Beacon shows your friends where you are at a busy event. That only works if we handle location data, so here is exactly what we collect, why, where it goes and how to get rid of it — in plain English rather than legal boilerplate.
The short version. You don't need an account. We never ask for your contacts. Your location is only visible to people holding your session code, only while you're in that session, and it's deleted from that session when you leave. We don't sell your data, we don't run ads, and there are no third-party trackers in the app or on this site.
Beacon is an independent app made in the UK. For anything in this policy, including data requests, contact privacy@usebeacon.live.
Beacon works anonymously. When you first open it, we create a random anonymous ID for your device. We do not know who you are.
| What | Why |
|---|---|
| The display name and avatar you choose | So your friends can tell which dot is you. Use a nickname if you'd rather. |
| Your location, while you're in a session | The entire point of the app — it's what puts you on your group's radar and drives the compass arrow. |
| Your battery level | So your group can see if you're about to go dark. Nothing else. |
| An anonymous device ID | To tell one member of a session apart from another. |
| A notification token | Only if you allow notifications, so SOS alerts, meeting pins, nudges and chat can reach you. |
| Messages you send in group chat | To deliver them to your session. |
| An SOS flag, if you trigger one | To alert the rest of your session that you need help, with your location. |
Adding an email is entirely optional and only exists so Beacon can remember your regular group between events. If you do, we store your email address and the list of people you've saved. Everything else in the app works exactly the same without it.
We store the email address you type and the time you submitted it. We use it to send you an invitation to try Beacon, and nothing else.
We store the stall name, categories, description of where you are, menu items and prices you enter, and the location of the pin you drop. This is all intended to be shown publicly to people at that event — that's the purpose of it. No account is created.
Only people who hold your session code, for as long as you are in that session. There is no public map, no directory, and no way to look up a stranger.
Phone signal often fails at crowded events. When it does, Beacon phones pass position updates to each other directly over Bluetooth and peer-to-peer Wi-Fi, so your group keeps updating without the internet.
This means a nearby phone — possibly a stranger's — may briefly carry your group's data onward. They cannot read it. Each session's data is encrypted with a key derived from your session code, so a device that isn't in your session is carrying an envelope it has no way to open. Relayed data is held briefly and discarded.
We use Google Firebase and Supabase as our infrastructure providers, both configured in European data centres (Belgium and Ireland). They process data on our behalf as our service providers. Push notifications are delivered through Apple.
If you're in the UK or EU, the UK GDPR and EU GDPR give you the right to access your data, correct it, delete it, object to how we use it, and get a copy of it. You can also complain to your data protection regulator — in the UK that's the ICO.
To exercise any of these, email privacy@usebeacon.live. Because much of the app is anonymous, please write from the email address you signed up with, or tell us your session code, so we can find the right records.
Our lawful basis is your consent for optional things like the waitlist and notifications, and legitimate interest in operating the core finding features you asked us to perform when you joined a session. You can withdraw consent at any time.
Beacon isn't directed at children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect their data. If you believe a child has given us data, email us and we'll delete it.
If we change how we handle data, we'll update this page and change the date at the top. Beacon is in active development, so this will happen.