Cerqa is a location sharing service for friends and family. It is built on one principle: your location belongs to you. It is shared only when you choose to share it, and only with the people you choose. Your location is never sold, never shared with advertisers, and never used to target ads.
Who Runs Cerqa
The Cerqa service is operated by Cerqa LLC ("the company"). The Cerqa service ("Cerqa") means the Cerqa apps for iPhone and Android, the websites at cerqa.app and ride.cerqa.app, the links Cerqa creates (such as live location, plan, and invitation links), and the servers behind them. This policy applies to all of them. "You" means anyone who uses Cerqa.
Questions about this policy can be sent to privacy@cerqa.net.
Information Cerqa Collects
Account information. When you create an account, Cerqa collects your email address and creates a username for you, which you can change. Your first and last name are optional. If you sign in with Apple or Google and choose to share your name, Cerqa uses it to fill in your profile. You can also add a phone number if you want. This information is stored securely in the company's database (AWS DynamoDB via AWS Amplify/Cognito).
Guest mode. You can try Cerqa without an account. In guest mode no account is created, and your location is not shared with anyone.
Profile photo. If you upload a profile photo, it is stored in a private AWS S3 bucket and only accessible to users who can see your profile. Photos are retained until you replace them or delete your account.
Live location. While you are sharing your location, Cerqa collects your GPS coordinates (latitude and longitude), speed, bearing (direction of travel), and GPS accuracy. If you have started turn-by-turn navigation, Cerqa also sends navigation details such as your route, distance, and time remaining to your destination. This is sent in real time to the people you chose to share with. The stream of live positions is not stored on the company's servers. When sharing ends, your live location is no longer sent or kept.
Live links. While you navigate, you can share a live link with anyone, and they can open it in a browser without the app or an account. Anyone who has the link can see your first name (or username), where you are, your arrival time and distance, and your destination and route, until the link ends. Near the start of your trip, and if you stop for 5 minutes or more, the page shows only an approximate area. If your destination is one of your Private Places, its name and your route are hidden, and while you are inside a Private Place, the page stops updating. A link ends when you stop it, arrive, or end navigation, and after 3 hours at most. Cerqa stores the link, your name as shown on the page, your invitation code for the page's Get Cerqa button, and a random ID for each browser that opens the link, used only to show you how many people have seen it. It does not store your positions or route. The page also saves that random ID in the viewer's browser, and on cerqa.app it uses Google Analytics.
Plans, trips, and Meet me. When you create a plan or trip, or send a Meet me request, Cerqa stores the place, the time, any title or note you add, and the people you invited along with their replies. Only the people in that plan or trip can see it, and a Meet me note also appears in your chat with the people you sent it to. While a plan or trip is live, Cerqa also stores a few status points for each person who shares, such as when they left, their estimated arrival time, when they got close, and when they arrived, so the group can see who is on the way. It does not store the route you drove.
Trip history. When a trip ends, Cerqa saves a summary to your trip history: the destination, distance, time, average and top speed, and who took part. You can see your own trip history, and for a group trip, the people who were in the group at the time can see it too. It does not include the route you drove.
Private Places. Private Places (such as home or work) and the people you trust to see you there are saved only on your device, not on the company's servers. While you are inside a Private Place, your device stops sending your real location to anyone you have not trusted for that place.
Trip photos. Photos you add during a shared trip are stored in a private AWS S3 bucket with an optional caption and place name, and are visible only to the people in that trip (for a group, the people in the group when the photo was added). They are deleted automatically after 30 days.
Messages and chat. Messages you send through Cerqa are stored on the company's servers (AWS DynamoDB) so they can be delivered and retrieved across devices. Messages include the text content, sender identity, timestamps, and read receipts. Message content is encrypted at rest using AES-256 before being written to the database; the encryption key is stored separately in AWS Secrets Manager and is not embedded in the app. Images sent in chat are stored in a private AWS S3 bucket. Messages are retained until you delete them or delete your account.
Notifications. In-app notifications (such as connection requests and location sharing invitations) are stored on the company's servers (AWS DynamoDB) so they can be retrieved in your inbox. The title and message content of these notifications are encrypted at rest using AES-256, with the encryption key managed via AWS Secrets Manager.
Device contacts. If you grant contacts permission, Cerqa reads your device contact list on your device to help you find friends who are already on Cerqa. Your contact list is not uploaded to the company's servers. Only when you add someone as a connection is a record of that connection stored.
Family plan. If you own or join a Cerqa Family plan, the owner and members can see each other's username and photo. Your membership is recorded on the company's servers and with RevenueCat so your Pro access works.
Push notification token. Cerqa collects a push notification token (provided by Firebase Cloud Messaging on Android, or APNs on iOS) along with a device identifier and platform type (iOS or Android) to send you notifications. This is stored on the company's servers and linked to your account.
Voice input. If you use voice search, your voice is processed on your device using its built-in speech recognition. The company does not receive or store your voice audio.
Usage analytics. Cerqa uses Google Analytics for Firebase in the app, and Google Analytics on cerqa.app and ride.cerqa.app, to understand how Cerqa is used and what to improve. This includes the screens and features you use (for example, starting a location share or creating a trip), app version, device type, operating system, language, and approximate region. It is linked to an internal account ID, never your name, email address, phone number, or location. Page addresses are sent without trip links or other private identifiers. Google's advertising features are turned off in analytics: analytics does not collect an advertising ID, and analytics data is not used for ads.
Advertising. Free accounts see ads from Google AdMob. Google's ads software in the app collects device information as described in the Advertising section below. Cerqa does not give advertisers your location, trips, messages, connections, or contacts.
Public road information. Border wait times (from U.S. Customs and Border Protection), gas prices and tolls in Mexico, and EV chargers come from public sources. Cerqa does not send those sources any information about you.
Background Location
Cerqa shares your location in the background only while a share or navigation you started is running. Background location is used only to keep your live position updated for the people or group you chose to share with, and to guide you while you navigate.
On Android: A foreground service runs while you share or navigate, and a notification is shown the whole time. You can stop sharing at any time by tapping "Stop sharing" in the notification. Swiping Cerqa away does not stop sharing.
On iPhone: Cerqa uses the iOS background location mode to keep your location updated when you switch apps or lock your screen. If you chose "While Using the App," iPhone shows a blue indicator while Cerqa uses your location in the background. Force-quitting Cerqa stops background location, and if your share has not ended, Cerqa offers to continue it the next time you open the app.
Background location for sharing and navigation stops when you stop sharing, end navigation, or sign out, when your live link ends, or when the time limit on your share runs out. For a full explanation, see cerqa.app/background_location_disclosure.
How Your Information Is Used
- To run the Cerqa service: signing you in, sharing your location, running plans, trips, and Meet me requests, delivering messages, and sending notifications.
- To help you find people you know: matching phone numbers from your device contact list against existing Cerqa users (processed on your device, not uploaded).
- To send push notifications: location sharing requests, plan and Meet me invitations, chat messages, connection invites, and arrival updates.
- To share your location in real time with the people or groups you choose.
- To improve reliability and fix bugs through Firebase crash reporting and analytics.
Cerqa does not build advertising profiles from your location or usage data, and never shares your location, trips, messages, connections, or contacts with advertisers.
Advertising
To keep Cerqa free, free accounts see a small ad card in some places in the app, such as Home. Pro accounts see no ads. Ads never appear while you navigate or on CarPlay.
Ads are provided by Google AdMob. To choose, show, and measure ads, and to prevent fraud, Google's ads software collects information such as your device type and settings, IP address (which gives an approximate location, like your city), how you interact with ads, and on Android, your device's advertising ID. On iPhone, Cerqa does not ask for permission to track you, so the advertising identifier (IDFA) is not used. Cerqa does not send Google your GPS location or any of your Cerqa data.
Depending on where you are and the choices you make, ads may be personalized based on your interests, or based only on general information such as the app and your approximate location:
- European Economic Area, UK, and Switzerland: Google's consent message asks you first. Ads are personalized only if you agree.
- US states with privacy laws (such as California): you can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data for ads.
- Anywhere: you can reset or delete your advertising ID on Android (Settings, then Google, then Ads), or turn off Allow Apps to Request to Track on iPhone.
Where the law requires it, Cerqa's Profile screen shows Privacy choices for ads, which reopens Google's message so you can change your answer at any time. Learn how Google uses information from apps that use its services at policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.
Sharing and Third Parties
Cerqa LLC does not sell your personal data for money. Some US state laws treat personalized ads as "sharing" data; you can opt out as described in the Advertising section. Your information is shared only in the following circumstances:
- With people you choose. When you share your location, invite people to a plan or Meet me, or send a message, that information is shared with the specific people or group members you selected. A live link is different: anyone who has the link can open it, so send it only to people you trust.
- With service providers. Cerqa uses the third-party services below to run. Each processes data only as needed to provide its service.
- For legal reasons. The company may disclose information if required by law or court order, or to protect the safety of Cerqa users or the public.
| Service | Purpose | Privacy Policy |
|---|---|---|
| AWS Amplify / Cognito | Account authentication and user management | aws.amazon.com/privacy |
| AWS AppSync / DynamoDB / S3 | Database storage for messages, profiles, and media | aws.amazon.com/privacy |
| AWS Secrets Manager | Secure storage of the AES-256 encryption key used to encrypt message and notification content | aws.amazon.com/privacy |
| Ably | Real-time transmission of location data and chat messages | ably.com/privacy |
| Mapbox | Maps, place search, and turn-by-turn navigation (receives your location while you use the map or navigate), and the map on live link pages | mapbox.com/legal/privacy |
| Google Places | Location search and place autocomplete | policies.google.com/privacy |
| Firebase (Google) | Push notifications (FCM), crash reporting, and app and website analytics | policies.google.com/privacy |
| Google AdMob | Ads shown to free accounts, and the consent and privacy choices message for ads | policies.google.com/technologies/ads |
| Amazon Bedrock (AWS) | AI descriptions of route options. Receives the destination name and route details (roads, distance, traffic), not your name or account | aws.amazon.com/privacy |
| Amazon SES (AWS) | Emails Cerqa LLC when you report content or block someone | aws.amazon.com/privacy |
| Apple and Google sign-in | Optional sign-in with your Apple or Google account | apple.com/legal/privacy |
| RevenueCat | Pro subscription purchases and status (an internal account ID and purchase records; payment itself is handled by Apple or Google) | revenuecat.com/privacy |
| OpenWeather | Rain checks, such as a rain alert for a person, a drive, or a photo caption. Receives map coordinates, not your name or account | openweather.co.uk/privacy-policy |
| Wikimedia | Photos and short descriptions of places, loaded by your device from Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons | foundation.wikimedia.org |
Data Retention
- Account data is kept until you delete your account.
- Live location is not stored. It is sent in real time only while you share.
- Live links are deleted about a day after their 3-hour limit, including the name and viewer IDs stored with them.
- Plans, trips, and trip history are kept until you delete your account. Plans and trips you were invited to stay with the person who created them.
- Trip photos are deleted automatically after 30 days.
- Messages are kept until you delete them individually or delete your account.
- Profile photos and chat images are kept until you replace them or delete your account.
- Push notification tokens are kept while your account is active and removed when you delete your account or turn off notification permission.
When you delete your account, Cerqa LLC deletes your profile, connections, messages, and associated data from its servers. Some data may remain in backups for a short period before being purged.
Your Rights and Choices
Location permission. You can turn off location access at any time in your device settings. Cerqa keeps working for messaging and other features that do not need your location.
Stop sharing. You can stop sharing your location at any time from the map or the sharing notification. You can stop a live link at any time from the navigation screen.
Private Places. You can add Private Places and choose who, if anyone, can see you there.
Contacts permission. You can turn off contacts access at any time. This does not affect connections you have already made.
Notification permission. You can turn off push notifications in your device settings. You will still see in-app notifications when the app is open.
Ads. You can change your ad choices as described in the Advertising section. Upgrading to Pro removes ads.
Access and correction. You can view and edit your profile information in the app at any time.
Account deletion. You can delete your account from the Profile screen in the app, or at cerqa.app/delete. This permanently removes your account and associated data from the company's systems.
GDPR and CCPA. If you are in the European Economic Area, UK, Switzerland, California, or another US state with a privacy law, you have additional rights, including the right to access, correct, or delete your personal data, and to object to certain processing. To use these rights, email privacy@cerqa.net.
Security
All data is sent over TLS (HTTPS). Sign-in is managed by AWS Cognito, and Cerqa LLC never stores your password. Media files are stored in private S3 buckets and can only be reached through short-lived signed links.
Chat message content and in-app notification data (title and message fields) are encrypted at rest using AES-256 (CBC mode) before being stored in DynamoDB. The encryption key is managed via AWS Secrets Manager and is not stored in the app's source code or binary.
No method of transmission or storage is 100% secure. If you believe your account has been compromised, email privacy@cerqa.net right away.
Children's Privacy
Cerqa is not directed at children under the age of 13, and Cerqa LLC does not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has created an account, email privacy@cerqa.net and the account will be deleted promptly.
Changes to This Policy
Cerqa LLC may update this policy from time to time. When it does, the "Last updated" date at the top of this page changes. For material changes, you will be notified in the app or by email. Continued use of Cerqa after changes are posted means you accept the updated policy.
Contact
For questions, concerns, or requests about this Privacy Policy, contact:
Cerqa LLC
privacy@cerqa.net