When a weather extension asks for your location, most people either click "Allow" without thinking or "Deny" because they're worried about privacy. Neither response is necessarily right.

Here's what actually happens when you share (or don't share) location with a weather extension.

What "Allow Location" Actually Does

Browser geolocation works like this:

  1. The browser (not the extension) collects your location from GPS, WiFi networks, or IP address
  2. The browser asks for your permission
  3. If you allow it, the extension gets coordinates (latitude/longitude)
  4. The extension sends those coordinates to a weather API
  5. The API returns weather data
  6. The extension displays the weather

The extension itself doesn't store your location permanently. It doesn't track you across sites. It uses the location to make one API call, get weather data, and display it.

What the Weather API Gets

When Weather & Clock Dashboard makes an API call, the weather API receives:

  • Your latitude and longitude
  • Nothing else from the extension itself

The weather API (a service that provides weather data) now has a request from your IP address with your coordinates. This is a standard API call. The weather API's privacy policy governs what they do with that data.

For privacy-conscious users, the relevant question isn't "did I share with the extension" but "which weather API is this extension using and what do they do with coordinates?"

Alternative: Type Your City Name

Both for privacy and for convenience, Weather & Clock Dashboard lets you type a city name instead of sharing geolocation.

When you type "Chicago," the extension does:

  1. Looks up coordinates for Chicago
  2. Makes the same API call with Chicago's coordinates

Your actual location is never involved. The weather API gets a request from your IP with Chicago's coordinates — which aren't your location.

This approach is good for:

  • Users who want weather for a specific city regardless of their physical location
  • Privacy-conscious users who'd rather not share precise coordinates
  • People who travel frequently and want their home city's weather

The Extension's Own Data Handling

Weather & Clock Dashboard (MIT open source) doesn't:

  • Create an account
  • Store data on a server
  • Track usage analytics
  • Share data with third parties

Settings are stored in browser local storage. That's it.

What "Deny" Actually Means

If you deny location access, the extension falls back to letting you type a city. You don't lose the extension's core functionality — you just configure it differently.

Summary

The practical answer: if you care about privacy, type your city name instead of allowing location. You get the same weather with zero location sharing from your browser. If you're fine with standard geolocation (which is how every weather app works), Allow works fine.

The extension is available at addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/weather-clock-dashboard/.