Privacy Policy

Section 1 — Data Controller

The data controller responsible for processing personal data collected through the Services is:

For inquiries regarding this Policy or our data practices, please contact us through our contact page.

Section 2 — Information We Collect

2.1 Account Information (User-Provided)

When you register for an account or sign in, we may collect:

• Email address and display name (optional, depending on sign-in method)
• Authentication provider chosen (Email/Password, Google Sign-In, Apple Sign-In, or Anonymous/Guest access)
• Account credentials — passwords are cryptographically hashed server-side and are never stored or transmitted in plaintext
• Communications and correspondence you send to us

Anonymous (Guest) Users: You may use certain features of the Services without creating a full account. Anonymous access requires completion of a CAPTCHA verification to prevent automated abuse. Anonymous users are assigned a device-based identifier and have limited access to certain features.

2.2 Device Information (Automatically Collected)

When you install and use the GeoShake mobile application, we automatically collect:

• Device ID: A randomly generated unique identifier (UUID), created on first launch and persisted locally on your device
• Device Model: Hardware model name (e.g., "iPhone 15 Pro", "Galaxy S24")
• Operating System and Version: Platform (iOS or Android) and OS version number
• App Version: The version of the GeoShake application you are running

This information is synced to our servers on each app launch to ensure service compatibility, deliver appropriate push notifications, and diagnose technical issues.

2.3 Location Data (With Your Explicit Permission)

We collect location data only after you grant location permission in your device's operating system prompt. GeoShake uses it to send earthquake alerts and early warnings to where you are, to show earthquakes near you, and to add place context to your community reports.

• Profile location: when you open the app, we save your location rounded to about 300 meters, with its place name (city, province or state, country) and your notification radius.
• Where you are: when you open the app, your phone also sends its current location. We round it to about 50 meters before we save it.
• Background location (optional): only if you turn it on in the app and allow location access "Always" (iOS) or "Allow all the time" (Android), your phone also sends its location when it has moved a significant distance, even when the app is closed. GeoShake does not keep GPS running in the background. We round this location to about 50 meters before we save it.
• Your home: a place you pick on the map. By default, it is the place where you were when you first opened this version of the app. We save it rounded to about 300 meters and use it only for your notifications: earthquakes and early warnings near your home, even when you are away. Background location is not used for your home. You can change it or delete it at any time, and it is deleted when you delete your account. If an early warning was calculated for your home, the receipt of that warning keeps your home's rounded location, as described in Section 7.
• Last 48 hours, on your phone only: your phone keeps the places it has been in the last 48 hours. This record stays on your phone: it is not sent to our servers, it is not included in backups, and it is deleted when you sign out. The app uses it to ask "Did you feel it?" about the place where you were when an earthquake happened. If you answer, your report includes where you were at that moment, rounded to about 300 meters.
• Location history: we save each location we receive with its time, whether the app was open or in the background, your platform and app version, and whether your location permission was precise or approximate.

Your location history is linked to your account and can be seen only by authorized GeoShake staff. We never sell it, never make it public and never use it for advertising. We do not share it with third parties, except the service providers that host our systems (Section 5).

You can turn off background location in the app (You › Notifications › Background location › Location and privacy › Turn off) or in your phone's settings. Your profile location is updated when you open the app while location permission is on. To stop new locations from being saved, turn off location permission for GeoShake in your phone's settings. When you delete your account, your profile location, your home and your location history are deleted. How long we keep location data is described in Section 7.

2.4 Community Earthquake Reports (User-Initiated)

When you voluntarily submit a community earthquake report through the app, we collect:

• Your user identifier (linked to your account or anonymous session)
• Your current geographic location at the time of the report
• The Mercalli intensity level you selected
• Timestamp of the report submission

Reports are processed server-side and clustered with other nearby reports to form "community earthquakes." Individual reports are aggregated — your identity is not publicly visible in community earthquake data. A cooldown period (rate limit) applies between consecutive report submissions to prevent misuse.

2.5 Push Notification Tokens

With your permission, we collect a Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) registration token from your device. This token is used exclusively to deliver:

• Earthquake early warning and alert notifications
• Community earthquake alarm notifications
• Network status and maintenance updates

The FCM token is automatically refreshed by the Firebase SDK and updated on our servers accordingly. The token is removed from our servers when you delete your account.

2.6 Authentication and Session Analytics

For security monitoring and abuse detection, we collect anonymized authentication event data, including:

• Event type (e.g., sign-up, sign-in, sign-out, session refresh, biometric unlock attempt)
• Success or failure status
• Authentication provider used
• Timestamp of the event

These events are batched locally and transmitted periodically. They do not include browsing history, screen views, tap patterns, or any form of behavioral tracking. We do not use third-party behavioral analytics platforms (such as Mixpanel, Amplitude, or similar services) in the mobile application.

2.7 Seismic Sensor Data (Hardware Devices Only)

GeoShake hardware devices (e.g., GeoShake T1, DIY variants) collect and transmit seismic acceleration data for earthquake detection and early warning purposes. This data includes:

• Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) measurements
• Three-axis acceleration values (X, Y, Z)
• Station or node identifier and geographic coordinates
• Timestamps, wave type classifications, and magnitude estimates
• Device telemetry (firmware version, WiFi signal strength, calibration status)

This data is transmitted via an encrypted MQTT connection (WSS — WebSocket Secure) to our servers and processed to provide real-time earthquake detection services to the community.

2.8 Local Device Storage

The GeoShake app uses MMKV, a platform-native encrypted key-value store, to persist the following data locally on your device:

• Device identifier (UUID)
• Language preference (English or Turkish)
• Report submission cooldown timers
• Community earthquake disclaimer acceptance state
• Onboarding completion state

This data remains on your device and is encrypted at rest using platform-native encryption. It is not transmitted to our servers unless explicitly stated in the sections above.

2.9 Smart Home Integrations (Optional, Account Linking)

You may optionally connect your GeoShake account to a smart home platform: Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Home Assistant or Tuya Smart Life. These integrations expose a virtual "GeoShake Earthquake Sensor" that switches to "detected" when the GeoShake network confirms an earthquake near your home, so that you can build your own routines (for example, turning on lights or playing an announcement).

• What the platform receives: a pseudonymous account identifier generated by us and the state of the virtual sensor (shaking detected / not detected, online / offline). We do not send your name, e-mail address, home location or raw seismic data to the platform.
• How your location is used: for Amazon Alexa and Google Home, the locations of the GeoShake devices registered to your account decide whether an event is relevant to you (currently events within about 300 km of one of your devices; if you have no registered device, network-wide events are used). For Tuya Smart Life the location of your paired Smart Life device is used. For Home Assistant the distance is calculated by your own Home Assistant installation from its configured home location. This processing happens on our servers (or, for Home Assistant, on your own system) and the only result shared with the platform is the sensor state.
• Tokens we store: the access and refresh tokens issued during account linking, the API key you create for Home Assistant and, for Amazon Alexa, the tokens Amazon issues to us so that we can send state changes to Alexa proactively. They are stored on our own servers, used only for the integration and deleted when you unlink the account, disable the skill or delete your account.
• Your choices: you can unlink at any time from the platform's own app (for example by disabling the GeoShake skill in the Alexa app or unlinking GeoShake in Google Home). The platform's own privacy policy governs how it handles the data it receives.

Section 3 — Use of Information

We use the collected information for the following purposes:

• To provide, maintain, and improve our Services, including earthquake detection and early warning features
• To send earthquake alerts and community notification push messages relevant to your location
• To measure and improve how quickly early warnings reach people, using alert receipts (Section 7)
• To cluster and aggregate community earthquake reports for seismic event detection
• To calculate user reputation scores based on report accuracy (processed in anonymized, aggregated form)
• To verify user identity through CAPTCHA for anonymous account registrations
• To enforce rate limits and prevent abuse of the community reporting system
• To process transactions and fulfill hardware product orders
• To communicate with you regarding your account, purchases, or support inquiries
• To aggregate and analyze seismic data for scientific research and public safety
• To detect, prevent, and address technical issues, security threats, and fraudulent activity
• To comply with legal obligations and enforce our terms

Section 4 — Disclosure of Information

We may share your information in the following circumstances:

• Service Providers: Third-party vendors who assist in providing our Services (see Section 5 below for a complete list)
• Scientific Community: Aggregated and anonymized seismic data and community earthquake data may be shared with research institutions and earthquake monitoring organizations
• Legal Requirements: When required by law, court order, or governmental authority
• Business Transfers: In connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets
• With Your Consent: When you have given us explicit permission to share your information

We do not sell your personal information to third parties for marketing or advertising purposes.

Section 5 — Third-Party Service Providers

We use the following third-party services to operate the GeoShake platform. Each provider receives only the minimum data necessary for its specific function:

We do not use advertising SDKs, behavioral analytics platforms (such as Mixpanel, Amplitude, or Facebook Analytics), social media tracking pixels, or any cross-app tracking frameworks in the GeoShake mobile application.

Section 6 — Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect personal data against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures include:

• Encryption in Transit: All API communications use TLS 1.2 or higher. MQTT connections for hardware devices use WSS (WebSocket Secure) with TLS encryption.
• Encryption at Rest: Local device storage uses MMKV with platform-native encryption (iOS Keychain / Android Keystore). Server-side data is stored in Supabase's encrypted database infrastructure.
• Bot Prevention: A CAPTCHA challenge is required before anonymous account creation to prevent automated abuse and false reporting. The challenge is generated and checked on our own servers — no third-party CAPTCHA provider is involved and no data about you is sent to one. Your IP address is used only to rate-limit challenge requests and to apply a temporary lockout after repeated failures.
• Rate Limiting: Cooldown periods are enforced on earthquake report submissions to prevent spam, flooding, and false reporting.
• Row-Level Security: Our database enforces row-level security policies, ensuring users can only access and modify their own data.
• Device-Based Tracking: Anonymous users are tracked by a locally generated device identifier to prevent abuse. This identifier is not used for cross-app tracking or advertising.
• Biometric Authentication: If you enable Face ID or Touch ID, all biometric data is processed entirely on your device by the operating system. We never receive, transmit, or store biometric data.
• Credential Security: Passwords are cryptographically hashed using industry-standard algorithms. We never store or log plaintext passwords.
• Access Controls: Data access is restricted to authorized personnel on a need-to-know basis.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is completely secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security of your data.

Section 7 — Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, or as required by applicable law. Specific retention periods include:

• Account Data: Retained for the duration of your account. Upon account deletion, personal data is removed within 30 days, except where retention is required by law.
• Community Earthquake Reports: Retained indefinitely in anonymized and aggregated form for scientific research and public safety purposes. Your individual identity is not retained in the aggregated dataset after account deletion.
• Seismic Sensor Telemetry: Retained indefinitely for scientific research, earthquake analysis, and historical reference.
• Community Station (Phone) Data: If Station Mode is on: the time and strength of shaking triggers, per-second peak acceleration values, 30-second acceleration recordings made when possible shaking is detected, and your location rounded to about 300 meters. Retained indefinitely for scientific research.
• Location History: Locations we receive from your phone when you open the app and, if you turn it on, in the background, rounded to about 50 meters, with the details listed in Section 2.3. Kept with your account until you delete your account; not deleted after a set time. Deleted when you delete your account.
• Earthquake Early Warning Receipts: When an early warning reaches your device: when it arrived and when it was shown, the location the warning was calculated for, what the warning showed (countdown, intensity, magnitude), and your platform and app version. Each receipt carries an identifier of your app installation, which can be linked to your account. Retained indefinitely to measure and improve how quickly warnings reach people. When you delete your account, your receipts are kept without any link to you.
• Authentication Analytics: Retained for 12 months from the date of collection, then automatically purged.
• Push Notification Tokens: Updated upon token refresh; removed from our servers upon account deletion.
• Local Device Data: Remains on your device until you uninstall the app or clear app data.

