PulseTrackr Privacy Policy

1. Overview

PulseTrackr is a community safety app that helps users see nearby incident reports, submit incident reports, add community verification signals, and activate SOS alerts to trusted contacts.

The app uses a privacy-focused reporting model: public incident locations can be approximate, exact reporter location is treated as private, and trusted-contact SOS sharing only starts after the user activates SOS.

2. Information We Handle

PulseTrackr may handle the following information when you use related features:

• Incident report details, such as title, description, category, severity, status, neighborhood, and timestamp
• Location information, including approximate public report coordinates and private reporter coordinates
• Optional evidence selected or recorded by the user, such as a photo or voice note
• Community verification signals, such as seen, not seen, unsafe, road blocked, or cleared
• Trusted contact details, such as display name, relationship label, phone number, email address, and notification channels
• SOS data, such as last known location, recent route points, direction of travel, and activation or resolution timestamps
• Device metadata needed for SOS support, such as app version, build number, device model, iOS version, battery state, and network status
• Firebase anonymous authentication identifiers used to protect backend writes and apply abuse-prevention limits

3. How Information Is Used

4. Location Data

PulseTrackr uses location to show nearby reports, calculate watch-area distance, submit incident reports, and support SOS location sharing.

• The app requests When In Use location access.
• Users can choose to hide exact report location. In that mode, public incident pins are offset to a nearby area.
• Exact reporter location may be sent to the private backend record when submitting a report.
• During SOS, exact location and recent route points are shared only after the user activates SOS.
• Location access can be changed at any time in iOS Settings.

5. Reports and Evidence

Incident reports are user-generated content. A public version of a report can appear in the community feed. Private report records and evidence are protected by backend rules and server-side functions.

• Photo evidence is optional and uses the photo selected by the user.
• Voice evidence is optional and uses the microphone only when the user records a voice note.
• Evidence uploads are limited to image or audio files and are scoped to the anonymous reporter identifier.
• The public feed is read-only to clients. Report creation and community signals go through Firebase Cloud Functions.

6. SOS and Trusted Contacts

PulseTrackr lets users save trusted contacts for SOS alerts. These contacts should be people who understand they may receive location alerts from the user.

PulseTrackr does not sell, rent, or share mobile numbers or SMS opt-in information with third parties for marketing or promotional purposes. Message frequency varies and only occurs when a PulseTrackr user activates SOS. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out.

• Trusted contacts are stored locally in the device Keychain.
• When SOS is activated, selected contact details may be sent to Firebase Cloud Functions so SMS, phone, or email alerts can be delivered through configured providers.
• Recent route data is limited by the SOS privacy policy before upload.
• PulseTrackr does not dispatch public emergency services. Users should call local emergency services directly in an emergency.

7. Third-Party Services

PulseTrackr uses service providers to operate map, reporting, and SOS features:

• Firebase: anonymous authentication, Cloud Firestore, Cloud Functions, Firebase Storage, and App Check.
• Mapbox: map display when the Mapbox SDK is available in the app build.
• Twilio: optional SOS trusted-contact SMS, phone, or email delivery when configured.
• Apple frameworks: location, contacts import, photo selection, microphone access, and device Keychain storage.

8. Privacy Choices

• Turn location access on or off in iOS Settings.
• Use the in-app privacy toggle to hide exact public report location.
• Use approximate location at the iOS level if you do not want to share precise location with the app.
• Do not add optional photo or voice evidence unless you want it included with a report.
• Add, edit, deactivate, or delete trusted contacts from the SOS contacts screen.
• Contact support to request help with privacy questions or data deletion.

9. Data Retention

Local settings and saved trusted contacts remain on the device until the user changes them, deletes them, or removes the app.

Private incident reports, SOS sessions, SOS location updates, notification attempts, rate-limit records, and audit records are designed with backend retention metadata. Current backend retention for those private records is 30 days.

Public incident feed records may remain available while they are useful for community safety, moderation, and abuse prevention.

10. Children

PulseTrackr is not directed to children under 13. Because the app involves location, incident reporting, and safety-related content, it is intended for users who can make informed privacy and safety decisions.

11. Contact

For privacy or support questions about PulseTrackr, contact [email protected]. We aim to respond within 2 business days.