Privacy and Cookie Policy
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Xionia.com provides weather observations, forecasts, historical data, weather imagery and information about places. Cameras, videos, charts and maps open automatically. Google Analytics is enabled from the start, without requiring “OK”. You can disable it in Cookie settings. “OK” only dismisses the notice and is not a record of consent. Advertising choices are handled separately by Google.
Contact · Data and purposes · Account and trips · Cookies and choices · External services · Your rights
Site operator and contact
Xionia.com is operated by Άλκης Σαραντόπουλος (Alkis Sarantopoulos), observer and owner of the Agios Stefanos weather station in Attica since 2008. For privacy questions or a request concerning your data, contact the published Instagram account @alkimos7. Start with a description of your request; do not send passwords or identity documents.
Data used and its purposes
- Operation and security: the server and providers of files requested by your browser receive technical details such as IP address, request time, page address and browser information. These support content delivery, troubleshooting and security, on the basis of the legitimate interest in operating a secure website.
- Forecasts and preferences: the selected place, units, colour theme and cached forecasts may be stored in your browser to provide the functions you request. Selecting a city does not mean that you live there.
- Location: device location is used when you request that feature and allow it in your browser. Coordinates help find a place and forecast and may be included in requests to weather services. You can always search for a place manually.
- Analytics: Google Analytics 4 starts automatically and records page views and actions such as choosing a place, weather units or a forecast source. It contacts Google with technical browser information and uses Analytics cookies lasting up to 180 days. The site-sent page/referrer addresses omit query strings and fragments; search events omit the search text. Disabling Analytics in Cookie settings stops this site’s Analytics measurement and removes its accessible Analytics cookies. Existing explicit refusals and browser GPC/DNT signals are respected.
- Advertising: choices for Google AdSense and its partners are made in Google's consent message. Automatic external content loading does not grant advertising consent.
- Contact: when you send a message, the details and content you choose to share are used to respond and handle your request.
The GPS button requests browser permission only after you select it. The location widget and coordinate forecast page keep the selected point in browser memory; a shared forecast link includes coordinates after the # symbol. Nearby names come from local GeoNames files and are approximate, not a check of administrative boundaries. Weather requests send coordinates to XIONIA’s forecast service and the selected weather provider; map tiles also reveal the viewed area to the map provider. These features do not add your exact coordinates to this site’s Analytics events or page addresses. Copying or sharing a location link reveals its coordinates to its recipient.
Optional sign-in and trip synchronisation
When available, Google sign-in confirms your identity for your XIONIA account. We request your basic profile: we use the unique identifier to recognise your account and the display name in your session. We do not request access to Gmail, Drive or contacts, and do not receive your password. Google receives the sign-in request and technical browser information under its privacy policy.
Signing in alone does not upload your saved trips. Selecting “Enable sync” requests storage of your chosen trips, titles, stops, coordinates and favourites on the server for synchronisation between devices. A local backup export starts before merging. Conflicting changes to the same trip are kept as separate copies. The browser remembers sync activation for the same account. Sync resumes while a supported page is open.
The account file is associated with a pseudonymous identifier. Your display name remains in the session; we do not store email addresses, passwords or persistent copies of Google access tokens. Sign-in data is used for authentication and providing this feature. The essential __Host-xionia_account cookie protects your session for up to 24 hours. You can sign out earlier.
Trips and favourites remain in your account until you replace them or choose “Erase the account copy”. This empties the active server copy of trips and favourites; the pseudonymous identifier and version metadata remain. Your device copy is retained. You can export your data, pause synchronisation or request full deletion using the contact details. Erasing the active copy does not imply immediate removal from any hosting backups; their retention depends on provider settings, and you may request clarification.
Device saves and core weather features remain available without an account. A shared trip link reveals the information it contains to its recipient.
