Privacy Policy — Gulf Mesh

Gulf Mesh (“the app”) is a client for MeshCore LoRa mesh radio networks. This policy explains what data the app accesses, stores, and transmits.

Data the app stores on your device

• Contacts, messages, and channels you send or receive over the mesh radio are stored locally on your device so you can view your conversation history.
• Repeater login passwords and channel/community secret keys (PSKs)are stored using your device’s secure hardware-backed storage (Android Keystore), not in plain text.
• None of the above ever leaves your device unless you take one of the actions below.

Data the app sends over the mesh radio (not the internet)

Messages, location shares, and node advertisements you choose to send are transmitted over LoRa radio to other mesh devices — this is the app’s core function. This is peer-to-peer radio communication, not a connection to any company’s servers.

If you turn on ATAK location broadcasting(off by default), your GPS location is periodically sent to other users on your selected mesh channel, and optionally attached to your node’s own beacon. This is entirely within the mesh network you’re part of — it is not sent to us or any internet service.

Data sent to internet services (only when you opt in)

• MeshMapper wardriving(off by default, requires you to accept a disclosure and manually start a session): if enabled, your device’s public key/identity, display name, app version, radio settings, and GPS location are sent to meshmapper.net to build community coverage maps. You can use an offline mode instead, which keeps this data on your device.
• MeshBuddy node-name reservation (only if you use this optional feature): the email address, display name, and location you type into the reservation form are sent to our MeshBuddy service to reserve a unique mesh node identity for you.
• GIF search (only if enabled and only when you open the GIF picker): your search text is sent to GIPHY to return matching GIFs.
• Link previews: if a chat message contains a link, the app fetches that link directly to build a preview card. You can turn this off in Settings.
• Firmware updates: the app checks GitHub for the latest MeshCore firmware releases when you use the firmware/OTA update screens.
• Line-of-sight terrain tool: coordinates you select on the map are sent to a public elevation-data API (Open-Meteo) to compute terrain profiles.

What we don’t do

The app contains no advertising SDKs, no analytics SDKs, and no crash-reporting SDKs. We do not sell your data, and we do not build advertising profiles.

Your choices

Wardriving, ATAK location broadcasting, and link previews are all optional and can be turned off in Settings. You can delete your local message history, contacts, and stored passwords/keys from within the app.

Contact

Questions about this policy can be sent to: support@gulfcoastmesh.org