Terms of service

About these terms

These terms apply to your use of the OpenBeacon website and hosted service operated by LSP SOFTWARE LTD in the United Kingdom. By using them, you agree to these terms.

Using OpenBeacon responsibly

OpenBeacon is intended for people to share their location with their chosen group. Do not use it to stalk, harass, threaten or secretly track anyone, or for any other unlawful purpose. Respect each person’s privacy and choices about sharing their location. If a child uses the service, a parent or guardian should consider the child’s privacy and safety and comply with applicable law.

Keep your account and devices secure, use accurate account information, and tell us if you believe your account has been compromised.

Service abuse

Do not interfere with or overload the service, access accounts or data without permission, bypass security protections, distribute malicious software, or use automated requests to disrupt the service or evade restrictions. Do not help others do these things.

Location sharing and privacy

Location sharing depends on device permissions, connectivity and other settings. Locations may be delayed, inaccurate or unavailable. OpenBeacon is not an emergency service and should not be relied on as the sole means of finding someone or ensuring their safety. In an emergency, contact the appropriate emergency services.

Your device encrypts tracking data before sending it to the backend, but encryption has limitations. Group members with the relevant keys can read and retain shared information; removing a member cannot erase copies or keys they already have. Losing device keys can make encrypted history inaccessible, and password reset does not recover them. Profile and group images are not end-to-end encrypted. Our privacy policy explains these limits, the information the hosted backend can see, and how to request deletion.

The hosted backend is designed to store location data encrypted without the keys needed to decrypt it. We cannot provide decrypted location information from that data in response to requests. The backend can see metadata, and we may have to disclose information we hold where required by law. See our privacy policy for the limitations of encryption and the information we process.

Service availability and accounts

The service may change or be interrupted. During a beta, features may be incomplete and bugs may cause loss of access or data. We may change, suspend or end the service, close accounts and delete data for any reason, subject to applicable law and your statutory rights. We will give reasonable notice where required by law; serious abuse, security risks or legal obligations may require immediate action.

You may stop using the service at any time. To request account or data deletion, use our contact page. The privacy policy describes how we handle deletion and its limits.

Self-hosting and the software licence

A self-hosted backend is operated by its operator, who is responsible for its configuration, security and data practices. These terms do not make LSP Software responsible for a backend operated by someone else. The OpenBeacon source code is licensed under AGPL-3.0 with a Commons Clause restriction. The licence permits personal, family and internal organisational self-hosting subject to its conditions, and restricts selling the software or services based substantially on it. Read the full licence for its terms. These service terms do not replace or change that licence. Third-party services, including Google Play, have their own terms.

Our responsibility

We cannot promise uninterrupted or error-free operation. Nothing in these terms excludes or limits liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limits your statutory rights.

Changes and contact

We may update these terms as the service or applicable law changes. We will publish the revised terms and update the date above. For material changes, we will provide reasonable notice where practical. If you do not agree to revised terms, you may stop using the service and request deletion of your account. Use our contact page with questions about these terms.