Privacy Policy

Before the Cone ("we," "us," or "our") operates an SMS-based hurricane early warning service. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and your rights regarding your data. We take your privacy seriously and do not sell or share your personal information with third parties for marketing purposes.

1. Information We Collect

When you subscribe to Before the Cone, we collect the following information:

• Phone number — required to deliver SMS alerts
• First name — used to personalize your messages
• Email address — collected by our payment processor (Gumroad) at time of purchase
• ZIP code(s) — optional, used for future location-based alert filtering
• Subscription details — plan type, purchase date, expiration date

We do not collect sensitive personal information such as Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, or health data.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect solely to operate the Before the Cone service:

• To send you hurricane and tropical weather SMS alerts based on National Hurricane Center (NHC) public data
• To personalize alert messages with your first name
• To manage your subscription status (active, cancelled, expired)
• To respond to support requests
• To send seasonal service notifications (e.g., "hurricane season begins June 1")

We do not use your information for advertising, profiling, or any purpose unrelated to delivering your hurricane alerts.

3. Information Sharing

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to any third party. We share your information only in the following limited circumstances:

• Twilio — our SMS delivery provider receives your phone number solely to transmit alert messages on our behalf
• Gumroad — our payment processor handles purchase transactions; their privacy policy governs data collected during checkout
• AWS — our infrastructure provider stores subscriber data in encrypted DynamoDB tables in the United States
• Legal requirements — we may disclose information if required by law or to protect the rights and safety of our users

None of these service providers are authorized to use your information for their own marketing purposes.

4. Data Retention

We retain your subscriber record for the duration of your active subscription plus 90 days after expiration or cancellation, after which it is permanently deleted. You may request deletion at any time by contacting us.

5. SMS Messaging & Opt-Out

By purchasing a subscription, you consent to receive SMS hurricane alert messages from Before the Cone. Message frequency varies based on tropical weather activity — typically zero to several messages per week during hurricane season (June 1 – November 30), and minimal messages off-season.

Message and data rates may apply depending on your carrier plan.

To stop receiving messages at any time, reply STOP to any message. To get help, reply HELP. Opting out cancels your SMS alerts but does not automatically issue a refund.

6. Data Security

We store subscriber data in Amazon DynamoDB with encryption at rest and in transit. Twilio API credentials are stored in AWS SSM Parameter Store using SecureString encryption. We do not store payment card information — all payment processing is handled by Gumroad.

7. Children's Privacy

Before the Cone is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.

8. Your Rights

You have the right to:

• Request access to the personal information we hold about you
• Request correction of inaccurate information
• Request deletion of your data
• Opt out of SMS messages at any time by replying STOP

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at the address below.

9. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify active subscribers of material changes via SMS. Continued use of the service after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.