UtahAir Application Privacy Policy

Effective as of March 24, 2022

UtahAir Application (UtahAir App or Service) is a free application built by the National Center for Automotive Science and Technology (NCAST) at Weber State University in partnership with the Utah Division of Air Quality (UDAQ), a division within the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, and an entity within the State of Utah. The Service is provided by the NCAST and the State of Utah at no cost to the users and is intended for use as is. This Privacy Policy informs UtahAir App users how the NCAST and the State of Utah collect, use, disclose, and otherwise process end users’ data in connection with UtahAir App use.

Using the Service

UDAQ owns and operates air quality monitors at multiple locations throughout the State of Utah. These monitors collect air quality data for ozone and particulate matter. This data is then displayed in the UtahAir App and is also available to the public on UDAQ’s website at https://air.utah.gov/. UtahAir App allows users to access and view air quality data for ozone and particulate matter in real-time for any specified UDAQ air quality monitor location. The UtahAir App also includes an optional widget that is packaged with the application and can be added to the user device’s home screen, Apple Watch, or Google Wear. Any references to UtahAir App throughout this Privacy Policy include this optional widget.

Using UtahAir App is completely voluntary, and a user may choose to install and uninstall UtahAir App at any time. UtahAir App will not collect, track, or store users’ location, GPS information, or personal information.

How the Service Works

UtahAir App displays air quality information from the UDAQ’s air quality monitor nearest to an individual user’s location. The location information for the user’s device (latitude and longitude in the form of the URL) is sent from the device to the state’s server. This server is maintained and managed by the Utah Department of Technology Services (DTS), a department within the State of Utah. The server then matches this location data to the location of the nearest air quality monitor and communicates this information back to the user’s device, which displays the nearest monitor’s air quality data to the user. Location information data received from the user’s device is transactional. It is not kept, logged, or collected by the state’s server.

The state’s server logs the IP addresses of the users, but this data is also transitory on the server and is transferred to the central logging server where the logs are subsequently removed. This IP addresses logging is required by the DTS Information Security Policy (DTS Policy 5000-0002) available at https://dts.utah.gov/policies/information-security-policy.

Using the nearest air monitor location feature in the UtahAir App is also voluntary. When an individual user installs UtahAir App on their device, an individual may choose to disable the GPS device location either through UtahAir App or through the device itself by turning the device location option off. If the location option is disabled, the UtahAir App will default to a preset location, which is the “Salt Lake County - Rose Park” monitoring station and will display data for this location. A user could also manually find the air quality monitor nearest to the user’s location under “Favorites” and view air quality data for that location.

Log Data Handling

When a user experiences errors while using UtahAir App, “Log Data” is sent to Google or Apple (depending on the device) and can then be shared with the NCAST (the Service developer). This Log Data may include information such as the device Internet Protocol (IP) address, device name, operating system version, the configuration of the app when utilizing the Service, the time and date of the Service use, and other statics related to the error. The use of this data is covered under Google or Apple privacy policies. NCAST has access to this data but does not store, collect, track, or sell this data.

Cookies

Cookies are files with a small amount of data that are commonly used as anonymous unique identifiers. These are sent to a user’s browser from the websites that a user visits and are stored on a user’s device's internal memory. Normally, the user is notified by a website when a cookie is being sent to the user’s device and has the option to either accept or refuse these cookies.

UtahAir App does not use cookies directly. However, the website links embedded in the UtahAir App may use cookies to collect information to improve their services. If a UtahAir App user clicks on the external website links, the user will be directed to that site. These external sites are not operated by the NCAST but some of them are operated by the State of Utah (including UDAQ’s website). Please, review the privacy policies of those websites regarding the use of cookies. Privacy policy for all State of Utah-operated websites is found at https://www.utah.gov/support/privacypolicy.html. The functionality of the UtahAir App does not depend on the user’s acceptance or rejection of these cookies.

Service Providers

The NCAST or the State of Utah may employ third-party companies or individuals to facilitate the Service, perform Service-related services, or assist in analyzing how the Service is being used. These third parties will have the same level of access to the users’ data as NCAST and the State of Utah and the same obligations not to collect, store, track, or sell users’ data as described in this Privacy Policy.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

NCAST and the State of Utah may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The Service users are advised to review this page periodically for any changes. Any changes will be posted by updating this Privacy Policy page. If you object to a new Privacy Policy, you may terminate participation in UtahAir App by deleting or uninstalling UtahAir App from your device.

Contact Us

If you have any feedback, questions, comments, or concerns relating to this Privacy Policy, do not hesitate to contact the UtahAir App developer at ncast@weber.edu.