SOS – Nova · Last updated 1 October 2026
SOS – Nova is designed to respect your privacy. It collects nothing about you unless you explicitly ask it to, and even then it only ever gathers anonymous counts of which features are used — never anything that identifies you, your device, or your work.
In short
- SOS – Nova stores no personal data.
- Nothing about you is collected unless you turn on sharing — it is off by default.
- When SOS – Nova checks for updates, our server adds one to an anonymous daily count of update checks — see Update checks below.
- If you turn sharing on, only anonymous usage counts are sent.
- No accounts, no advertising, no third-party tracking, and your IP address is never part of our statistics.
- The original SOS application stores no data at all — see below.
Which application this applies to
This policy describes SOS – Nova, the current cross-platform version. The original SOS application (the earlier Windows-only version) has no usage-statistics or data-collection feature of any kind — it collects, stores, and transmits no data. Everything on the rest of this page applies only to SOS – Nova.
What SOS – Nova never collects or stores
SOS – Nova does not collect, store, or transmit any information that could identify you or your device. In particular, it never gathers:
- your name, email address, or any account or contact details;
- your IP address;
- your precise location;
- the contents of your work — project files, satellite data, mission scripts, notes, file names, or anything you type;
- browsing history, or any activity outside SOS – Nova.
There are no user accounts, and SOS – Nova does not sell, rent, or share information with anyone.
Update checks
Each time SOS – Nova starts, and whenever you choose Setup ▸ Check for Updates, it asks our server whether a newer version is available. This is how updates reach you, so it happens whether or not usage sharing is on. So that the right update is offered, the request says which version you have, your operating system and its processor type.
Our server keeps only a daily total of these checks, grouped by version, operating system, processor type, and whether a newer version was offered. It tells us how many copies are up to date and how quickly an update reaches people. The totals contain no identifier, no time of day, and nothing about you or your device, so no check can be linked to another or to anyone.
Anonymous usage statistics (only if you opt in)
To help decide which features to improve and which languages to support, SOS – Nova can send a small, anonymous summary of how it is used. This is entirely optional and off unless you turn it on. When it is on, a report may contain:
- counts of how many times certain actions happened (for example, how many times the app was launched or an orbit was calculated) — from a fixed list built into the program, so nothing you type can ever be included;
- the app version, your operating system and its processor type;
- the language your system is set to and the language SOS – Nova is shown in (kept separate, so we can see which languages are worth adding);
- your device’s time zone — for example Europe/London — which gives only a rough idea of region. Your IP address is never used for this;
- a random identifier created on your device when you first turn sharing on. It is not derived from your computer, your hardware, or you, it lets repeat reports be grouped together, and you can replace it at any time.
You can see the exact contents of a report before anything is sent, using Show What Would Be Sent in the app.
Your choice and control
- You are asked once, and if you decline you are never asked again.
- You can turn sharing on or off at any time under Setup ▸ Usage Statistics in SOS – Nova.
- Turning sharing off immediately deletes the collected counts and the random identifier from your device.
- You can issue a new random identifier at any time, breaking the link to anything sent before.
How the information is handled
When sharing is on, a report is sent securely (over HTTPS) at most once a week, plus once after an update. Reports are stored only as the anonymous counts described above. Your IP address is not stored with them, no cookies are used, and no third-party or advertising services are involved. The data is never used to identify or track an individual.
Like any website, the servers that deliver our pages and updates — our web host and its content delivery network — see the IP address of each connection, and may keep it for a short time in their standard server logs, for security and to keep the service running. We don’t use those logs to identify or track anyone, and neither the update-check totals nor the usage reports ever include your IP address.
How long it is kept
Usage-statistics reports are kept for up to twelve months and then deleted. The daily update-check totals describe no one, so they are kept for as long as they are useful.
Children and schools
SOS – Nova is used in education. Because it collects no personal data and sharing is off by default, no personal information about students is gathered. Where an institution prefers, sharing can simply be left off.
Changes to this policy
If what SOS – Nova collects ever changes, this page and the in-app explanation will be updated, and the date at the top will change.
Contact
If you have any questions about privacy in SOS – Nova, you can reach us at alan@brock-house.com.