I remember how excited I was when I got a new smartphone and it had a weather widget installed.
I could quickly check the current weather. Eventually, the widget expanded to provide weather forecasts.
Nice!
But over the years, the smartphone weather widget had problems.
Sometimes it worked, but most times it didn’t even display on the phone.
Argh.
Like many other folks, I turned to weather apps.
Which initially solved the issue.
But the apps got more complex. And became less concerned about the privacy of people using the apps.
Weather Apps and Privacy
Over the years, more stories were published about weather apps spying on people by collecting personal data and location history.
In 2017, users stopped using Accuweather’s app when they learned the company was sending location data to third-party companies.
Accuweather isn’t alone.
There are plenty of other weather apps invading your privacy by collecting personal data.
Not something I want.
I checked with friends to learn what weather apps they were using and discovered they were as frustrated as I was.
Since I’m doing my best to remove apps from my smartphone, I came up with another option: no weather app.
My Weather Solution: Time and Date Weather Website
With its clean interface, plenty of white space, and quick info, I’ve chosen to use the Time and Date Weather website to get my local weather.
I can quickly view:
- Current temperature
- Feels like temperature
- High and low temperatures for the day
- Wind
- Forecast for next five hours
In addition, the mobile tabbed interface allows me to get the hourly and 14-day forecast as well as past weather.
I’ve made my local weather results the home page in Firefox Focus, the privacy-focused mobile browser I use on my smartphone.
Added benefit to using a website: it doesn’t drain my smartphone battery like an app that repeatedly connects to servers throughout the day.
I’ve been a fan of the Time and Date site for years, using it to convert time zones for webinars, meetings, and meetup events.
Only recently did I learn it provides info about the night sky in your area, great for helping you discover planets and constellations.
And now I have another reason to use it, to get my local weather.
Summary
Getting the weather forecast in my area without being worried about privacy led me to using the Time and Date website instead of a weather app.
Some people may think of it as old school, but it works for me.
What are you using to get the weather and weather forecast in your area?
