Effective Date: August 23, 2026 Last Updated: August 23, 2026
Dark Sky Dispatch LLC (“we,” “us,” or “our”) operates darkskydispatch.com. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit our website, subscribe to our newsletter, purchase a trip plan, or subscribe to Dark Sky Dispatch Alerts.
It should be read alongside our Terms and Conditions.
1. Who We Are
Dark Sky Dispatch LLC 2942 N 24th St, Ste 115 #331960 Phoenix, Arizona 85016 Dg********@*************ch.com
Dark Sky Dispatch LLC is a domestic limited liability company organized under the laws of the State of Arizona (Arizona Corporation Commission Business ID 25065385). We are the data controller for the information described in this policy.
2. What This Policy Covers
We do three things, and they collect different information:
- The blog and newsletter — open to anyone, anywhere
- The trip-planning service — custom written observing plans, available internationally
- Dark Sky Dispatch Alerts — a paid text message service, available in the United States only, to US mobile numbers
Where a section applies to only one of these, it says so.
3. Information We Collect
a. Information You Provide Voluntarily
We may collect:
- Email address (e.g., newsletter subscriptions, contact forms)
- Any information you choose to provide in communications
- For trip plans: your name, the location you are starting from, the dates you are considering, how far you are willing to travel, any physical limitations relevant to a location’s accessibility, and any preferences you volunteer about food, lodging, or photography
- For Alerts: your mobile phone number and a postal code — see Section 4
b. Automatically Collected Information
When you visit the site, we may collect:
- IP address
- Browser type and version
- Device type
- Referring URLs
- Pages viewed and time spent
c. Payment Information
Payment is processed by Stripe. We never receive or store your full card number, CVC, or expiry date. We receive a customer identifier, a subscription identifier, the last four digits and card brand, your billing email, and whether a payment succeeded or failed.
d. Cookies and Tracking Technologies
We use cookies and similar technologies to:
- Analyze site traffic
- Improve user experience
- Support affiliate tracking
You can control cookies through your browser settings. Blocking necessary cookies will break parts of the site, including checkout.
4. Mobile Information and Text Messaging
This section applies to Dark Sky Dispatch Alerts, which is available in the United States only.
We collect your mobile phone number, the location information you provide at signup (a postal code, which we convert to approximate coordinates), your consent record, and a log of messages we have sent you.
Your consent record consists of the exact wording you agreed to, a version identifier for that wording, the date and time, your IP address, your browser’s user agent string, and the page you submitted it from.
We do not collect your street address, and we do not track your device location at any time.
We use this information solely to operate the alert service: to determine when observing conditions at your location meet the alert threshold, to send you those alerts, to honor STOP and HELP requests, and to keep the records of consent that federal law requires us to keep.
No mobile information will be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. All the above categories exclude text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with any third parties.
We use service providers to deliver messages and process payment — currently Twilio (message delivery) and Stripe (payment). These providers process your information only to perform those services for us and may not use it for their own marketing.
We keep consent records and message logs for at least four years after you unsubscribe, because the federal statute of limitations for telephone consumer protection claims requires us to be able to prove you consented.
You may request deletion of your information by emailing Dg********@*************ch.com, except for the consent and opt-out records we are required to retain.
Consent to receive email is not consent to receive text messages. If you subscribe to our newsletter, we will not text you unless you separately sign up for Alerts and provide your number yourself.
5. Legal Bases for Processing (GDPR)
If you are located in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, we process your data under the following lawful bases:
| Basis | What we rely on it for |
|---|---|
| Consent | Newsletter subscriptions; cookies that are not strictly necessary |
| Performance of a contract | Researching and delivering a trip plan you purchased; taking payment |
| Legitimate interests | Site analytics, improving content, security and fraud prevention |
| Legal obligation | Tax and accounting records |
| Establishment, exercise, or defence of legal claims | Retaining consent and opt-out records |
You may withdraw consent at any time. Withdrawing it does not affect processing that already happened.
Dark Sky Dispatch Alerts is not offered outside the United States, so this section will rarely apply to text messaging.
6. How We Use Your Information
We use your data to:
- Send newsletters and updates (if you opt in)
- Send the text alerts you subscribed to, and determine when conditions meet the alert threshold
- Research, write, and deliver trip plans
- Take payment and manage subscriptions
- Respond to inquiries
- Honor STOP, HELP, and unsubscribe requests
- Prove that consent was given, if it is ever challenged
- Improve website functionality and content
- Monitor usage trends and analytics
- Comply with legal obligations
We do not sell your personal information. We do not use your information to make automated decisions producing legal or similarly significant effects about you.
7. Affiliate Disclosure
Dark Sky Dispatch participates in affiliate marketing programs, including the Amazon Associates Program, and may join additional programs.
- We may earn commissions from qualifying purchases made through affiliate links
- This does not increase your cost
- Affiliate links may use cookies to track referrals
- Affiliate cookies record that you arrived at a retailer through us, so a commission can be attributed. They do not tell us what you bought
We never place affiliate links in text alerts, and we never share mobile information with affiliate networks.
8. Sharing Your Information
We may share limited data with service providers who process it on our behalf, under contract, and only to provide their service to us:
| Provider | What it handles |
|---|---|
| AWeber | Newsletter email delivery |
| Twilio | Text message delivery |
| Stripe | Payment processing and subscription billing |
| Our hosting provider | Running the site and the alerts service |
| Analytics provider | Traffic analysis |
| Affiliate networks | Link tracking only |
We do not sell personal data to third parties.
We may also disclose information where legally required — in response to a subpoena, court order, or lawful government request — or where necessary to establish, exercise, or defend a legal claim.
If Dark Sky Dispatch LLC is ever sold or merged, information may transfer to the acquiring party. If that happens, we will notify you before your information becomes subject to a materially different privacy policy. Text messaging opt-in data and consent will not transfer for marketing use, and any acquirer wanting to text you would need to obtain your consent afresh.
9. International Data Transfers (GDPR)
If you are located outside the United States, your information may be transferred to and processed in the United States or other jurisdictions where data protection laws may differ from those where you live.
Where we transfer personal data out of the EEA or UK, we rely on the European Commission’s Standard Contractual Clauses or an equivalent safeguard offered by the service provider concerned.
10. Data Retention
We retain your information only as long as necessary to provide services, comply with legal obligations, and resolve disputes.
| Information | Retained for |
|---|---|
| SMS consent and opt-out records | At least 4 years after you unsubscribe |
| Sent-message logs | 4 years |
| Newsletter subscription | Until you unsubscribe, then removed within 30 days |
| Trip plan intake and delivered plans | 3 years after delivery |
| Payment and transaction records | 7 years (tax and accounting) |
| Site analytics | 26 months, in aggregate form |
You may request deletion at any time, with one exception. We cannot delete SMS consent and opt-out records on request. We keep them for four years because the federal statute of limitations for telephone consumer protection claims runs that long, and because deleting the record of your STOP request would risk texting you again by mistake. This is the only category we will refuse to delete, and we will tell you if it applies to your request.
11. Your Rights
Whatever state or country you live in, you may ask us to:
- Access your personal data and receive a copy
- Correct inaccurate data
- Delete your data (subject to Section 10)
- Restrict or object to processing
- Port your data to another provider
- Withdraw consent at any time
To exercise these rights, contact us at Dg********@*************ch.com. We will respond within 45 days, at no charge, and we will not treat you differently for asking.
To protect you, we may need to confirm you control the email address or mobile number in question before acting on a request.
If you are in the EEA or UK and believe we have handled your data improperly, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority. We would appreciate the chance to resolve it first.
12. California Privacy Rights (CCPA/CPRA)
If you are a California resident, you have the right to:
- Know what personal information we collect and how we use it
- Request deletion of your personal information
- Correct inaccurate information
- Opt out of the sale or sharing of personal data
- Limit the use of sensitive personal information
- Non-discrimination for exercising your rights
We do not sell personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising, so there is nothing to opt out of. We do not knowingly collect or sell the personal information of anyone under 16.
We are a small business and may not meet the CCPA’s applicability thresholds. We extend these rights to all California residents regardless.
To make a request, contact us using the information below.
13. Residents of Other States
Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, Texas, and a growing number of other states have comparable privacy laws. We extend the rights in Section 11 to everyone rather than maintaining separate processes.
14. Do Not Track Signals
Some browsers offer a “Do Not Track” feature. There is no agreed standard for responding to it, and we currently do not respond to these signals.
We do honor the Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal where your browser sends one.
15. Email Communications
If you subscribe:
- You may receive periodic emails
- You can unsubscribe at any time via the link in emails
We do not share your email with third parties for marketing purposes.
16. Text Message Communications
If you subscribe to Dark Sky Dispatch Alerts:
- Message frequency varies with observing conditions, approximately 4–8 messages per month
- Message and data rates may apply
- Reply STOP to any message to cancel. Reply HELP for help
- Replying STOP stops the messages but does not cancel your paid subscription. To cancel billing, use the manage-subscription link in your confirmation email or contact us
See Section 4 for how we handle mobile information.
17. Third-Party Links
This website may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for their privacy practices or content.
18. Data Security
We implement reasonable safeguards to protect your information, including encryption in transit (HTTPS everywhere), access controls limiting who can reach our database, masking of phone numbers in application logs, and not storing card details at all — Stripe holds those.
However, no system is completely secure. If a breach affects your information, we will notify you and the relevant authorities as required by law.
19. Children’s Privacy
This website is not intended for children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal data from children.
The trip-planning service and Dark Sky Dispatch Alerts are intended for people 18 and over, and we do not knowingly enroll anyone under 18 in text alerts.
If you believe a child has provided us with information, email us and we will delete it.
20. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy at any time. Updates will be posted on this page with a revised date.
If we make a material change to how we handle your mobile information or consent, we will notify you by email or text before it takes effect, and where the law requires it, ask for your consent again.
21. Contact Information
If you have questions or wish to exercise your rights, contact:
Dark Sky Dispatch LLC 2942 N 24th St, Ste 115 #331960 Phoenix, Arizona 85016 Email: Dg********@*************ch.com