SHINDO needs very little about you to do its job: a way to reach your phone and a rough idea of where it is. This policy explains exactly what that means.
This Privacy Policy describes how Meta Studios Creative Agency KK ("SHINDO", "we") handles personal information in the SHINDO iOS application, the SHINDO Node device and firmware, and this website. We are the business operator handling personal information (個人情報取扱事業者) under Japan's Act on the Protection of Personal Information (APPI).
| Data | Why | Where it lives |
|---|---|---|
| Push notification token | To deliver alerts while the app is closed. | Our server in Tokyo |
| Approximate location (the position you last opened the app from, and the JMA forecast area derived from it) | To rate alerts for your area and target pushes to the right prefecture. We do not record a movement history. | Our server in Tokyo |
| Alert preferences (thresholds, enabled alert types, language, abroad mode) | To send only the alerts you asked for. | Our server in Tokyo |
| Account identifier and, if you choose to share it, email address (via Sign in with Apple or Google) | To let you post in Community, keep a display name and delete your data on request. | Our server in Tokyo |
| Community reports: intensity you felt, optional comment, display name, and your approximate position | To show felt-intensity reports to other users. Positions shown publicly are rounded to about 1 km. | Our server in Tokyo |
| Philips Hue account link (an access token issued by Signify) | To flash your lights during a warning, if you link Hue. | Our server in Tokyo |
| SHINDO Node contacts, keys and messages | Mesh messaging. | On your phone and your node only — never on our server |
| Diagnostics (crash logs, device model, iOS version) if you allow Apple to share them | To fix bugs. | Apple, then us |
We do not collect your name unless you type one as a display name, we do not read your contacts or photos, and we do not use advertising identifiers. Pro subscriptions are processed by Apple; we never see payment details.
We do not sell personal information, use it for advertising, or build profiles.
We disclose personal information to third parties beyond the above only when required by law.
Push tokens and preferences are kept while the app is installed and removed when you delete your account or when Apple reports the token invalid. Community reports are kept for the public feed and anonymised when an account is deleted. Hue tokens are removed when you unlink Hue or delete your account. Server logs are kept for 30 days.
You can request disclosure, correction, deletion or suspension of use of your personal information under APPI Articles 33–35. The fastest way is in the app: Settings → Account → Delete account. Otherwise see Delete your account or write to privacy@shindoalert.com. We respond within two weeks and may ask you to verify ownership of the account.
All traffic is encrypted in transit (TLS). Our server accepts SSH only with keys, runs a firewall limited to HTTPS, stores refresh tokens hashed, and keeps the database on a private interface. SHINDO Node messages are encrypted end to end between contacts. Details: Security.
SHINDO asks for location permission to pick your JMA forecast area and rate alerts. If you deny it, you can set a prefecture manually in Settings; alerts are then rated for that prefecture. Turning the Use location switch off in Settings stops the app from reading your position.
SHINDO is not directed at children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them. Community posting requires an account.
Our servers are in Japan. Apple, Google, Signify and Anthropic may process data in other countries under their own policies and applicable safeguards.
This site uses Google Analytics 4 to count visits and see which pages are useful. It sets first-party analytics cookies and sends anonymised usage data (pages viewed, approximate location, device type) to Google; advertising features and Google signals are switched off. You can block it with a browser extension or your browser's privacy settings. Your language choice is stored in your browser's local storage. The Node waitlist form stores the email address you submit so that we can write to you once when ordering opens.
We will post changes here and, for material changes, notify you in the app. Questions: privacy@shindoalert.com · Meta Studios Creative Agency KK, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan.