Location Data Policy — Nomadic

Last updated: 2026-05-06

This document explains exactly what Nomadic does with your location, in plain language. It is part of the Privacy Policy and is referenced by the Terms of Service.

Nomadic does not run any background location collection. Every location read described below happens while you are actively using the app and is initiated by something you tap, navigate to, or post.

When we collect location

When you open the map or search for nearby waypoints — your precise location is read once and used to render results. It is not retained on our servers.
When you submit a waypoint, beacon, report, or lost-pet alert — the coordinates you provide become part of that submission and are stored.
When you check in at a waypoint — your precise location is read to verify physical presence at the waypoint, then stored as part of the check-in record.
When you enable the Mutual Aid Mesh — your last-seen point is updated when you next open the app or trigger a location-dependent action. The point is stored as a single record on your profile and is visible to nearby users only while they have an active safety alert. You can disable the mesh at any time in Settings → Mutual Aid; doing so clears your stored point immediately.
When you enable Crew Location Sharing — your last-known GPS ping is stored on your profile. This point is visible to users you have accepted as Crew or Roadmates, and only when they have enabled the Friends layer on the map. This feature is off by default for new accounts. Disabling Crew Location Sharing in Settings → Privacy immediately clears the stored point. The same 14-day auto-clear rule applies (see Retention below).
When you post a convoy — your current location is read to determine your origin coordinates and compute the route bearing. The origin point (not your exact GPS coordinates) is used to match other travelers within the convoy discovery radius. The origin is stored as part of the convoy announcement.
When you raise a beacon, send an arrival ping, or trigger SOS — your current location is read in the foreground and included in the alert so others can find you.
When the deadman switch fires after a missed check-in — the LAST KNOWN location stored on your profile is included in the alert sent to your trusted contacts. The deadman switch itself runs as a server-side cron job that scans for overdue check-ins; it does not read or track location on your device.

We do not continuously track your location in the background. Nomadic is foreground-only for location reads, with no exception.

When we share location

Public waypoints — coordinates of waypoints you submit publicly are visible to all users.
Beacons, arrival pings, and lost-pet alerts — coordinates are visible to nearby users while the surface is active.
Safety alerts — coordinates are sent to your trusted contacts via SMS and to mutual aid mesh responders.
Crew Location Sharing — when enabled, your last GPS ping is visible to accepted Crew and Roadmate connections on the Friends map layer, with a reverse-geocoded "near [place]" label. You control this entirely through the Settings → Privacy toggle.
Convoy — your convoy origin (used to compute route bearing) is visible to other users browsing convoy listings. Your exact GPS coordinates are not exposed; only the origin point used to start your route.
Messages and Travel Party chats — you can choose to share your live location in a message; if you do, it is visible to the recipients.

We do not sell location data. We do not share location with advertisers. We do not share location with third parties except service providers necessary to operate the app — Mapbox to render the map and reverse-geocode last-ping locations, Twilio to send SMS, Supabase to store the points.

Visibility modes

Nomadic supports visibility modes that let you control how visible your activity is to other users without disabling safety features. These can be changed in Settings → Privacy. Visibility modes never disable safety alerts or the deadman switch — those continue to function regardless of mode. A visibility mode of "private" also suppresses your location from the Crew Location Sharing feature even if you have the toggle on.

Retention specific to location

The Mutual Aid Mesh last-seen point on your profile is cleared as soon as you opt out of the mesh, request account deletion, or are suspended. It is also cleared nightly if it is older than 14 days.
The Crew Location Sharing last ping is subject to the same 14-day nightly clear. Disabling the toggle in Settings → Privacy clears the point immediately.
Check-in coordinates are kept for 12 months after the check-in ends, then hard-deleted by a nightly cron.
Safety alert coordinates are kept for 24 months as part of the safety audit trail, then hard-deleted by a nightly cron.
Convoy origin coordinates are archived when the convoy ends or departure date passes, and purged 12 months after archival.

Your controls

Device permission — you can revoke Nomadic's location permission at any time in your device's OS settings. The app will continue to function with degraded features.
Mutual Aid Mesh — opt out at any time; your last-seen point is removed.
Crew Location Sharing — opt out at any time in Settings → Privacy; your last ping is removed immediately.
Arrival Pings — opt out at any time.
Visibility mode — set to "private" in Settings → Privacy to suppress location visibility across all social features (including the friend map) while retaining safety features.
Account deletion — schedules removal of all stored location data associated with your account (including check-ins, Mutual Aid Mesh point, and Crew Location Sharing ping) after the 30-day grace window. Public-record waypoints may persist in anonymized form.

Questions

Email team@nomadic.guide.