Privacy Policy – Sismos Venezuela

Sismos Venezuela is an unofficial information service by IT-Service Börner (Leipzig, Germany) that sends rapid notifications about earthquakes registered in Venezuela.

1. Data we process

We only process data required to deliver the alerts you request:

Notification token (Web Push or Firebase/FCM): a technical identifier of your browser or app. It does not identify you personally.
Phone number: only if you choose the SMS channel.
Telegram chat ID: only if you connect Telegram.
Alert preferences: minimum magnitude and, optionally, an area you select yourself (approximate coordinates and radius). For alerts the app does not access your GPS – you specify the area yourself. GPS is only used for the SOS signal and, if enabled, for sensor mode (see below).
SOS location: only if you activate the SOS signal and grant location access, the app transmits your GPS position to our system for rescue purposes and – if configured – to your contacts via Telegram. This data is deleted automatically after 30 days.
Name and emergency phone number: your name, if you enter it in the app (it appears in alerts to your family and in the SOS signal), and – only if you provide it voluntarily – an emergency phone number. They are shown to emergency responders only if you activate the SOS signal (see “Recipients”).
Sensor measurements: only if you enable sensor mode and only when the phone detects a shake. Transmitted are the time, the strength of the vibration, your position rounded to ~1 km, an encrypted device identifier that changes daily, and an encrypted network identifier. No movement history is created. Deleted after 7 days.
Approximate sensor location: while sensor mode is enabled we store your position rounded to ~11 km, solely for the coverage map (where enough devices are present). It is deleted as soon as you turn the sensor off.
Delivery log: time, channel and result of each alert, for technical diagnostics.
Volunteer station registration: only if you register on the stations page, we store your station ID, the model, country and city or area, your email address and your note. We use them solely to contact you and, if you confirm, to receive the measurements your device sends us. We send you a confirmation by email through our mail provider (Strato, Germany). We do not store your IP address. You can ask us to delete them at any time by writing to info@it-boerner.de.

2. Purpose and legal basis

Data is used solely to send alerts and to operate the service technically. The legal basis is your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR), given when you activate a notification channel. If you activate the SOS signal, passing your data to emergency services is additionally based on the protection of your vital interests (Art. 6(1)(d) GDPR).

3. Recipients

To deliver notifications we use technical providers: Google (Firebase Cloud Messaging) for the Android app, your browser vendor's push service (e.g. Apple, Google, Mozilla) for Web Push, Telegram Messenger Inc. if you use Telegram, and an SMS provider if you choose SMS. We do not sell or share data for advertising. These providers are based in the USA, so data may be transferred outside the EU. SOS signal: if you activate it, your name and emergency phone number (if provided), your location, the time and your answers to our check-ins are shown, for as long as the emergency lasts, to the emergency organisations with access to our portals: Protección Civil, the connected situation rooms (salas situacionales) and emergency services (e.g. fire brigade, police), including the screens in their control rooms. If necessary, their staff pass this data on to the VEN 911 emergency service. Each organisation is responsible for how it uses the data to handle the emergency. Your linked family receives the SOS alert with your name and location.

4. Retention and deletion

Data is kept while your subscription is active. You can delete it anytime via "Cancel all my alerts" in the app, or by writing to info@it-boerner.de. Earthquake events and delivery logs are purged automatically after 90 days; SOS locations after 30 days; sensor measurements after 7 days. The approximate sensor location is stored while sensor mode is enabled and deleted as soon as you turn it off. Your name and emergency phone number are kept until you delete them in the app or cancel your subscription.

5. Your rights

You have the right to access, rectification, erasure, restriction, portability and objection, to withdraw consent at any time, and to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority.

6. Controller

IT-Service Börner · Shakespearestraße 20 · 04107 Leipzig, Germany · info@it-boerner.de · it-boerner.de

7. Important notice

This service is unofficial and does not replace FUNVISIS, civil protection or any authority. Alerts may be delayed, contain errors or fail to arrive. Always follow the instructions of the authorities.