LocShare Privacy Policy

Last updated: July 16, 2026

This Privacy Policy describes how LocShare ("we," "us," or "the app") collects, uses, and shares information when you use the LocShare mobile application.

Information We Collect

Phone number. We use your phone number to create your account and verify your identity via SMS (through Firebase Authentication). Your phone number is also used, in hashed form, to match you with other LocShare users who have your number saved as a contact.

Location data. LocShare's core purpose is location sharing. With your permission, we collect your device's location in the background so it can be shared with the contacts you choose, shown during a "Go Live" broadcast, and used to power optional features (Been Here, Territory, Scavenger) that reflect places you've spent time at. You can control background location access in your device settings; without it, your location only updates while the app is open.

Device contacts. With your permission, we read your device's contacts to find which of them are also LocShare users, so you can choose who to share your location with and message. We do not upload your full contact list — only enough information to match existing users.

Messages. If you use LocShare's messaging feature, we store the text of messages you send so they can be delivered to and read by the people you're messaging.

Profile information. This includes your display name, chosen avatar, ring color, and optional away-message status text.

Device information for push notifications. If you enable notifications, we store a device token used to deliver them.

How We Use Information

We use the information above to:

• Operate the core location-sharing, messaging, and "Go Live" broadcast features
• Match you with contacts who already use LocShare
• Power optional engagement features (Been Here, Territory, Scavenger), each of which requires its own separate, off-by-default opt-in before anything is shared with your contacts
• Deliver push notifications for new messages
• Classify places you've visited (via Google Places) so features like Been Here and Territory can recognize real, public locations rather than exposing raw coordinates — this specifically excludes private addresses and residential locations

How Information Is Shared

With your contacts, only when you choose to share. LocShare does not share your location, visit history, or messages with anyone by default. Sharing always requires an explicit, granular action on your part — granting a specific contact ongoing location access, starting a "Go Live" broadcast to a chosen audience, or opting in separately to Been Here or Territory visibility.

With service providers. We use Google Firebase (authentication, database, cloud functions, push notification delivery) and Google Maps/Places (map display and place classification) to operate the app. These providers process data on our behalf and are bound by their own data processing terms.

We do not sell your data, and we do not share it with advertisers. LocShare does not currently show ads.

Data Retention and Deletion

You can delete your account at any time from within the app. This permanently removes your profile, location history, and sharing permissions. Two limitations worth being upfront about:

• Messages you've sent as part of a conversation with another person aren't deleted from their copy of the conversation, since doing so would also erase the other participant's message history.
• If you had previously granted someone else visibility into your data, and they haven't signed out, that grant lives under their account and isn't retroactively revoked by deleting yours — though since your account no longer exists, there's nothing further for it to expose.

Children's Privacy

LocShare is not intended for children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect information from children under 13.

Security

We rely on Firebase's security infrastructure and rule-based access controls to restrict who can read or write your data. No method of electronic storage or transmission is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Your Choices

• You can revoke location sharing with any individual contact at any time.
• You can turn on Ghost Mode to hide your location from everyone, regardless of any sharing grants already in place.
• You can opt out of (or never opt into) Been Here, Territory, and any other feature that shares data beyond direct location sharing.
• You can delete your account and associated data at any time.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy as the app changes. We'll update the "Last updated" date above when we do.

Contact Us

Questions about this policy or your data can be sent to: info@loc-share.com