Met Office test app Privacy Policy and Accessibility statement

Your Privacy Matters: How the Met Office Protects Your Personal Information

The Met Office takes the privacy of its customers very seriously. This privacy policy applies to your use of the Met Office Android or iOS test mobile application software (“App”) and explains how we use any personal information we collect about you. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children below the age of 13. Do not use the App if you are below the age of 13 without obtaining parental consent. 

The Data Controller is the Met Office, FitzRoy Road, Exeter, Devon, EX1 3PB on behalf of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (DSIT).  

The Met Office is an Executive Agency of DSIT and is registered with the Supervisory Authority (in the name of DSIT), Registration No. ZB546218. 

The right to lodge a complaint with the Supervisory Authority:  

If you have any concerns relating to the handling of your personal information, you may refer the matter to the Supervisory Authority, the Information Commissioner’s Office, who can be contacted at: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF https://ico.org.uk/.  Telephone: 0303 123 1113. 

The data we collect about you 

We may collect, use, store and transfer different kinds of personal information about you as follows:    

  • Contact Data 
  • Transaction Data 
  • Device Data 
  • Content Data 
  • Profile Data 
  • Usage Data 
  • Marketing and Communications Data 
  • Location Data 

These categories of data are explained further below. 

We also collect, use and share aggregated data such as statistical or demographic data to provide us with insight into users experience within the App.  Our analytics helps us understand how our products are being used to help user experience. We also use analytics to identify when there is a problem with the App. For example, we may aggregate your usage data to calculate the percentage of users accessing a specific App feature. You have the ability within the App to switch your analytics preferences to “off” if you wish. You can do this within the settings menu in the app.    

We do not collect any special categories of personal information about you (this includes details about your race or ethnicity, religious or philosophical beliefs, sex life, sexual orientation, political opinions, trade union membership, information about your health, and genetic and biometric data). Nor do we collect any information about criminal convictions and offences.   

How is your personal information collected? 

We will collect and process the following data about you:   

  • Information you give us. This is information (including Identity, Contact, and Marketing and Communications Data) you consent to giving us about you. It can include information you provide when you download or register an App, search for an App, enter a competition, promotion or survey, and when you report a problem with an App 
  • If you contact us, we will keep a record of that correspondence 
  • Information we collect about you and your device. With your consent, each time you use our App we will automatically collect personal information including Device, Content and Usage Data. We collect this data using App storage technology 
  • Location Data: We also use device GPS to determine your current location, both for analytics purposes (crash reporting) and to deliver you location-specific weather forecasts. Some of our location-enabled services require your personal information for the feature to work. You can withdraw your consent at any time by disabling Location Data in your device settings, or disabling analytics (crash reporting) within the settings page on the test app 
  • Unique application numbers. When you want to install or uninstall a service containing a unique application number or when such a service searches for automatic updates, that number and information about your installation, for example, the type of operating system, may be sent to us. 

Tracking technologies 

We use App data to distinguish you from other users of the App on the distribution platform (Google Play store or Apple App Store) to remember your preferences. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you use the App and also allows us to improve the App. 

Purposes for which we will use your personal information 

We will only use your personal information when the law allows us to.  Most commonly, we will use your personal information in the following circumstances: 

  • To install the App and register you as a new App user (Consent) 
  • To manage our relationship with you including notifying you of changes to the App or any services and to deliver our services (Consent, Contractual Necessity, Legitimate Interests) 
  • To enable you to participate in a prize draw, competition or complete a survey (Consent, Legitimate Interests) 
  • To administer and protect our business and this App including troubleshooting, data analysis and system testing (Legitimate Interests) 
  • Where we need to comply with a legal or regulatory obligation (compliance with legal obligations) 

Met Office Analytics partners
 

Analytics partner  Privacy Policy 
Firebase Analytics and Crash Reporting: 

https://firebase.google.com/support/privacy/ 
Microsoft Clarity https://www.microsoft.com/privacy/privacystatement

You can customise your consent preferences for our tracking technologies within the settings page of the test app. 

We use firebase analytics and crash reporting in order to measure and improve the performance of the app. For example to identify trends and user behaviour. 

Firebase may share data with third-party subprocessors, more detail can be found here https://firebase.google.com/terms/data-processing-terms#11.-subprocessors  

The Met Office uses Microsoft Clarity to understand how people use the app, and identify areas that can be improved or removed. Microsoft Clarity stores information about how visitors interact with the app. This helps to provide an analysis report. The data collection includes the number of visitors and where they visit on the app. This is used to generate heatmaps and session recordings. This data is anonymised.

 

Strictly necessary SDKs 

Below is a list of the third party SDKs (Software Development Kits) deemed as strictly necessary in the Met Office app, and therefore those which are ‘Always on’.  

Amazon Pinpoint and Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) 

This stores information such as device identifier and location tags on your device, and is used in order to enable push notifications for National Severe Weather Warnings.

You can view the Amazon AWS Privacy Policy at https://aws.amazon.com/privacy/ You can view the Firebase Privacy Policy here https://firebase.google.com/support/privacy - see the section on Firebase Cloud Messaging. 

International transfers 

Please refer to the Privacy Policies of our third party analytics partners as detailed above. 

Data security 

All information you provide to us is stored on our secure servers. 

Any payment transactions relating to in App purchases will be carried out by Apple for iOS devices.  Please see details on https://www.apple.com/uk/legal/privacy/en-ww/ 

Any payment transactions relating to in App purchases will be carried out by Google Play Store for Android devices.  Please see details on https://policies.google.com/privacy 

Once we have received your information, we will use strict procedures and security features to try to prevent your personal information from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorised way.  We will collect and store personal information on your Device using application data caches and other technology.  Certain services include social networking features. Ensure when using these features that you do not submit any personal information that you do not want to be seen, collected or used by other users.  We have put in place procedures to deal with any suspected personal data breach and will notify you and any applicable regulator when we are legally required to do so. 

Data retention 

In the event that you uninstall the App, information/technologies stored on your device will be deleted. 

Please also refer to the Privacy Policies of our third party analytics providers as detailed above relating to the retention of your personal information. 

Your legal rights 

Under certain circumstances you have the following rights under data protection legislation in relation to your personal data: 

  • The right to be informed 
  • The right of access 
  • The right to rectification 
  • The right to erasure 
  • The right to restrict processing 
  • The right to data portability 
  • The right to object 
  • The right to prevent automated decision making and profiling. 

For further information in respect of your rights as a data subject, please see details on the Information Commissioner’s Office. To exercise any of the above rights, please contact [email protected] 

Please note that we may require evidence of your identity in relation to your request. 

Changes to our privacy policy 

This privacy policy may occasionally be updated or amended therefore we advise you to revisit this page regularly. This privacy policy was last reviewed on 20th January 2025. 

How to contact us 

If you have any questions about our privacy policy or information we hold about you, please contact us: 

  • by email to the Met Office Data Protection Practitioner to [email protected]; 
  • or write to our Data Protection Practitioner at the address set out above. 

You may also contact the Data Protection Officer at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology: 

By e-mail to [email protected] or; 

In writing, addressed to the “Data Protection Officer” at: 

DSIT Data Protection Officer   
Department for Science, Innovation &Technology   
22-26 Whitehall 
London 
London, SW1A 2EG 

 

 

Accessibility statement for the new Met Office test mobile application

This accessibility statement applies to the new Met Office test app. This is currently available on Android and iOS devices under an invite-only private beta testing phase. This is different from the beta test app available for anyone to search on the live app stores. 

This mobile application is run by the Met Office. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this mobile application. For example, that means you should be able to: 

  • Navigate most of the app using a screen reader (including the most recent version of TalkBack or VoiceOver) 

We’ve also made the mobile application text as simple as possible to understand. 

You can use the built-in accessibility settings on your phone to help you use the app: 

  • AbilityNet has more advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability. 

 

How accessible this mobile application is 

We know some parts of this mobile application are not fully accessible: 

  • The app cannot yet be used in landscape orientation on smaller devices such as phones.  

 

Feedback and contact information 

If you need information in this mobile application in a different format like accessible PDF, large print, easy read, audio recording or braille please contact [email protected] 

We aim to respond to all reasonable requests for accessible information. Please make it clear in the enquiry that you are referring to the beta test app rather than the current live app that is available in the public app stores.  

If you require any forecast information in this mobile application described over the phone, or have any other queries please contact our 24 hour helpline: 

  • Phone: 0370 900 0100 (from the UK) 

  • Phone: +44 330 135 0000 (outside the UK) 
     

Reporting accessibility problems with this mobile application 

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this mobile application. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact: [email protected] 

 

Enforcement procedure 

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’). If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS). 

 

Technical information about this mobile application’s accessibility 

The Met Office is committed to making its mobile application accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018. 

 

Compliance status 

This mobile application is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances and exemptions listed below. 

 

Non-accessible content 

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons. 

Non-compliance with the accessibility regulations 

  • There are some app components such as the selected tab which solely rely on colours as the only visual means of conveying information. This fail WCAG success criterion 1.4.1 Use of Colour level A. We expect this to be resolved by January 2026 

  • There are some instances where the contrast in the app does not meet the minimum for reading text, such as some of the weather background animations, notifications settings popup banners, and the system icons such as wifi icon and time. These fail WCAG success criterion 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) level AA. We expect this to be resolved by January 2026. 

  • Some of the weather symbols in the app have text in graphical format, including mist and fog. These fail WCAG success criterion 1.4.5 Images of Text level AA. We expect this to be resolved by January 2026. 

  • There is no mechanism in the app to skip to content. This fails WCAG success criteria 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks level A and 2.4.3 Focus Order level A. We expect this to be resolved by January 2026. 

  • The screen reader's focus stays on background elements when the warning details bottom sheet is active which makes the modal's content inaccessible. This fails WCAG success criteria 2.4.3 Focus Order (Level A). We expect this to be resolved by January 2026. 

  • Accessing the locations snapshots, hourly information in the app, and closing the warning details bottom sheet relies on swipe gestures. These fail success criterion 2.5.1 Pointer Gestures level A. We expect this to be resolved by January 2026. 

  • The app does not use consistent terms for saving a location. This fails WCAG success criterion 3.2.4 Consistent Identification level AA. We expect this to be resolved by January 2026.  

  • The app lacks an error message when nothing is selected in the location saving screen and the user wants to save. This fails success criterion WCAG 3.3.1 Error Identification level A. We expect this to be resolved by January 2026. 

  • Some parts of the app are not navigable by keyboard. This fails WCAG success criterion 2.1.1 Keyboard level A. We expect this to be resolved by January 2026. 

  • We rely on native focus theming in the app, which may not meet 1.4.11 Non-text Contrast level AA, 2.4.7 Focus Visible level AA, 2.4.13 Focus Appearance level AAA. Creating a custom component is not in scope at this stage of beta testing. We expect this to be resolved by January 2026. 

  • Some text truncates to a limited number of lines and cannot be read in full using a tooltip. This fails success criterion 1.4.4 Resize Text. We expect this to be resolved by January 2026 

 

What we’re doing to improve accessibility 

This beta test app is an early test app. Not all features and functionality are implemented yet, including the non-compliances listed above. We are undertaking rigorous user testing whilst we continue to build and improve the app over the coming months. This includes testing with users who have access needs.  

 

Preparation of this accessibility statement 

This statement was first prepared in February 2025. It was last reviewed on 11th April 2025. 

This mobile application was last tested on 6th February 2025 following an audit carried out by our development team, using past audits of the Met Office app, and the NHS accessibility checklist, available at https://nhsdigital.github.io/accessibility-checklist/  

These were tested on a selection of devices and operating systems which are fully supported by the Met Office.