Privacy Policy

Effective date: September 23, 2026

NomadConnections ("NomadConnections," "we," "us") operates the website at NomadConnections.net and the companion mobile app (together, the "Service"). This policy explains what information we collect, how we use and share it, and the choices you have. It covers our members and also people who receive a text message or email from us because a member listed them as a Smoke Signal emergency contact.

1. Information We Collect

Information you give us

• Account details: username, email address, password (stored only as a one-way hash), and profile tags.
• Profile and community content: answers to questions, tags, messages in conversations and rooms, an optional profile image, question suggestions, and feedback you send us.
• Location you choose to share: an approximate home location used for the member map and nearby matching, if you set one.
• Smoke Signal (safety check-in) information: your check-in schedules and deadlines, check-in and Help (SOS) events, the GPS location captured when you check in or press Help, and your list of emergency contacts (see Section 3).
• Emergency contact details you enter about other people: their name (or nickname), and their mobile phone number or email address.
• Payment information: if you buy a paid plan, payment is handled by Stripe. We receive and store your Stripe customer and subscription identifiers, plan, status, and payment amounts and dates. We never see or store your full card number.

Information collected automatically

• Usage and device data: pages visited, IP address, browser and device type (user agent), referring page, and timestamps, tied to a random session identifier and, when you are logged in, your account.
• Background location (mobile app, optional, off by default): if you turn on Background Location Tracking, the app sends your phone's last known location roughly every 15 minutes. See Section 3.
• Push notification token: if you allow notifications in the mobile app, we store a device token so we can send them.
• Cookies and similar technologies: see Section 8.

Information about people who are not members

If a member adds you as a Smoke Signal contact, we hold your name (as the member entered it) and your phone number or email address, along with your response to the invitation (pending, confirmed, declined, or inactive) and the time you confirmed. We use this only to carry out the Smoke Signal feature described below. We do not send you marketing.

2. How We Use Information

• To create and secure your account, verify your email, and send account messages such as activation and password recovery.
• To match you with other members, show the member map, and run questions, rooms, and conversations.
• To operate Smoke Signal: send reminders and alerts to you and your emergency contacts (Section 3).
• To process subscriptions and keep payment records.
• To prevent spam, abuse, scraping, and fraud, including with rate limiting and CAPTCHA, and to enforce our Terms of Service.
• To understand how the Service is used and to improve it.
• To comply with law and respond to legal requests.

We do not sell your personal information.

3. Smoke Signal Safety Check-Ins and Emergency Contacts

Smoke Signal is an optional safety feature. A member sets one or more daily check-in deadlines. If the member does not check in by the deadline, or presses the Help button, we alert the emergency contacts the member chose.

• Who is alerted: other members the user chose, email contacts and text-message (SMS) contacts who have accepted, and, if the member selects it, opted-in members near them. Contacts who have not accepted, have declined, or are inactive are never sent an alert.
• What an alert contains: the member's username or the name they gave the contact, the time, the check-in label (for a missed check-in), and a map link to the member's location (the location captured at Help, or the last known location for a missed check-in). If no location is available, the alert says so.
• Location data we keep: the GPS point captured when you check in or press Help, and, only if you enable it, background location updates from the mobile app. Check-in records are deleted after 14 days, and background location updates after 3 days. To make sure an alert still has a "last known location," we keep each member's 3 most recent check-in locations and 3 most recent background location updates even if they are older. You can turn background tracking off at any time on the Smoke Signal page.
• Your contacts' information: is kept while the contact is on your list and is deleted when you remove them or your account is deleted.
• Location shared through Smoke Signal is shared only with your accepted emergency contacts (and, for "Nomads around me," opted-in nearby members) when an alert is triggered. It is not shown on your public profile.
• Smoke Signal is a convenience and not an emergency service. It does not contact police, fire, or medical responders. In an emergency, call your local emergency number.

4. Text Messaging (SMS) Program

Program name: NomadConnections Smoke Signal Alerts
Program operator: NomadConnections (NomadConnections.net)

What the texts are and who receives them

We send text messages only to people who have been named as a Smoke Signal emergency contact by a NomadConnections member. These are transactional, safety-related messages. We do not send marketing or promotional texts, and we do not text anyone for any other reason.

Types of messages:

• Invitation: when a member adds your mobile number, we send a text explaining that you were asked to be their emergency contact, followed by a link to accept or decline.
• Reconfirmation: about every 90 days after you accept, a text asking you to reconfirm you still want to be a contact.
• Status notices: for example, a notice that you have been marked inactive because you did not respond, or that the member has paused or resumed their check-ins.
• Alerts: if the member presses Help or misses a check-in, a text telling you so, with a map link to their location if available.

How you opt in

The member who adds you confirms that you have agreed to be their contact. Because we do not want anyone to receive alerts they did not agree to, we send you a single invitation text, and we do not send any alerts until you actively accept by tapping the confirmation link in that text. Your acceptance (with its date and time) is your opt-in to receive Smoke Signal texts from us for that member. If you do not respond, we send no alerts; after 7 days without a response your status becomes inactive, and you may be sent one notice telling you so, with a link to reactivate. If you decline, you receive no alerts.

By accepting, you agree to receive these automated text messages at the mobile number provided. Consent is not a condition of purchasing anything.

How you opt out

• Reply STOP to any text to stop receiving messages from that number. You may receive one final message confirming your opt-out.
• Or open the decline link in the invitation text, or contact us at support@nomadconnections.net and we will remove you.
• The member who added you can also remove you from their list at any time.

Once you opt out, you will not be sent alerts. If a member adds your number again after you opted out, you will only be texted again if the carrier and our systems permit it; you may reply START to resume, or accept a new invitation.

Help

Reply HELP to any text, or email support@nomadconnections.net, for assistance.

Message frequency and cost

Message frequency varies. You will typically receive one invitation, a reconfirmation about every 90 days, and alerts only when something happens (such as a missed check-in). Each notification may be sent as one or two texts. Message and data rates may apply, depending on your mobile plan.

Carriers

Supported carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages. Delivery is not guaranteed, so do not rely on text messages as your only way of keeping in touch with someone in an emergency.

Mobile information is never sold or shared for marketing

We do not sell, rent, or share mobile phone numbers, SMS opt-in data, or consent records with third parties or affiliates for their marketing or promotional purposes. Text message originator opt-in data and consent will not be shared with any third parties, except as needed to deliver the messages (see Section 5).

5. How We Share Information

We share information only as described here:

• Other members: your username, tags, answers, and messages you post are visible to other members as the Service describes. Your email address is never shown to other users. If you choose to appear on the member map, your position is shown blurred by the distance you set.
• Your emergency contacts: as described in Section 3.
• Service providers who process data for us:
  • Amazon Web Services (Amazon SNS) to deliver text messages (receives the recipient's phone number and message text);
  • Our email delivery provider to send account and Smoke Signal emails;
  • Stripe to process payments;
  • Google Firebase Cloud Messaging to deliver mobile push notifications;
  • hCaptcha to block automated sign-ups (it may set cookies and receive your IP address and device characteristics);
  • OpenStreetMap Nominatim and the U.S. Census Bureau geocoder to turn coordinates into a "City, ST" label (they receive the coordinates, not your name or account);
  • Google Fonts to load the site's typeface (receives your IP address and browser information);
  • Our hosting provider.
• Legal and safety: when required by law or to protect the rights, property, or safety of our members, the public, or the Service.
• Business transfers: if we are involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred, and we will give notice if it becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

Links in Smoke Signal alerts open Google Maps, which is governed by Google's own privacy policy.

6. How Long We Keep Information

• Account data: until you delete your account. After you request deletion, your account is hidden and permanently removed after a 14-day grace period, during which you can cancel.
• Check-ins and location: as described in Section 3 (14 days for check-ins, 3 days for background location, plus the most recent 3 of each so an alert has a last known location).
• Emergency contact records: while the contact is on your list, and removed when you remove them or delete your account.
• Administrative audit records of staff actions on Smoke Signal settings: 6 months.
• Payment records: as long as needed for accounting, tax, and legal obligations.
• Usage logs and email logs: retained for security and to prevent duplicate emails.

7. Security

We use industry-standard safeguards, including encrypted connections (HTTPS), hashed passwords, encrypted login cookies, rate limiting, and access controls limited to staff who need it, and we record staff changes to Smoke Signal settings in an audit log. No system is perfectly secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security.

8. Cookies and Similar Technologies

• Session and login cookies (essential): we use a session cookie to keep you logged in during your visit and, if you choose to stay logged in, an encrypted, HTTP-only cookie that remembers your login for up to 6 months. These are required for the Service to work and are removed when you log out.
• Local storage (essential/convenience): your browser's local storage remembers small preferences, such as that you dismissed the upgrade banner for 24 hours.
• Security cookies: hCaptcha may set cookies while you sign up to distinguish people from bots.
• Payment: Stripe may set cookies on its own pages when you check out.

We do not use advertising cookies or third-party ad trackers. You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings, but the Service will not work properly without the essential ones.

9. Your Choices and Rights

• Access and update: you can view and edit most of your information in your account settings.
• Delete your account: you can request deletion from your account; see Section 6.
• Location: turn off background location tracking, hide yourself from the member map, or remove your location at any time.
• Emergency contacts: remove any contact at any time.
• Texts: reply STOP to any text.
• Emails: you can decline or remove yourself as a contact through the link in any Smoke Signal email. We send account and safety messages only, not marketing.
• Non-members: if someone listed your number or email and you want it deleted, contact us and we will remove it.

Depending on where you live (for example, California), you may have additional rights to know, access, correct, delete, or restrict use of your personal information, and not to be discriminated against for exercising them. To exercise a right, contact us using the details below. We may need to verify your identity first.

10. Children

The Service is intended for people 18 and older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe a child has given us information, contact us and we will delete it.

11. Where Information Is Processed

We operate in the United States, and your information is processed and stored there. If you use the Service from another country, you consent to that transfer.

12. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy. If we make a material change, we will update the effective date above and, where appropriate, notify you by email or in the Service.

13. Contact Us

Questions or requests about privacy: support@nomadconnections.net, or use our Contact page.

Please also see our Terms of Service.