Cookies, local storage and your choices
Cookies and local storage let a website remember information in your browser. XIONIA distinguishes essential functions and optional analytics and advertising. External content embeds load automatically.
| Category | Use and duration | Control |
|---|---|---|
| Preferences and cache | Theme, units, weather choices and cached forecasts. Duration depends on the feature; some preferences remain until you change them or clear browser data. | Site and browser settings. |
| Privacy preferences | xionia-privacy-v1 remembers notice dismissal and the analytics setting for up to 180 days. It is not a visitor identifier. | Change it at any time in Cookie settings. |
| Google Analytics | Optional _ga and _ga_* cookies. The site sets a 180-day lifetime without extending it on each page view. | Disable or re-enable Analytics in Cookie settings. Core features remain available. |
| Google consent and advertising | Google stores consent choices. Individual advertising cookies and their durations are described in the partner choices and Google's information. | Manage Google consent through Cookie settings. |
| Third-party embeds | Embedded video, chart and map providers may use their own cookies or other technologies after loading. | Automatic loading, without an embed-acceptance option in XIONIA. Browser settings and the relevant provider’s own choices apply. |
Open cookie and privacy settings. You can withdraw consent through the same entry point. Withdrawal does not affect earlier processing. Changing Google consent after measurement or ads have already started may refresh the page to apply the new choice.
Analytics uses an opt-out configuration selected by the site operator: it starts enabled without a visitor action. An explicit refusal, Global Privacy Control or Do Not Track disables it. Ad requests remain subject to the separate Google consent mechanism.
Cookie settings are available independently of AdSense publication. The local key xionia-privacy-v1 remembers notice dismissal and the analytics setting for up to 180 days. It is not a visitor identifier. The default enabled setting and pressing “OK” are not stored as affirmative visitor consent. You can change the setting at any time.
Providers and external services
The site uses hosting, weather data and map-background providers, and services that deliver files. Necessary requests for a forecast, weather image or map you choose may share your IP address and request details with the relevant provider.
YouTube, Google Charts/Sheets, Meteox, imweather, RainViewer, Windy and Snowly embeds load automatically without an acceptance or loading button from XIONIA. Heavy embeds start after the first page paint, shortly before they enter the screen. The camera loads only when visible. The live camera starts muted when viewed and pauses when it leaves the screen. Loading does not wait for an analytics or advertising choice. Providers receive your IP address and may use cookies or other technologies under their policies and own choices. XIONIA's Analytics and AdSense settings do not control these embeds. XIONIA's own forecast widgets continue to work.
The Google library that provides the consent message may load before you make a choice. This contacts Google and may allow existing Google cookies to be read while ad requests remain paused. When permitted, Google and its partners may use cookies, IP addresses and other identifiers to deliver and measure ads. See how Google uses data from partner sites, the Google Privacy Policy and Google's cookie information.
Social media and other external links open services with their own policies. Some providers also process data outside the European Economic Area; their policies describe the relevant countries and transfer mechanisms.
Data retention
The durations above concern browser storage and are separate from retention of reports within provider accounts. Hosting logs depend on provider settings and security and troubleshooting needs. Correspondence is retained according to the handling of the request and any applicable retention obligations. You can ask for clarification or deletion of data concerning you.
Your rights
Where applicable, you can request access, correction, deletion, restriction or portability of your personal data, object to processing based on legitimate interests, and withdraw consent. Use the contact details above for requests. You may also contact the appropriate supervisory authority, such as the Hellenic Data Protection Authority. XIONIA does not use its weather tools to make automated decisions with legal effects on you.
This policy is updated when the site's features or practices change. The date at the top identifies the latest version.
My XIONIA — sync
Explicitly enabling sync on a device synchronizes trips, favourites and selected preferences. This browser remembers the choice for the same account and retries while relevant pages are open. Signing out does not erase the device copy. Conflicting trip versions are kept as separate copies. To prevent deleted items returning from stale devices, the account retains deleted trip identifiers and deleted favourite coordinates. This feature does not send weather notifications.