Privacy Policy

Last Updated: February 4, 2026

Hudson Schmidt ("we," "us," or "our") operates the Homebound mobile application (the "App"). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our App.

By using Homebound, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy.

1. Information We Collect

1.1 Account Information

When you create an account, we collect:

• Email address (required for authentication)
• First and last name (for personalization and to share with emergency contacts)
• Age (to verify you meet the minimum age requirement for your region)
• Apple ID identifier (if you sign in with Apple)
• Notification preferences (trip reminders, check-in alerts, friend activity notifications)
• Friend visibility settings (controls what friends can see about you)
• Activity Feed preferences (trip publishing mode, visibility scope, location privacy defaults)
• App version (for compatibility and troubleshooting)

1.2 Trip & Safety Plan Data

When you create a trip or safety plan, we collect:

• Trip title and activity type
• Start time and estimated time of arrival (ETA)
• Grace period preferences
• Location information (starting location and optional destination)
• Optional notes about your trip
• Timezone information
• Check-in interval preferences
• Quiet hours settings
• Live location sharing preference
• Custom notification messages
• Weather conditions at trip start and completion (temperature, feels like, conditions, precipitation probability, wind speed, UV index, humidity)
• Activity feed publishing preferences for the trip (visibility scope, location privacy, participant visibility)

Group Trips: When you create or join a group trip, we also collect participant lists, roles, invitation timestamps, group checkout settings, and each participant's check-in status.

Quick Trips: If you use the Quick Trips feature, we store your preset configurations (activity type, default location, duration, grace period) locally on your device and sync them to your account for cross-device access.

1.3 Emergency Contact Information

You may add emergency contacts to your account:

• Contact names
• Contact email addresses
• Contact groups for organization

You can also add friends (other Homebound users) as safety contacts for your trips.

Note: We only store the information you provide. We do not access your device's contact list.

1.4 Location Data

Trip Locations: We collect location data when you set a trip location using the map, use your current location for a trip, or check in during a trip.

Live Location Sharing (Optional): If you enable Live Location Sharing for a trip, we collect real-time location data including coordinates, altitude, accuracy, speed, and timestamps.

Live Location Sharing is:

• Completely optional — you must explicitly enable it for each trip
• User-controlled — you can disable it at any time
• Limited sharing — only shared with safety contacts you choose for that trip
• Never sold — we do not sell or share your location data with advertisers or data brokers

What We Do NOT Do:

• Sell your location data
• Share your location with advertisers
• Track your location when you're not on an active trip with live location enabled
• Access your location without your explicit permission

1.5 Device Information

To send push notifications, we collect:

• Device push notification token
• Device platform (iOS)
• App bundle identifier and environment
• Live Activity tokens (for lock screen widgets)
• Last activity timestamp

1.6 Automatically Collected Information

When you use the App, we automatically collect:

• Timestamps of account creation and last login
• Trip creation and completion timestamps
• Check-in and check-out events
• ETA extension events
• Notification delivery logs (for troubleshooting)

1.7 Subscription Information

If you subscribe to Homebound+, we collect App Store transaction identifiers, product purchased, purchase and expiration dates, subscription status, auto-renewal status, and family sharing status. This information is processed through Apple's App Store.

1.8 Social & Friend Data

If you use social features, we collect friend connections, friend requests, invite links, visibility preferences, and achievements visible to friends.

1.9 Activity Feed Data

When you or your friends complete trips, we collect and may share (based on privacy settings):

• Completed trip details: Trip title, activity type, duration, completion timestamp
• Location information: Subject to your location privacy setting (exact location, generalized city/region, or hidden)
• Weather data: Conditions at trip start and end
• Engagement data: Likes and comments on your trips, including commenter identities and comment content (max 500 characters)
• Group trip participant information: Participant names and photos (or count only, based on your visibility setting)

Activity Feed Privacy Controls:

• Publishing Mode: Choose 'auto' (always share completed trips), 'ask' (choose per trip), or 'never' (never share)
• Visibility Scope: Share with 'friends' only or 'global' (all Homebound users)
• Location Privacy: Show exact location, generalize to city/region (default), or hide entirely
• Participant Visibility: For group trips, show all participants or display only "with X others"

1.10 Comments and Reactions

When you comment on or like trips in the Activity Feed:

• Comments: We store comment content, your user ID, and timestamps. Comments are visible to the trip owner and others who can view the trip.
• Likes: We store which trips you've liked. Like counts are visible to others; individual likes may be visible to the trip owner.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Provide the Service: Create and manage your safety plans, send notifications to you and your emergency contacts
• Send Safety Notifications: Alert you about trip status, remind you to check in, and notify your emergency contacts if you're overdue
• Authenticate Your Account: Verify your identity via magic link codes or Apple Sign In
• Improve the App: Understand how the service is used and make improvements
• Communicate with You: Send service-related emails (magic link codes, trip notifications)

For EU/EEA/UK/Swiss Users: We process your data under the following legal bases:

• Contract Performance: Providing the Homebound safety service you signed up for
• Legitimate Interest: Sending safety-critical notifications and maintaining service security
• Consent: Optional features like live location sharing and marketing communications (if you opt in)

3. Information Sharing

3.1 Emergency Contacts

When you add emergency contacts to a trip, they will receive emails about trip creation, trip start, check-in updates (including your location), trip completion, and overdue alerts. If you enable live location sharing, they can view your real-time position.

3.2 Activity Feed Sharing

When you complete a trip with Activity Feed sharing enabled:

• Friends: Your friends on Homebound can see your completed trip details, subject to your privacy settings
• Global Users: If you choose 'global' visibility, all Homebound users can see your trip
• Engagement: Friends (or all users for global trips) can like and comment on your trips
• Weather & Duration: Trip weather conditions and duration are visible in the feed
• Location: Your location is shared based on your location privacy setting (exact, generalized, or hidden)

3.3 Third-Party Service Providers

3.4 What We Do NOT Do

• Sell your personal information
• Share your data with advertisers
• Use third-party analytics or tracking services
• Share your information with data brokers

3.5 Legal Requirements

We may disclose your information if required by law, such as in response to a subpoena or court order, or if we believe disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, your safety, or the safety of others.

4. Data Security

We implement appropriate security measures to protect your information:

• Encryption in Transit: All data transmitted between the App and our servers uses HTTPS/TLS encryption
• Secure Authentication: JWT tokens with cryptographic signatures
• Secure Storage: Sensitive data stored in iOS Keychain with kSecAttrAccessibleAfterFirstUnlock protection
• Access Controls: Authentication required for all personal data access
• No Passwords Stored: We use magic link authentication, so no passwords are stored

While we strive to protect your personal information, no method of electronic transmission or storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security.

5. Data Retention

Account Deletion

You can delete your account at any time through Settings > Account > Delete Account. When you request deletion:

• Your account enters a 30-day grace period during which you can cancel the deletion request
• After 30 days, we permanently delete all your data, including your profile, trips, contacts, devices, friendships, location history, achievements, Activity Feed comments and likes, and Quick Trip presets
• This deletion is irreversible after the grace period

Note: You must cancel any active Homebound+ subscription separately through the App Store.

Local Data

The App stores some data locally on your device, including:

• Saved locations (names, addresses, coordinates)
• Quick Trip presets
• Cached trip data

You can clear cached data via Settings > Resources > Clear Cache. Saved locations and Quick Trip presets can be managed in their respective settings screens.

6. Your Privacy Rights

6.1 All Users

Regardless of your location, you can:

• Access your data through the App
• Update your profile information at any time
• Delete your account and all associated data
• Export your data via Settings > Privacy > Export Data (includes profile, all trips with weather data, contacts, and statistics)
• Opt out of non-essential communications

6.2 European Union, EEA, UK, and Swiss Residents

If you are in the EU, EEA, UK, or Switzerland, you have additional rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or UK GDPR:

• Right to Access: Request a copy of your personal data. Use our Export Data feature or contact us.
• Right to Rectification: Request correction of inaccurate data. You can update your profile directly in the App.
• Right to Erasure: Request deletion of your data. Use Delete Account in the App or contact us.
• Right to Restrict Processing: Request that we pause non-essential processing while we address your concerns. Safety-critical notifications (overdue alerts) will continue as a legitimate interest.
• Right to Data Portability: Receive your data in a machine-readable format via our Export feature.
• Right to Object: Object to processing based on legitimate interests by contacting us.
• Right to Withdraw Consent: Withdraw consent at any time through your account settings. This does not affect prior processing.
• Right to Lodge a Complaint: File a complaint with your local data protection authority. Find yours at: https://edpb.europa.eu/about-edpb/about-edpb/members_en

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@homeboundapp.com. We will respond within 30 days.

6.3 California Residents

If you are a California resident, you have the right to:

• Know what personal information we collect, use, and disclose
• Delete your personal information
• Non-Discrimination for exercising your rights

We do not sell personal information, so the right to opt-out of sale does not apply.

To exercise your rights, contact us at privacy@homeboundapp.com.

6.4 Canadian Residents

If you are in Canada, you have rights under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA):

• Access: Request access to your personal information
• Correction: Request correction of inaccurate information
• Withdrawal of Consent: Withdraw consent to the collection, use, or disclosure of your information (subject to legal restrictions)

To exercise your rights, contact us at privacy@homeboundapp.com.

6.5 Australian Residents

If you are in Australia, you have rights under the Privacy Act 1988:

• Access: Request access to your personal information
• Correction: Request correction of inaccurate information
• Complaint: Lodge a complaint with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC)

To exercise your rights, contact us at privacy@homeboundapp.com.

6.6 New Zealand Residents

If you are in New Zealand, you have rights under the Privacy Act 2020:

• Access: Request access to your personal information
• Correction: Request correction of inaccurate information
• Complaint: Lodge a complaint with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner

To exercise your rights, contact us at privacy@homeboundapp.com.

7. Age Requirements

Homebound has different minimum age requirements based on your region:

We determine your region based on your App Store storefront location.

We do not knowingly collect personal information from users who do not meet the minimum age requirement for their region. If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has provided us with personal information, please contact us at privacy@homeboundapp.com and we will delete it.

8. International Data Transfers

Our servers are located in the United States. If you access the App from outside the United States, your information will be transferred to and processed in the United States, where data protection laws may differ from those in your country.

For EU/EEA/Swiss Users: We rely on Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) approved by the European Commission to ensure adequate data protection for transfers to the United States.

For UK Users: We rely on the UK International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA) or the UK Addendum to the EU SCCs for transfers to the United States.

For Canadian Users: We ensure transfers comply with PIPEDA requirements for cross-border data transfers.

For Australian Users: We take reasonable steps to ensure overseas recipients handle your information consistently with Australian Privacy Principles.

For New Zealand Users: We ensure transfers comply with the Privacy Act 2020 requirements.

Sub-Processors

All sub-processors are contractually obligated to handle your data in accordance with applicable data protection laws. Note that OpenStreetMap/Nominatim and Open-Meteo only receive anonymous location coordinates without any user identifiers.

9. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of changes by:

• Updating the "Last Updated" date at the top
• Sending you a notification through the App for material changes

Your continued use of the App after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

10. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices:

Email: privacy@homeboundapp.com

For California Privacy Rights: privacy@homeboundapp.com

For EU/GDPR Requests: privacy@homeboundapp.com

This Privacy Policy is effective as of February 4, 2026.