Octopus vs MyObservatory (我的天文台) Usage & Stats

The “MyObservatory” is a highly popular weather mobile app providing personalized weather services. The app provides current weather including temperature, relative humidity, rainfall, wind direction and speed, as well as weather photograph collected from nearby weather stations at user's location, specified location, or selected weather stations. Weather photos and rainfall data will be updated at 5-minute and 15-minute intervals respectively. Other data will be updated in 10-minute interval and the update time will be displayed at the bottom of the front page. Points to note: 1. In the "My Location Settings", users can opt for using the automatic location service provided by the smartphone, or designating "My Location" on the map themselves. This location will be displayed on the main page and in "My Weather Report". If your location cannot be found, "My Location" will show the last location which was successfully found or "Hong Kong Observatory". The meteorological data displayed on "My Location" or the station you added is provided by meteorological stations nearby, and is not necessarily from a station in the same region. In case meteorological data is not available from nearby stations, data from other meteorological stations at headquarter of the Observatory, King's Park, and Star Ferry will be used instead. If this is the case, the symbol ▲ will appear to the left of the updated time. 2. The notification service of the mobile app including weather warnings, Location Specific Heavy Rain Information, Location-based Rain and Lightning Forecast, etc. is provided using the Google Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM). The Observatory cannot guarantee the successful or timely reception of push notifications via the mobile app. Users should not rely on the mobile app as the only means for reception of important weather information. Depending on factors such as network usage and quality of connection of user's mobile phone, it may take 5 to 20 minutes or even longer for the app to receive the notification after it is issued by the Hong Kong Observatory. 3. Although the “MyObservatory” is a free app, user will be charged by their mobile network service provider on the use of data service. These charges can become very expensive on roaming. Please ensure that the option of “Data Roaming” have been disabled in the settings of your mobile devices. 4. Owing to the difference in topography and altitude between the weather station and user's location, and also the error in the estimated position given by the mobile device, users should note that weather information displayed on the app may be different from actual conditions in using the "MyObservatory". 5. The clock on the main page of the app is synchronized automatically to the Observatory's Internet Time Server, and may not be the same as the time displayed on the smartphone. 6. Use of Location-based Rain and Lightning Forecast notification, and Location-specific Heavy Rain notification will increase the battery usage and data download slightly. Users who wish to save battery usage of the app may enable the notification function in rainy days and before outdoor activities, and disable the function in sunny days and after finishing the outdoor activities. 7. To allow user to get hold to important weather information such as weather warning, Special Weather Tips, location-based rain and lightning forecast, etc., the “MyObservatory” would automatically notify users the above information according to user’s settings. 8. The app provides link for users to browse the Observatory's Facebook Page. Users may choose to log in his/her own Facebook account. More features of Facebook can be used after logging in. Please be reminded to pay attention to the notes of the Facebook Page, and the privacy policies of the Facebook platform.