Privacy Policy
Effective date: 22 July 2026
1. About Offlink
Offlink is an Android application designed to help people find approved friends without relying on mobile data, Wi-Fi or cloud servers. It uses Bluetooth Low Energy and a device-to-device mesh network to exchange limited profile, connection and location information between nearby participating devices.
This Privacy Policy explains what information Offlink accesses, how it is used, how it may be shared between devices and the choices available to you.
2. Information Offlink accesses and processes
Location information
With your permission, Offlink accesses your device's location so that your position can be shown to friends you have added and propagated through the offline mesh. Depending on your Android settings and the permissions you grant, this may include precise location.
Offlink identifier and profile information
Offlink creates a local identifier for your installation. The app may also store the profile details you choose in the app, such as an emoji or display identity. Offlink does not require your legal name, email address, telephone number, password or a cloud account.
Friend and mesh information
The app stores the friends you add, their Offlink identifiers, recent location updates, connection status, last-seen information and technical routing information needed to operate the Bluetooth mesh.
Diagnostics
Offlink may keep technical diagnostic events locally on your device, such as packet routing, Bluetooth connection results and mesh reliability information. Diagnostic exports are created only when you choose to export them. You control whether an exported file is shared with anyone.
3. How information is used
Offlink uses the information described above to:
- display your position and the positions of approved friends;
- discover nearby Offlink devices over Bluetooth;
- relay mesh packets between participating devices;
- maintain friend relationships and recent connection information;
- select routes and improve mesh reliability; and
- help diagnose faults when you choose to view or export diagnostic information.
4. Device-to-device sharing
Offlink does not upload your information to an Offlink cloud server. Information is exchanged directly between participating devices using Bluetooth.
Your profile identifier and location updates may be sent to friends you have added. Because Offlink uses a multi-hop mesh, intermediate Offlink devices may receive, temporarily process and relay packets so that information can reach a friend who is not within direct Bluetooth range.
Offlink does not sell personal information and does not share it with advertisers, data brokers or analytics providers. Information may still be disclosed where required by law, or when you deliberately export and share a diagnostic file.
5. Permissions
Depending on your Android version and the features you use, Offlink may request:
- Nearby devices and Bluetooth: to scan for, connect to and advertise to nearby Offlink devices.
- Location: to obtain your position for the friend-location feature and, on some Android versions, to support Bluetooth discovery.
- Camera: to scan a friend's Offlink QR code. Offlink does not use the camera to record or store photographs or video.
- Notifications: to display relevant app or connection notifications where supported.
You may deny or revoke permissions through Android settings, although some Offlink features may then stop working.
6. Storage and retention
Offlink stores its app data locally on your device. This may include your Offlink identifier, profile choice, friend list, recent friend locations and mesh diagnostics.
Data generally remains on your device until it is replaced during normal app use, cleared through Android's app settings or removed when you uninstall the app. Mesh packets held for forwarding are intended to be temporary and may expire according to the app's routing and retention rules.
7. Security
Offlink is designed to minimise centralised data collection by operating without an Offlink cloud service. Android and Bluetooth provide platform-level security features, but no wireless transmission or local storage method can be guaranteed to be completely secure.
The current version of Offlink does not claim end-to-end encryption for every mesh packet. You should share location only with people you trust and avoid exporting diagnostic files unless necessary.
8. Your choices and deletion
You can control your information by:
- removing friends within Offlink where that option is available;
- turning off Bluetooth, location or other permissions in Android settings;
- clearing Offlink's storage through Android's app settings; or
- uninstalling Offlink, which removes locally stored app data from that device.
Offlink does not provide cloud accounts, so there is no server-side account to delete.
9. Children's privacy
Offlink is not designed for children under 13. We do not knowingly operate a server that collects personal information from children. Parents and guardians should supervise any use of location-sharing features by a child or young person.
10. Third-party services
The current version of Offlink is designed to operate without advertising networks, cloud analytics or an Offlink backend. Google Play and the Android operating system may independently process information under their own terms and privacy policies when you download, install or manage the app.
11. Changes to this policy
This Privacy Policy may be updated when Offlink's features or data practices change. The effective date at the top of this page will be revised when an update is published. Material changes will be communicated through an appropriate notice where required.
12. Contact
For privacy questions or concerns about Offlink, contact the developer through the GitHub profile below: