Stargazer-privacy

Stargazer - Privacy Policy

Last updated: 14 May 2026

Stargazer is a Garmin Connect IQ watch-app that gives you a glanceable stargazing briefing on your wrist. This page describes exactly what data the app uses, where it goes, and what is not collected.

What data the app reads

Stargazer reads the following from your watch:

• GPS coordinates (latitude / longitude) - used locally to compute sunrise, sunset, moon phase, planet visibility, ISS pass timing, and aurora visibility threshold for your location.
• System clock - used to convert astronomy results into your local solar time.

That’s it. No fitness data, no biometrics, no contacts, no calendar.

What is sent off the watch

Stargazer makes HTTPS requests to two third-party services for data the watch can’t compute locally. Your coordinates are NOT sent to either service. Both endpoints are generic, location-agnostic GET requests:

Service	URL	Why	Coordinates sent?
Celestrak	celestrak.org	ISS orbital elements (TLE) refresh, used for pass-time predictions	No
NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center	services.swpc.noaa.gov	Planetary Kp index forecast, used for aurora alerts	No

These requests are made via your watch’s Bluetooth-paired phone (the Garmin Connect app) and are subject to Garmin Connect’s own networking behaviour.

What is stored locally

Cached forecast results (TLE elements, Kp index values, pre-computed ISS pass predictions, dark-sky window times) are kept in your watch’s app-private storage. This storage is:

• Visible only to Stargazer itself
• Wiped when you uninstall the app
• Never transmitted off the watch

What is not collected

• No analytics or telemetry. Stargazer does not phone home with usage data, crash reports, location pings, or anything else.
• No advertising IDs.
• No third-party trackers.
• No personally identifying information. The app does not have your name, email address, account ID, or any other identifying field, and could not transmit them if it wanted to.

Permissions the watch will ask for

When you first launch Stargazer, the watch will request three Connect IQ permissions. Each is used only for the purpose described above:

• Positioning - read GPS for local astronomy calculations.
• Communications - HTTPS to Celestrak and NOAA.
• Background - 5-minute periodic wake to check forecasts and emit a wrist-buzz alert when an ISS pass, aurora event, or meteor shower warrants your attention.

You can revoke any of these from your Garmin Connect app at any time; the corresponding feature stops working but the rest of the app continues to function.

Changes to this policy

If this policy changes, the updated version will be published here with a revised “Last updated” date. Material changes will also be noted in the app’s Connect IQ store update log.

Contact

For questions or concerns about this privacy policy or the data practices described here, contact:

tomsullivan1989@gmail.com