Privacy Policy
This page explains what information South Island Met Agency collects when you use sima.co.nz, how it is used, which third-party services are involved, and the choices available to you, including how to manage advertising cookies. Last updated 21 October 2026.
Information we collect
Location searches and saved towns are stored only in your browser. Town forecasts are generated by sending the coordinates of your chosen location to the public Open-Meteo API without any personal identifiers. Live notices and sponsor banners are retrieved from our Firebase-hosted databases, which may log standard technical request information. Contact form submissions (name, email, inquiry type and message) are delivered to us through Netlify Forms so we can reply. Snow photo submissions include the photo, your name, email address and location, and are only shared publicly with your permission. Your cookie banner choice is stored in your browser so it is remembered.
Cookies and advertising
This site displays advertising served by Google AdSense. Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on your prior visits to this website or other websites. We use Google Consent Mode: until you accept cookies in our banner, advertising storage, ad personalisation and analytics storage are denied and only non-personalised ads may be shown. You can opt out of personalised advertising at Google Ads Settings (adssettings.google.com) or at www.aboutads.info/choices, and you can change your choice at any time using Cookie Settings in the footer. Sponsor banners are served from our own database and do not set additional tracking cookies.
Third-party services
We rely on Open-Meteo (forecast data), Google Firebase (live content), Google AdSense (advertising), Google Fonts (typefaces), Netlify (hosting, forms and photo storage), RainViewer and Windy (embedded radar and satellite maps), Blogger (news articles) and Facebook (our community page). Each operates under its own privacy policy. Google's policy is at policies.google.com/privacy.
Data retention, children and your rights
Location preferences persist in your browser until you clear them. We do not keep a server-side record of individual visitor location history. This site is a general-audience service and is not directed at children under 13. Under the New Zealand Privacy Act 2020 you may request access to or correction of personal information we hold about you by emailing southislandmet@gmail.com; we respond within 20 working days. Complaints may also be made to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner at privacy.org.nz. We may update this policy from time to time; the date above reflects the latest revision.
South Island Met Agency is an independent private forecaster and does not issue official government severe weather warnings. For official New Zealand watches and warnings, visit MetService. Read our About Us & Terms and Privacy Policy.