Privacy policy

About this policy

LSP SOFTWARE LTD operates the OpenBeacon hosted service from the United Kingdom and is responsible for the personal information described in this policy. This policy covers the hosted service and the OpenBeacon website.

If you use a self-hosted backend, its operator is responsible for that deployment and its data practices. Contact that operator about information held on their service. Google and other services you choose to use have their own privacy notices.

Information we use

Account information: your name, email address, password or Google sign-in details, timezone and email settings.

Sign-ins: the IP address and user agent of each sign-in, and which of your devices it belongs to.

Devices: for each phone or tablet that uses your account, the name and icon you choose for it (by default its model), its model and platform, when it was added, when and how it was set up, when it was removed, and when it was last active and last shared a location. Device names and icons are stored unencrypted and shown to the members of your groups.

Device setup records: when you add a device to your account, a record of the request, which of your devices approved it and when, and an encrypted copy of the keys to your location history.

Device checks: one-time values, stored in hashed form, that a device answers to confirm it belongs to your account.

Account keys and personal settings: the keys that protect your location history, and your nicknames for other members and your group colours. Private keys, nicknames and colours are encrypted on your device before they are sent.

Groups: group names, members, roles and invitations.

Location data: with your permission, the app collects your location, speed and battery status, including in the background, to share with your groups. Your phone encrypts this data before it is sent, and we cannot read it. We store it encrypted, along with information about when and by whom it was sent.

Images: profile and group images are not encrypted. Anyone with an image's link may be able to view it.

Feedback: messages you send from the app, the app and system versions it includes, and your email address if you choose to add it. Feedback comes to us even if you use a self-hosted backend.

Technical information: we use IP addresses to protect the service from abuse.

We email you codes to sign up, verify your address and reset your password or recovery phrase, as well as account notices and security alerts. You can turn off some alerts in the app.

We use device information, sign-ins, device setup records and device checks to provide the service under our agreement with you: to tell your devices apart, to let you sign out or remove a single device, to set up a new device with your location history, and to name the device in security emails. We also use them to keep accounts secure, which is in our legitimate interests.

We use this information to provide and maintain the service, enable location sharing, secure accounts, respond to requests and improve the service. We process information needed to provide the service under our agreement with you, and use information for security, support and improvement where it is in our legitimate interests, taking your rights into account.

Service providers

We host the service with Hetzner in Helsinki, Finland. Cloudflare carries traffic to the service and stores map data. Backblaze stores profile and group images. Resend sends our emails from its Ireland region. Google Play distributes the app, and Google processes information if you use Google sign-in. These providers process information as needed to deliver their services.

Some providers may process data outside the UK. Contact us for details about the applicable locations and safeguards for international transfers.

Retention and deletion

We keep account information until your account is deleted. Location data is deleted 60 days after we receive it, or sooner if the member who shared it leaves the group, the group is deleted or their account is deleted. Feedback is deleted 30 days after we receive it. Sign-in codes expire after a short time. Single-use group invitation codes are deleted a day after they expire. Group invitations sent to your email address are deleted when you accept or decline them, after 30 days, or if the person who sent them leaves the group. Profile and group images are deleted when they are replaced, or when the account or group is deleted, and images that were uploaded but never used are deleted within about a day. Notices that someone joined your group are deleted after 30 days, or when you leave the group.

Device information is kept until your account is deleted, except that a device that is never set up is deleted with its sign-ins 7 days after it first signed in, and a device removed before it was set up is deleted 7 days after it was removed. A device that was set up and is later removed is kept, marked as removed, until your account is deleted, so we can recognise it and keep it signed out, and because earlier encrypted group data refers to it.

Sign-ins are kept until you sign out, the device is removed, your account is deleted or the sign-in expires. Expired sign-ins are deleted shortly after they expire. Device setup records are deleted a day after the request expires (requests last 10 minutes), or sooner if the new device is removed or your account is deleted. Device checks expire after 5 minutes and are deleted within an hour after that. Account keys and personal settings are kept until your account is deleted, unless you replace them earlier. We delete data on a regular schedule, so deletion can take a little longer than the times given here.

You can delete your account in the app. For other deletion requests, use our contact page. We may need to verify your identity.

We assess deletion requests under applicable law and may need to retain some information, for example to comply with a legal obligation. We cannot delete copies held by other group members. Data in backups may remain until those backups are replaced or deleted.

Your rights

Depending on the circumstances, you may have rights to access, correct, erase, restrict or receive a copy of your personal information, or to object to its use. You can use our contact page to exercise your rights. Where processing relies on consent, you can withdraw it at any time without affecting earlier processing.

You have the right to object to processing based on our legitimate interests. You can also complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk or to your relevant data protection authority.

Changes and contact

We may update this policy as the service changes. We will publish the updated policy here and update the date above. For privacy or support questions, use our contact page.