Privacy Policy

This policy explains how data is handled on the nova-tracker.com website and in the hosted app at app.nova-tracker.com (together, “the Service”). If you run Nova yourself, with Nova for Mac or self-hosted with Docker, your observing data stays on your own computer or server.

Last Updated: October 2, 2026

1. Information Collected

I aim to collect only the personal information the Service needs to work and improve.

  • User accounts: To use the hosted app, you register on nova-tracker.com with a username, an email address and a password. Passwords are never stored in plain text. They are always stored as strong, salted hashes. Your username and password are also passed to app.nova-tracker.com so you can log in there.
  • Your observing data: The app stores what you enter: observing locations (including their coordinates), equipment and rigs, target lists, projects, journal entries and notes, and any images you upload. This data is linked to your account and is needed for the app to work.
  • Contact form: If you send a message, I receive your name, email address and message so I can reply.
  • Newsletter: If you subscribe to the Nova newsletter, on the newsletter page or in your account, I store your email address and your subscription status in MailPoet on this website. New subscriptions are confirmed by email first. To see whether the newsletter is useful, MailPoet records whether an email was opened and which links were clicked. Every newsletter has an unsubscribe link, and if you have an account, you can also switch it off under My Account → Privacy & data.
  • Cloudflare Turnstile: The registration, login, newsletter and contact forms use Cloudflare Turnstile to protect against spam and automated abuse. When you load one of these forms, Turnstile checks whether the request comes from a real browser. To do this, it collects technical information such as your IP address and browser and device characteristics, and sends it to Cloudflare for analysis. Turnstile does not use this data for advertising. Cloudflare’s processing is described in the Cloudflare Privacy Policy and the Turnstile Privacy Addendum.
  • Website analytics: nova-tracker.com uses Google Analytics and Jetpack Stats to understand how the site is used, for example which pages are popular, general geographic location and browser types. I look at this data in aggregate.
  • Server logs and cookies: Like most websites, the server logs basic request information, such as your IP address and browser type, for security and troubleshooting. The Service uses necessary cookies to keep you logged in.

2. Services Used by the App

  • Ask Nova (AI assistant): When you use Ask Nova, your request is sent to a third-party AI provider (currently MiniMax) together with the information needed to answer it. Depending on the question, this can include object data, the name and latitude of your observing location, observing conditions, and notes from the journal session you’re asking about. Nothing is sent to the AI provider unless you use Ask Nova. The provider may process this data in other countries.
  • Error monitoring: When the app hits an error, technical details are sent to Sentry so I can find and fix the problem. These include the error message, the affected page address and the app version. Sentry is not set up to receive IP addresses or usernames.
  • Usage statistics: The app occasionally sends basic technical information (app version, operating system and browser type) to a statistics endpoint hosted by Google. This helps me see which versions and platforms are in use.

3. How Your Information Is Used

  • To provide the Nova app and its features, including Ask Nova when you use it.
  • To create and manage your account and let you log in.
  • To protect the Service from spam and abuse.
  • To monitor, fix and improve the performance and security of the Service.
  • To respond to messages sent through the contact form.

4. Data Sharing

I do not sell or rent your personal information. Your data is shared only as described in this policy:

  • Google: Google Analytics and the usage statistics endpoint.
  • Cloudflare: spam protection (Turnstile) on the registration, login, newsletter and contact forms.
  • Automattic (Jetpack): website statistics.
  • Sentry: error reports from the app.
  • Namecheap (Private Email): sends the emails from this website, including password resets and the newsletter.
  • The AI provider behind Ask Nova (currently MiniMax): only when you use Ask Nova.
  • Legal requirements: if required by law, a subpoena or other legal process.

5. Data Security

I take reasonable technical measures to protect the data stored and processed by the Service, including encrypted connections (HTTPS) and password hashing. However, no transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure.

6. Your Account

You can update your email address and password at any time on the “My Account” page of the website. If you have questions about your data, please get in touch through the contact form.
You can delete your account at any time under My Account → Privacy & data. This permanently deletes your account on the website and in the Nova app, together with all the data you stored in Nova: locations, objects, rigs, journal sessions, projects and photos. Deleted data can’t be recovered, so please download anything you want to keep first.

7. Changes to This Policy

This policy may be updated from time to time. The “Last Updated” date at the top always shows the latest revision.

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