Privacy Notice for the Tilepy API

Effective Date: 2026-05-18

This notice describes what the Tilepy API ("Service") collects and stores in the course of computing a tile-pointing schedule on your behalf. It covers only the Tilepy scheduling service. Account creation, sign-in, push notifications, alert distribution, mobile-app analytics, and the other features of the Astro-COLIBRI platform are governed by the separate Astro-COLIBRI Privacy Policy, which applies in addition to this notice.

1. Who we are

The Service is operated by the Astro-COLIBRI team. For privacy questions you can reach us at astro.tilepy@gmail.com.

2. What we collect

The Service is unauthenticated: it does not require sign-in, does not set cookies, does not run third-party trackers on the scheduling endpoints, and does not associate requests with a personal account. When you call the Service, the following data is handled:

  • the observation parameters you submit in the request (sky-localisation map URL, site coordinates, start time, field of view, zenith / moon / sun constraints, probability thresholds, etc.);
  • the computed tile schedule we return;
  • standard HTTP server logs (request paths, status codes, timing, originating IP address) used for operating, debugging, and protecting the Service from abuse.

No name, email, account identifier, or other directly identifying information is required or collected by the Service itself.

3. Where it is stored

  • Each unique combination of request parameters and the resulting schedule is stored in a managed MongoDB Atlas database, keyed by an anonymous SHA-1 hash of the inputs. Identical follow-up requests are served from this cache so we do not redo expensive computations.
  • Intermediate working files generated during a computation live in temporary disk storage and are removed once the response is sent.
  • HTTP server logs are kept on the application host for a short operational window and are then rotated out.

4. How it is used

The data described above is used to:

  • compute and return the requested schedule;
  • cache results so repeated identical requests do not consume new compute;
  • operate, debug, secure, and improve the Service.

We do not sell, rent, or share request or schedule data with third parties. Aggregate or anonymised statistics may be used in scientific publications or talks describing the Service.

5. Retention

Cached request / schedule pairs are retained indefinitely so that reproducibility and citation of past schedules remain possible. Because requests are not tied to a user identity, there is no per-user "history" to remove; targeted deletion of a specific schedule by its hash can be requested via email.

6. Your rights

To request deletion of a specific cached schedule or to ask any other question about how the Service handles data, write to astro.tilepy@gmail.com. Where applicable (in particular under GDPR), we will respond within a reasonable timeframe.

7. Third-party processors

The Service relies on the following sub-processor strictly for the purposes listed above:

  • MongoDB Atlas (schedule-cache database).

8. Changes

We may update this notice; the current version is always the one published at this URL.