are deemed to have agreed to the practices described in this Policy.

1. Our Core Principle

Quake Watch World shows earthquakes around the world from the public data of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and notifies you about earthquakes near the places you register, such as your home or your family's town. There is no account or sign-up and we run no server for the app. Your places and alert history are kept on your device, and alerts are decided on your device. We never receive:

Your exact location
The places you register, their names, or their coordinates
The alerts you have received

The app is not affiliated with or endorsed by USGS or any government agency.

2. Your Location and What Leaves Your Device

Location: Used only when you ask for it and only while you are using the app: to add or update the "Current location" place, to choose a place from where you are, and to show where you are on the map. The "Current location" place moves only when you open the app. The app does not use background location, and scheduled checks never look at your location.
How alerts work: The app downloads the worldwide list of earthquakes from USGS and measures the distance to your places on your device, so your exact location and your places are not sent out.
Past earthquakes and statistics for a place: When you view past earthquakes or statistics for a place, or search around a place, the app sends USGS a rough area: the center of the place rounded to a grid of about 0.5 degrees (tens of kilometers) with a wider radius. It then narrows the results on your device.
Searching for a place name: The text you type is first handled by your device's geocoding service (provided by your device's system, such as Google). Only if that returns nothing, the text is sent once to Photon (run by komoot), together with a rough position rounded to the same grid of about 0.5 degrees.
Maps: Map images are downloaded from OpenFreeMap. As with any map service, it receives requests for the areas you look at.
Backups you make: A backup file contains your places (including coordinates), alert history, and settings. It goes only to the file or folder you choose, such as Google Drive.
Android backup: If backup is turned on in your device settings, Android may save the app's settings to your own Google account. The database holding your places and alert history is excluded from this cloud backup. Direct device-to-device transfer when you move to a new phone can carry your places and settings.
Sharing: An earthquake's details are shared as text or as an image card only when you share them yourself, and only with the app you choose.

3. Information We Collect

3.1 Information Collected Automatically

Crash reports: Via Firebase Crashlytics. When the app crashes, we collect the stack trace, device model, OS version, app version, and an identifier for the app installation. This does not include your location or your places.
Purchase information: We use purchase tokens issued by Google Play to verify your one-time "Premium" purchase. We never receive any payment information such as credit card numbers.
List of our other apps: To show our other apps, the app downloads their names, descriptions, and icons from our content server (static files hosted on Cloudflare Pages). The request contains no personal data from the app.
Requests to data services: As with any internet request, the servers the app contacts (USGS, OpenFreeMap, Photon, Cloudflare Pages) receive your IP address and the app's name and version. We do not receive this information.

3.2 Information Stored Only on Your Device

Your places: Name, type, coordinates, distance, magnitude and shaking conditions.
Alert history and aftershock watches: The earthquakes you were alerted about and the ones you are watching.
Earthquake data: A temporary copy of the data downloaded from USGS, used for the list, the map, and widgets.
App settings: Units, time format, shaking scale, quiet hours, theme, and similar settings.
When you uninstall: Uninstalling the app or clearing its data deletes everything above. Backup files you saved elsewhere remain until you delete them.

3.3 Information We Explicitly Do Not Collect

Your exact location or location history
Your places or alert history
Your name, email address, phone number, or contacts (the app has no account or sign-up)
Your device's advertising ID, or app usage analytics
A history of the websites you visit or the contents of your communications
The contents of your screen or of other apps

3.4 Permissions the App Requests and Their Purposes

Location (ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION / ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION) — For the "Current location" place, choosing a place from where you are, and showing where you are on the map. Used only while you are using the app. The app works without it.
Notifications (POST_NOTIFICATIONS, Android 13+) — Earthquake alerts and the weekly summary.
Internet (INTERNET / ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE) — Downloading earthquake data, maps, and place-name results; crash reports; Google Play purchases, in-app reviews and in-app updates; the list of our other apps; and showing this privacy policy in the app.
Background checks (WAKE_LOCK / RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED) — Lets Android run the scheduled check of USGS, and resume it after your phone restarts.
Google Play purchases (BILLING) — The one-time Premium purchase.

4. How We Use Information

The limited information we collect is used only for the following purposes:

Operating and maintaining the Service
Verifying your Premium purchase
Diagnosing and fixing crashes
Responding to support inquiries
Complying with applicable laws

5. Third-Party Services

Quake Watch World uses the following third-party services. Each service has its own privacy policy.

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) — earthquake data (https://earthquake.usgs.gov/)
OpenFreeMap — map images, based on OpenStreetMap data
Photon (komoot) — place-name search, used only when your device's own search returns nothing
Your device's geocoding service (such as Google) — place-name search
Firebase Crashlytics (Google LLC) — crash diagnostic data
Google Play Billing (Google LLC) — the one-time Premium purchase; payment is completed on Google Play, and we receive only a purchase token
Google Play In-App Review and In-App Updates (Google LLC) — let you rate the app and install updates without leaving it; handled by Google Play
Cloudflare Pages (Cloudflare, Inc.) — hosts the static list of our other apps

Quake Watch World does not use advertising networks and does not share your data with them. The list of our other apps contains only apps made by us.

6. Data Retention

Crash reports: retained for 90 days, then deleted.
Support emails: retained for 12 months after the last reply, then deleted (except where legally required).
Your places, alert history, and settings on your device: kept until you delete them, uninstall the app, or clear the app's data.

7. International Data Transfers

We are based in Japan. The services listed above, including USGS in the United States, may be located in various countries. When you use the Service, the minimal information described above may be processed outside your country of residence under standard contractual safeguards where applicable.

8. Your Rights

Depending on where you reside (e.g., the EEA, UK, California, Japan), you may have the right to request access to, correction of, or deletion of the limited information we hold. You can:

Delete places and alert history in the app at any time, or uninstall the app or clear its data to erase everything stored on your device
Withdraw the location or notification permission in your device settings at any time
Contact us at the address below to make a request regarding the information we hold

9. Children's Privacy

Quake Watch World is not directed to children under the age of 13 (or the minimum age applicable in your region). If we inadvertently collect information from such a child, we will delete it promptly upon being contacted.

10. Changes to This Policy

This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time. The latest version is always published at this URL together with its effective date. We will also notify you within the app of significant changes as appropriate.

11. Contact

For questions about privacy, data requests, or to report concerns, please email us at .

CloudEx Inc. (Japan)

Effective Date: November 7, 2026