Privacy Policy for PlaceMe Guardian
Last updated: August 26, 2025
Thank you for using PlaceMe Guardian ("the App"). Your privacy is important. This policy explains what information the App accesses, how it's used and shared, and your choices.
1. Information We Collect (Data Accessed by the App)
To provide its features, the App accesses the following types of data:
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Precise Location:
- Permissions: ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION, ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION, ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION
- Why Collected: This is the core function of the app. It allows us to determine your exact geographical location for display, sharing (at your command), and for the optional background tracking feature. Background access is required for the tracking service to work when the app isn't open.
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SMS (Send Only): Optional Remote Request Feature
- Permission: SEND_SMS
- Why Collected: This permission is required **only** for the "Remote Location Requests" feature, which is **off by default**. This feature allows trusted contacts that you have pre-authorized to request your current location.
- When an authorized contact makes a request from a secure web link (a "Magic Link"), our server sends a silent push notification to your device.
- The App receives this notification and uses the SEND_SMS permission to automatically reply to that authorized contact with an SMS containing your current location and a map link.
- Important Note: The App **no longer uses the `RECEIVE_SMS` permission**. It cannot and does not read any of your incoming SMS messages for any purpose.
- Your Control: This feature is entirely optional. You must manually enable it in the settings and explicitly authorize each contact who is allowed to use it.
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Device Information for Push Notifications: Optional Remote Request Feature
- Data Collected: Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) Token.
- Why Collected: To enable the "Remote Location Requests" feature, the app generates a unique, anonymous identifier for your app installation called an FCM token. This token is sent to our server and associated with your account. It is used solely by our server to send silent push notifications to your specific device to trigger a location request. This token does not give us access to any personal information on your device.
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Service Reliability Permissions (for optional tracking):
- Permissions: FOREGROUND_SERVICE, FOREGROUND_SERVICE_LOCATION, WAKE_LOCK, REQUEST_IGNORE_BATTERY_OPTIMIZATIONS, POST_NOTIFICATIONS
- Why Collected: These permissions work together to ensure the optional Location Tracking feature is reliable and transparent.
- FOREGROUND_SERVICE is required by Android for any app that needs to perform long-running tasks in the background, like periodically checking your location.
- This service displays a **persistent notification** (requiring POST_NOTIFICATIONS) to ensure you are always aware that the app is actively tracking your location in the background.
- WAKE_LOCK allows the app to briefly wake the device's CPU to get a location fix and send the data, ensuring updates are not missed even if the phone is idle.
- REQUEST_IGNORE_BATTERY_OPTIMIZATIONS allows the app to ask for an exemption from aggressive battery-saving modes that could otherwise shut down the tracking service unexpectedly.
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Contacts Information (via Picker):
- Permission: READ_CONTACTS
- Why Collected: To allow you to easily select a recipient for sharing your location via SMS or to authorize them for the Remote Request feature, without manually typing their number.
- How Used: The App receives the name and phone number of the **single contact you select** to pre-fill the recipient field. The App does **not** upload, store, or access your entire contact list.
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Network State:
- Permissions: ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE, INTERNET
- Why Collected: To check for internet connectivity and to communicate with web services. This is vital for fetching map data, converting coordinates to street addresses, and for sending data to the web service if you enable tracking.
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Activity Recognition:
- Permission: ACTIVITY_RECOGNITION
- Why Collected: To detect your physical activity (e.g., walking, driving). This allows the optional tracking feature to intelligently adjust how often it checks your location, saving battery life.
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Vibration Control:
- Permission: VIBRATE
- Why Collected: To provide haptic feedback (a short vibration) to confirm that an action, like sending a location, was successful.
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External Storage Write (Legacy):
- Permission: WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE (with `android:maxSdkVersion="28"`)
- Why Collected: This is used for diagnostic logging on older Android versions to help debug issues. It is not needed on modern Android versions for this purpose.
Data Not Collected: The App does **not** collect personal information like your name or email unless you explicitly link it to a web account. It does not read your SMS messages or call logs.
2. How We Share Information
Sharing only occurs for core app functionality when initiated by you, or as part of the enabled tracking service:
- With Your Trusted Contacts: When you share your location via SMS or WhatsApp, the App prepares the message and hands it off to your default messaging application. **You must confirm and send the message yourself.** The only exception is the optional "Remote Location Requests" feature, where the app will automatically send a reply on your behalf to an authorized contact after receiving a valid, secure request from our server.
- With the Web Service (if enabled): If you enable Location Tracking, your location data and FCM token are sent securely via HTTPS to our servers so they can be viewed and used by people you authorize on the web portal.
- With Geocoding Services: To get street addresses, the App sends only geographic coordinates (latitude and longitude) to the Nominatim (OpenStreetMap) service.
Your data is **never** shared with third-party advertisers.
3. Data Storage
- The App stores your personal settings (such as whether tracking is enabled) in its private, local storage on your device.
- To prevent data loss when you are offline, the App also temporarily stores a queue of unsent locations on your device. This data is securely sent to our servers and removed from the local queue as soon as your internet connection is restored.
- If you use the web tracking feature, your successfully uploaded location history and FCM token are stored securely on our servers.
4. Data Security
- Communication between the app and our servers is secured using HTTPS/SSL encryption.
- We use standard security practices, but no method is 100% secure.
5. Data Deletion
You have the right to request the deletion of your data at any time. We provide multiple ways for you to do this:
- Local App Data: Uninstalling the app from your device will remove all data stored locally by the app.
- Web Service Data (Logged-in Users): If you can log into your account on our web portal, you can delete your location history or your entire account directly from your account settings page. This action is irreversible.
- Web Service Data (If You Cannot Log In): If you are unable to access your account, you can request the deletion of your account and associated data by using our secure web form. This form allows us to verify your request and process it manually.
6. User Controls
- You control all permissions through your Android device's system settings. Revoking permissions will limit app functionality.
- You can enable or disable the optional Location Tracking and the optional Remote Location Request features at any time within the app's settings.
7. Children's Privacy
The App is not intended for children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from them.
8. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this policy occasionally. We will notify you of any significant changes by updating the "Last updated" date at the top of this policy.
9. Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us: