Connecting community while protecting privacy
Foggy isn’t a weather app – it’s a communal experience that enhances the unique relationship between the Bay Area’s people and the fog that inevitably flows in and out of our daily lives. It’s tough to predict exactly where and when fog will manifest, but it never fails to drastically change how the local environment feels when it rolls in.
From the start, we have been designing Foggy with intention, developing creative solutions that enable community participation without collecting data on our members. Privacy is a principle for us, not a settings menu or a policy line. As such, we continually return to the phrase, “Show the fog, not the person."
Foggy combines satellite imagery with anonymous fog reports submitted by our members to create a novel view of real-time atmospheric conditions across the Bay Area. As satellite animations of clouds pass over a map dotted with recent fog reports, Foggy provides a sense of the fog’s behavior in local microclimates not previously possible. In seconds, you can easily add your own report of the fog conditions you’re currently experiencing to a mosaic that neighbors across the Bay Area can use to plan their day. Where is it foggy? Where is it hazy? Where is it burning off?
When satellite images leave you with questions (Am I looking at clouds or fog?), reports from the community add clarity. Together, the Foggy community unlocks a new dimension of fog awareness, without compromising on personal privacy. Because we show the fog, not the people.
See the fog from above and share your local fog conditions by submitting a community report in Foggy.
What makes Foggy's privacy approach different:
You don't need an account to use Foggy. Ever. The app works anonymously from the first open.
You don’t even have to share your location, though the experience gets better if you do.
We don't sell your data. Not to advertisers, not to data brokers, not to anyone.
We don't have advertising partners. There are no third parties paying to reach our users.
You pay us directly for the app. That's the business model. Your data isn't part of it.
Fog reports are anonymized before anyone else sees them — your exact location and identity never exist together in any public form.
What the community sees is always collective. Never individual.
As the maxim goes, “If you’re not paying for the product, you are the product.” That’s why we charge a one-time fee of $5.99 to download Foggy. This makes it possible to ensure your relationship with the fog is fully your own.
Foggy’s only revenue comes from app purchases directly. Our community are customers, not inventory. And we hope you feel good about supporting a small team of real people building a service for you.
Fog is useful, it’s beautiful, it’s ephemeral and it’s evolving. And Foggy is too! Foggy is just getting started, and we’re proudly sustained by, and building for, our community.
If you have any ideas, questions or just want to say hello, please reach out to us at hello@foggysf.app - we’d love to hear from you.
