Privacy Policy

2.1 Location Data (Precise GPS)

• What we collect: Real-time GPS coordinates (latitude, longitude), altitude, speed, and heading.
• How we collect it:Via the device’s GPS and network location services, both in the foreground and background.
• Why we need it: Location is the core functionality of the App. It is used for:
  • Activating SOS/Emergency alerts with your precise location
  • Sharing your location with emergency contacts during an incident
  • Broadcasting your location to nearby Sectop users via mesh network
  • Route safety analysis (Safe Zone Finder, Route Safety AI)
  • Tracking breadcrumb trails during emergencies
  • Displaying nearby incidents on the Community Map
  • Geo-fencing alerts to warn nearby users of danger
• Retention: Location data is stored locally on your device and is only transmitted to other users during an active emergency. Breadcrumb trails are retained for up to 7 days and then automatically deleted.

2.2 Personal Profile Information

• What we collect: Name, phone number, email address, profile photo, emergency contact names and phone numbers, blood type, allergies, medical conditions, home address.
• How we collect it: You voluntarily provide this information during registration and profile setup.
• Why we need it: To identify you to emergency contacts and nearby users during an incident, and to provide first responders with critical medical information.
• Retention: Stored locally on your device until you delete your account or reset the app.

2.3 Camera and Microphone

• What we collect: Video recordings, audio recordings, and photos.
• How we collect it: Accessed only when you explicitly activate recording features (manual or automatic during SOS).
• Why we need it: To capture video/audio evidence during emergencies, which can be shared with emergency contacts and authorities.
• Retention: Evidence files are stored locally on your device. You control when they are shared or deleted.

2.4 SMS and Phone

• What we collect: Incoming SMS messages (for codeword detection), ability to send SMS (for SOS broadcasts and SMS Guardian auto-responses).
• How we collect it: Only when you enable SMS Guardian or SMS codeword trigger features.
• Why we need it: To detect emergency codewords from trusted contacts and to send SOS alerts via SMS when data networks are unavailable.
• Retention: SMS content is processed in real-time and not stored. Logs of SMS Guardian triggers are stored locally.

2.5 Device Information

• What we collect: Device model, operating system version, unique device identifiers, Bluetooth status, Wi-Fi status.
• How we collect it: Automatically via the device APIs.
• Why we need it: For mesh networking (peer-to-peer communication via Bluetooth/Wi-Fi Direct), device admin features, and app functionality optimization.
• Retention: Not stored; used only for runtime functionality.

2.6 Communications Data

• What we collect: Chat messages, incident shares, community broadcast posts, voice/video call metadata (duration, participants, timestamps).
• How we collect it:You generate this content through your use of the App’s communication features.
• Why we need it: To enable peer-to-peer messaging, community incident sharing, and emergency communications.
• Retention: Stored locally on your device. Messages are relayed through the mesh network and are not stored on any central server.

4.1 With Emergency Contacts

During an active emergency, your name, location, and profile photo are shared with your designated emergency contacts via SMS, mesh network, or in-app notification.

4.2 With Nearby Users

During an active emergency, your name, location, and profile photo may be broadcast to other Sectop users within the geo-fenced alert zone (up to 50km radius) so they can be aware of danger in their area and potentially assist.

4.3 With First Responders

If you choose to share evidence (video, audio, photos) with authorities, that data is transmitted directly from your device. We do not have access to this data.

4.4 Third-Party Services

• Google Maps — Used for map display and location visualization. Subject to Google’s Privacy Policy.
• Expo — The framework used to build the App. See Expo Privacy Policy.

5.1 Local Storage

All user data is stored locally on your device using:

• AsyncStorage — For general app data (profile, settings, contacts)
• expo-secure-store — For sensitive data (auth tokens, device IDs)
• expo-file-system — For evidence files (video, audio, photos)

5.2 Data Transmission

• Emergency alerts are transmitted via mesh network (Bluetooth/Wi-Fi Direct) and SMS.
• No data is transmitted to or stored on any central server owned by us.
• Mesh network communications are peer-to-peer and ephemeral.

5.3 Data Retention

5.4 Data Deletion

You can delete all your data at any time by:

1. Going to Profile → Danger Zone → Reset App
2. Going to Profile → Danger Zone → Delete Account
3. Uninstalling the App (note: some data may persist in device storage)