Privacy Policy

Last updated: March 17, 2026

GuardSafely ("we," "us," or "our") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and what choices you have. We built GuardSafely with a zero-knowledge architecture because we believe family safety should not require giving up your privacy.

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Information You Provide

• Account information: Email address and display name (required for account creation and communication). We do not collect your real name, phone number, home address, or date of birth.
• Family profile data: Child names and avatars as entered by the parent. These are stored locally on your device and synced to our servers only in encrypted form.
• Community Access program selection: If you apply for Community Access, we store which assistance program category you selected (e.g., "SNAP," "Medicaid"). We do not collect documentation, case numbers, or verification information.

1.2 Information Collected Automatically

• Encrypted location data: GPS coordinates, speed, and battery level are encrypted on the child's device using AES-256-GCM before transmission. Our servers receive and store only encrypted ciphertext. We cannot decrypt this data.
• Encrypted communications: Voice messages, photo check-ins, and geofence configurations are encrypted on-device before transmission.
• Device information: Device type, operating system version, and app version (for compatibility and troubleshooting only).
• Push notification tokens: Firebase Cloud Messaging tokens required to deliver push notifications to your device.

1.3 Information We Do NOT Collect

• Plaintext (unencrypted) location data
• Browsing history, contacts, call logs, text messages, or app usage
• Biometric data (fingerprints, face scans)
• Advertising identifiers or tracking cookies
• Social media profiles or connections
• Credit card numbers (handled entirely by Stripe)

2. How We Use Your Information

We use your information solely to:

• Provide, operate, and maintain the Service
• Authenticate your account and manage subscriptions
• Deliver push notifications for alerts (zone breaches, SOS, battery warnings)
• Process payments through Stripe
• Communicate with you about your account (password resets, billing, critical security notices)
• Diagnose technical issues and improve the Service

We do not sell, rent, trade, or share your personal data with third parties for advertising, marketing, data brokerage, or any commercial purpose. This is a core principle of GuardSafely and the reason we exist.

3. End-to-End Encryption (E2EE)

GuardSafely implements true end-to-end encryption using the following architecture:

• Algorithm: AES-256-GCM (authenticated encryption)
• Key derivation: PBKDF2 with a per-family random salt (100,000 iterations, SHA-256)
• Key rotation: Encryption keys rotate automatically every 24 hours
• Key storage: Family secret stored in platform secure storage (Android Keystore); never transmitted to our servers
• Key exchange: Family secret transferred between devices during pairing via encrypted PIN-based exchange
• Zero knowledge: Our servers store only encrypted ciphertext. We do not have access to encryption keys and cannot decrypt your data, even under compulsion

4. Third-Party Services

We use a limited number of third-party services, each selected for their privacy practices:

Service	Purpose	Data Shared
Stripe	Payment processing	Email, payment method (handled by Stripe directly)
Firebase Cloud Messaging	Push notifications	Device token, notification content (alert type only, no location data)
OpenStreetMap / CartoDB	Map tiles	Map tile requests (IP address visible to tile servers)

We do not use Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, advertising SDKs, or any other tracking or analytics services.

5. Data Retention

• Encrypted location data: Retained for up to 30 days, then automatically deleted from our servers. The most recent 500 location records per child are retained.
• Account information: Retained while your account is active.
• Payment records: Retained by Stripe in accordance with their data retention policy and applicable financial regulations.
• Upon account deletion: All data associated with your account (profiles, encrypted locations, zones, spaces, voice messages, notifications) is permanently and irrecoverably deleted from our servers immediately. Stripe payment history is retained by Stripe per their policies.

6. Your Rights

Regardless of where you live, you have the following rights:

• Access: You can view all data associated with your account through the app.
• Export: You can export your zone and space templates as JSON through account settings.
• Correction: You can update your profile information at any time.
• Deletion: You can delete your account and all associated data instantly through the app settings (Settings → Danger Zone → Delete Account). No waiting period. No hoops to jump through.
• Portability: You can request a copy of your data by contacting us.
• Objection: You can object to processing by deleting your account.

For EU/EEA Residents (GDPR)

Our legal basis for processing your data is contract performance (providing the Service you signed up for). You have additional rights under the GDPR including the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority. For GDPR requests, contact hello@guardsafely.com.

For California Residents (CCPA/CPRA)

We do not sell your personal information. We do not share your personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. You have the right to know what personal information we collect, the right to delete it, and the right to non-discrimination for exercising your rights. To exercise these rights, contact hello@guardsafely.com.

7. Children's Privacy (COPPA Compliance)

GuardSafely is designed to be used by parents and guardians to monitor their minor children. Child device accounts are created and managed exclusively by the parent/guardian account holder.

• We do not collect personal information directly from children.
• Child profiles (name, avatar) are created by the parent and stored primarily on the parent's device.
• Location data from child devices is encrypted on the child's device before transmission. We cannot read or access this data.
• Parents can delete their child's data at any time by removing the child from their account or deleting their account entirely.

If you believe we have inadvertently collected personal information from a child without parental consent, please contact us immediately at hello@guardsafely.com and we will delete it.

8. Security Measures

We implement the following security measures:

• End-to-end encryption (AES-256-GCM) for all sensitive data
• TLS 1.3 for all data in transit
• PBKDF2 key derivation with per-family random salts
• Automatic 24-hour key rotation
• Secure key storage using platform keystores (Android Keystore)
• Key-data separation (encryption keys and encrypted data stored separately)
• Password hashing with bcrypt
• HTTPS enforced on all endpoints via Caddy reverse proxy with automatic certificate renewal

9. Data Breach Notification

In the unlikely event of a data breach that affects your personal information, we will notify affected users via email within 72 hours of discovering the breach, in compliance with GDPR and applicable state breach notification laws. Due to our end-to-end encryption architecture, a server breach would not expose your location data, voice messages, photos, or geofence configurations, as these are stored only as encrypted ciphertext that we cannot decrypt.

10. International Data Transfers

Our servers are located in the United States (Boston, MA). If you access the Service from outside the United States, your account information (email, display name) will be transferred to and processed in the United States. Your location and communication data is encrypted on your device before transfer and remains encrypted on our servers, providing privacy protection regardless of server location.

11. Cookies & Local Storage

The GuardSafely web application uses browser localStorage to store your encrypted app state. We do not use tracking cookies, advertising cookies, or third-party analytics cookies. The only cookies used are essential session cookies required for authentication.

12. Do Not Track

GuardSafely honors Do Not Track (DNT) signals. We do not track users across third-party websites. We do not engage in any behavioral tracking or profiling.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes via email or in-app notification at least 30 days before the changes take effect. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page indicates when this policy was last revised.

14. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, your data, or your rights, contact us at:

GuardSafely
Email: hello@guardsafely.com
Ohio, United States