You may request deletion of your personal data at any time by contacting us or by using the account deletion feature within the app's Settings screen.

Section 8 — Your Rights

Subject to applicable law, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• Right to Access: Obtain a copy of your personal data we hold
• Right to Rectification: Correct inaccurate or incomplete data
• Right to Erasure: Request deletion of your personal data
• Right to Restriction: Limit how we process your data
• Right to Object: Object to certain types of processing
• Right to Portability: Receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format
• Right to Withdraw Consent: Withdraw consent at any time, without affecting the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal

To exercise these rights, please contact us or use the account management features within the app. We will respond to your request within 30 days, or as required by applicable law.

Section 9 — Cookies and Tracking

Our website (geoshake.org) uses cookies and similar technologies to enhance your experience and analyze usage patterns. Types of cookies we use include:

• Essential Cookies: Required for basic website functionality
• Analytics Cookies: Help us understand how visitors interact with our website (Google Analytics, PostHog)
• Preference Cookies: Remember your settings and preferences

Order source: When you place an order, we add to it the campaign tag of the link that brought you to our site (for example, a link shared from our live map). The tag contains no personal identifier, and we use it only to see which links lead to orders. If you allow marketing cookies, we also keep the tag for 30 days in a first-party cookie, so that a later order is attributed to the same link.

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of our website. The GeoShake mobile application does not use cookies or web-based tracking technologies.

Section 10 — Children's Privacy

Our Services are not directed to children under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 18. If we become aware that we have collected personal data from a child without appropriate parental consent, we will take steps to delete that information promptly. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us immediately.

Section 11 — International Transfers

Your information may be transferred to and processed in countries other than your country of residence, including but not limited to the United States and European Union member states (where our third-party service providers operate). These countries may have different data protection laws. We ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to protect your data in accordance with this Privacy Policy and applicable law.

Section 12 — Apple App Privacy

In compliance with Apple's App Store privacy requirements, we disclose the following:

• Data Linked to You: Email address (if provided), device identifier, location data and location history (if permission granted, including background location if you turn it on), early warning receipts, and community earthquake reports may be linked to your account or identity.
• Data Not Linked to You: Aggregated seismic sensor data, anonymized authentication analytics, crash diagnostics, and FCM notification tokens.
• Data Used to Track You: None. We do not track you across apps or websites owned by other companies for advertising or marketing purposes.
• App Tracking Transparency: The GeoShake app does not use the IDFA (Identifier for Advertisers) and does not participate in cross-app tracking.

Section 13 — Google Play Data Safety

In compliance with Google Play's Data Safety requirements, we disclose the following:

• Data Collected: Location (approximate and precise, optional with user permission; in the background only if you turn on background location), device identifier, email address (optional, for registered users), community earthquake report data, early warning receipts.
• Data Shared: Aggregated and anonymized seismic data may be shared with research institutions for scientific purposes. No personal data is shared for advertising.
• Data Encryption: All data is encrypted in transit using TLS. Local storage uses platform-native encryption.
• Data Deletion: Users may request account and data deletion through the app's Settings screen or by contacting us.
• Advertising: Collected data is not used for advertising purposes. The app does not contain advertisements.

Section 14 — Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, or legal requirements. Material changes will be notified through our Services (in-app notification), on our website, or by email to registered users. The "Last Updated" date at the top of this page indicates when the Policy was last revised. Your continued use of the Services following the posting of changes constitutes your acceptance of such changes.

Section 15 — Contact

For questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy, your personal data, or our data practices, please contact us through our contact page.