Privacy Policy

Effective November 3, 2026

The short version: your plan lives on your phone. If you make an account, your backup is encrypted on your phone before it reaches us, so we can't read it. We don't sell data, show ads, or use tracking or analytics tools.

Using the app without an account

Your household, supplies, checklists, gear, maps, radio plan, contacts and settings are stored only on your device. Nothing is sent to us.

If you create an account

• Username. Required. Other people see it on the forum, the Downers map and radio test requests.
• Recovery key. Created on your phone and never sent to us. The app turns it into a sign-in key; we store only a salted hash of that sign-in key.
• Email (optional). Used only to send confirmation and account recovery codes. Never shown to other users or used for marketing.
• Encrypted backup. Your plan data is encrypted on your phone (AES-GCM, with a key derived from your recovery key) before upload. We store the encrypted file, its size and when it changed. Without your recovery key, nobody, including us, can read it.

Community features (only if you use them)

• Downers map. If you choose to list yourself, we store the center of the grid square you pick (about 3×4 miles or about 70×100 miles, never your exact location), plus the call sign, bands, monitoring frequency, availability and note you enter. People using GridsDown near you can see them. You can remove your listing any time.
• Nearby search. To find Downers near you, the app sends a search point rounded to about 1 km. It isn't stored.
• Radio test requests. The time, frequency, mode and note you send are shared with the other person.
• Forum. Posts, comments and "useful" votes are visible to other users. Reports and blocks you make are stored so we can moderate; the person you report or block isn't told.

Things that never reach our servers

• Off-grid chat travels directly between nearby phones over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. Public channel messages can be read by anyone nearby using GridsDown; private messages are end-to-end encrypted. Messages are kept on your phone.
• Your location is used on your phone for maps, the Grid-Down compass and distance math.
• Translation uses Apple's on-device translation.

Other services the app talks to

• U.S. National Weather Service (api.weather.gov): if you set a home location, the app asks for active weather alerts at a point rounded to about 1 km.
• Apple Maps: map tiles and nearby place searches (hospitals, shelters, water) are handled by Apple under Apple's privacy policy.

Server logs and security

Our servers record IP addresses and request times in logs kept for up to 14 days, to stop abuse and fix problems. Connections are encrypted (HTTPS). Database backups are kept for 14 days.

Deleting your data

In the app, go to Account and tap Delete account. Your account, backup, map listing, radio test requests, posts and comments are deleted from the live server right away and age out of our backups within 14 days. Data on your phone stays until you delete the app or use Settings → Erase everything.

Children

GridsDown isn't directed at children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect information from them.

Changes and contact

If this policy changes, we'll update the date above and note big changes in the app. Questions: support@gridsdown.com.