Privacy Policy
Homeward is a family location app built on one idea: your location is yours. We designed it to share as little as possible, as rarely as possible, and only with the people you choose. This policy explains, in plain language, what we collect and why.
1. What we collect
| Data | Why | When |
|---|---|---|
| Phone number | To verify it is really you, and to let family invite you | At sign-up |
| Name | So your family recognises you in the app | At sign-up / when joining |
| Location (approximate & precise) | To show your live location to your family and detect arrival | Only during an active trip, an approved share window, or an SOS |
| Journey history | A private log of completed trips (destination, start/end time) — readable only by you, never by a family admin | When a trip ends |
| Photos (optional) | A profile picture so your family recognise you. Chosen with the Android photo picker, so we never gain access to your wider photo library | Only if you add one |
| Push token | To deliver share requests, arrival notices and SOS alerts | While signed in |
We do not collect contacts, browsing history, advertising identifiers, biometrics, or a continuous location history. A profile photo is collected only if you choose to add one, is visible only inside your family circle, and can be removed at any time. We keep only your most recent point while a trip or share window is open — never a continuous trail of your movements.
2. When we access your location
Location is accessed in exactly three situations, each one you control:
- Trips — you tap "Start a trip". Sharing runs until you arrive or stop it, then ends.
- Ask-to-share — a family admin requests your location and you approve a time box (15 minutes, 1 hour, or until arrival). It ends automatically.
- SOS — you tap SOS. Your live location goes to your family's admins.
At all other times Homeward runs no background location service. Whenever location is active, a persistent notification tells you so.
3. How your data is stored
- Data is held in Google Firebase (Firestore), under security rules that let only members of your family read your family's data, and prevent anyone writing location on your behalf.
- Sign-in uses Firebase Phone Authentication. We never see or store your verification codes.
- Data is encrypted in transit (TLS) and at rest by Google Cloud.
4. Who we share data with
- Your own family members, according to the rules above. That is the purpose of the app.
- An SMS gateway — used only to deliver an SOS message when data is unavailable. Only your name, a maps link and the recipient's number are processed, solely to send that message.
- No advertisers, data brokers or analytics resellers. We do not sell data.
- We may disclose data if legally compelled, and will tell you where lawfully permitted.
5. Retention and deletion
Trip location is overwritten by your next update and cleared when the trip ends.
You can delete your account and all associated data at any time from Settings → Delete my account & data. This permanently removes your profile, membership and location data, and deletes your sign-in record. If you are the family admin, the whole family circle is removed. You can also request deletion by email at apps.rhythmthemes@gmail.com.
6. Children
Homeward offers an "always on" sharing mode intended only for young children, which requires a guardian to capture explicit consent during setup. Other than where a guardian sets up a child's device, Homeward is not directed to children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect their data.
7. Your rights
Depending on where you live (for example GDPR in the EEA and UK, or CCPA in California) you have rights to access, correct, delete and port your data, and to object to processing. Use the in-app deletion flow or contact us.
8. Changes
We will update the date above and, for material changes, notify you in the app.
9. Contact
apps.rhythmthemes@gmail.com
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