Live Map ("we", "our", or "the App") is a tactical squad mapping and coordination tool for iOS and watchOS designed for athletic outdoor activities such as airsoft, paintball, hiking, and milsim exercises. We are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring transparency in how your data is handled.
Privacy Core Principles
No Permanent User Accounts: We do not collect names, email addresses, phone numbers, or passwords.
No Advertising or Data Brokers: We never sell, rent, or disclose your data to advertisers or third parties.
Ephemeral Sessions: Room data and telemetry are temporary and purged automatically.
Optional encryption with your PIN: Telemetry and field markers can be encrypted with AES-256-GCM using a key derived from your squad PIN.
1. Information We Collect and How We Use It
A. Apple HealthKit & Biometric Data HealthKit
On watchOS, Live Map uses Apple HealthKit to read your live heart rate:
Heart Rate (Read-Only): Your heart rate is read while the watch app is open to show your exertion level and vital status (e.g., normal, elevated, or downed/tag-out status). It is shared with your squad only while you are in a room and the Health data slider is on (see section C).
Workout Session: The watch app runs an Apple HealthKit workout session the whole time it is open. This keeps heart rate readings live and keeps your watch and phone connected in the background. The workout is not recorded to Apple Health.
Strict HealthKit Protections (App Store Guideline 5.1.3):
Health and biometric data is never sold, licensed, or shared with third parties for advertising, marketing, or use-based data mining.
Biometric data is streamed exclusively to teammates who have joined your active, authenticated squad room.
The Health data slider controls whether your real heart rate leaves your watch (see section C).
B. Real-Time Geolocation Data CoreLocation
Live Map collects precise GPS coordinates, compass heading, and course over ground:
Purpose: To show your position on your own map and, while you are in a squad room with the Location slider on, share it with teammates in real time.
Background Location: On iOS, the app keeps location running in the background whenever it is open, so your phone can stay stowed in a pouch or locked while it keeps in sync with your watch and squad. iOS shows its background location indicator (blue pill / Dynamic Island) while active.
Control: The Location slider controls whether your position is shared (see section C).
C. Your Choice: Opt Out Using the Sliders
You opt out using the Location and Health data sliders in the app's Config screen. They decide what leaves your devices. Reading a sensor (to show you your own position and heart rate) and sharing it are separate: the sliders control sharing, and the app enforces them before anything is sent.
Location (on by default): When on, your position and heading are shared with your squad room while you are in one. When off, no live telemetry is sent to the room at all — no position, no heading and no heart rate — and teammates do not see you on the map. GPS still runs on your own devices so your map shows where you are. Turning Location off also turns Health data off.
Health data (on by default): When on, your live heart rate is shared with your paired phone and, while you are in a room, with your squad. When off, your real heart rate never leaves your watch — not to your phone and not to the room. An estimate calculated from your movement speed is shared instead, so the squad display keeps working without revealing your actual heart rate. Marking yourself downed/tagged out still shows 0 BPM, because that is a game action you take.
One choice for both devices: the sliders are synced between your iPhone and Apple Watch.
Set before you join: the sliders are locked while you are in a squad room, so your choice cannot change mid-session by accident. To change it, leave the room, change the slider and rejoin.
System permissions come first: a slider shows as off whenever the matching Location or Apple Health permission is denied, and the app never works around a denied permission.
D. Camera Access (iOS Companion)
The iOS companion app requests camera access solely to scan host QR codes for joining squad rooms. Camera frames are processed entirely on-device using Apple's VisionKit framework. No photographs, video streams, or image data are ever recorded, saved, or uploaded off-device.
E. Temporary Squad Content & Tactical Markers
Users may create temporary callsigns, place tactical points of interest (POI), or post team orders on the tactical map. These markers are stored temporarily on Firebase Realtime Database for the duration of the squad session.
F. In-App Purchases (StoreKit 2)
Live Map offers an optional one-time, non-consumable lifetime unlock ("Pro") to host larger squads. All transactions are securely processed by Apple through StoreKit 2. We do not store or have access to your payment card details, billing address, or financial credentials.
2. Data Retention & Automatic Purge
All session data is strictly ephemeral:
When a squad room host disbands the room, all member records, telemetry packets, and tactical markers are purged immediately.
Any inactive room is automatically purged by backend lifecycle sweeps after 12 to 24 hours of inactivity.
No persistent database of past movements, historical GPS breadcrumbs, or past heart rate logs is retained on our cloud servers.
3. Data Security & Encryption
All network communications between the app and cloud infrastructure are transmitted over encrypted TLS/HTTPS connections. When encryption is turned on, telemetry packets and tactical markers are additionally encrypted with your PIN: authenticated AES-256-GCM encryption using a key derived from your squad PIN, applied on your device before upload. Anyone who knows or guesses your PIN can read them, so choose a PIN that's hard to guess.
4. Third-Party Infrastructure
Live Map relies on Google Firebase (Realtime Database) for real-time room synchronization. Firebase processes data in accordance with Google's strict security standards and under confidentiality obligations. No analytics or tracking SDKs (such as advertising networks or cross-app tracking tools) are integrated into Live Map.
5. Children's Privacy
Live Map is not directed to children under the age of 13 (or 16 in certain jurisdictions), and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children.
6. Your Rights and Choices
Opt Out of Heart Rate Broadcasting: Open Settings in the app and leave any room, then slide off "Health data".
Opt Out of Location Broadcasting: Open Settings in the app and leave any room, then slide off "Location" (this also turns off Health data).
Revoke System Permissions: You can modify or revoke Location, Camera, or Health permissions at any time in your device's Apple Settings app.
7. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted to this page with an updated revision date.
8. Contact Us
If you have any questions or feedback regarding this Privacy Policy or your data, please contact us at: