Live map privacy
Live GPS is encrypted (AES-GCM). People in your club or event can plot the map. Helper computers that only pass traffic cannot plot you; they keep an encrypted recording. Coaches in the club/event can rebuild the day from that recording. We do not promise that someone who already watched the map can unsee it.
Tapping Share on a club in the home sharing sheet puts you on that club’s live list (so other phones and car browsers can find you). It is not the same as clocking into a field session. Clocking in at the hub also puts you on that session’s map right away. Nearby phones update each other over the mesh many times a second; the cloud list is only a slow last-known so maps still work when mesh is down. Turning Share off stops this phone from sending its location; it can still receive others.
Who can see whom (live map)
| You are… | Club practice map (e.g. Thundercats) | Multi-club event map |
|---|---|---|
| Member of that club | Everyone in the club, including all kids | Only if you also joined the event |
| Joined the event (any team or spectator) | Your own club only | Everyone on the event, including all kids from every team |
| Remote spectator who joined the event | No | Yes (watch). You do not get the coach’s saved reconstruction. |
| Parent / guardian not in that club or event | No | No |
| Public helper computer | Forwards only; cannot plot after encryption | Same |
| Left the club or event | Others drop your dot in seconds. You cannot follow new positions after the next key refresh (up to 15 minutes). Someone else can take your slot immediately. | Same, for the event only — your club practice map is unchanged |
Kids’ beacon tags have no GPS. Nearby phones at the event share a location estimate so the whole event can see those kids — not only their own team. Guardianship (who may check a child in) is separate from who sees the map.
Using the live map in a phone browser (Safari)
The iOS/Android app can keep GPS going in the pocket. Safari (and other browsers) cannot.
- Location permission: Safari will ask. If you tap Don’t Allow, or never get the prompt, you never appear on anyone’s map. Look for the location icon in the address bar.
- Share must be on for that club, and you must be a member of the same group the map is showing.
- Screen lock / other tab: iOS freezes or kills the Safari tab. GPS and the live-map upload stop. The browser does not keep the screen awake (we do not use a screen wake lock on web, because that would heat the phone more). Keep the tab in the foreground with the screen on if you want to be visible.
- Heat: Flutter web paints a full canvas (CanvasKit). Combined with GPS, that warms an iPhone. The web app now uses a slower GPS watch (~15 s, balanced accuracy) and stops GPS when the tab is hidden. For a long day on the hill, install the native app instead of Safari.
- First load: The web app is a large Flutter download (CanvasKit + Dart). Later visits should be faster from cache. Native apps avoid that download.
A paired watch shows only a short list of people. Next to the phone that list comes over Bluetooth. Away from the phone, a private helper computer (edge-relay) can send the same short list — not the whole stadium. A public volunteer relay will not feed the watch.
At most 2000 people on a club or on an event at once. See Live map relays if you run a helper computer.