Privacy

Privacy policy

Last updated 15 September 2026

This policy explains what HarooLink does with information, on the iPhone and Android app and on haroolink.com. It is here so you can read it, and so App Store Connect has a public privacy URL.

The short version

HarooLink does not run a cloud inbox. You choose a username on the phone. That identity, your chats, and your keys stay on the device. We do not sell your information. We do not put ads in the app. There is no HarooLink account sitting on our servers for us to look up.

Who we are

HarooLink is the encrypted messaging app at haroolink.com. Questions about this policy: [email protected].

What stays on your phone

The app may keep the following on the device, depending on how you use it:

• The username you choose, and an optional phone number if you add one later.
• Encryption keys used to seal chats and sign SOS beacons.
• Chats, people you have scanned or spoken with, and a block list.
• SOS settings, including whether you turned SOS on and the note on your beacon.
• Your location only while SOS is on, so the beacon can carry a position to phones in radio range.
• Local notifications for chats and nearby SOS while the app is running.

Contacts from your phonebook stay on the device. HarooLink can match a number you already saved so a friend is easier to find. We do not upload your address book.

What we do not collect

• We do not create an online account or a public list of usernames.
• We do not require a phone number. You can use the app without one.
• We do not keep a copy of your chats on a HarooLink server.
• We do not use advertising or analytics SDKs in the app.
• We do not use Sign in with Apple or any other social login.

How we use what is on the phone

Username and keys let two phones recognise each other and keep chats private. An optional phone number only helps this phone match friends who already use HarooLink. SOS, if you turn it on, broadcasts a signed location note to nearby HarooLink users until you turn it off. Camera, microphone, and notifications are used for QR pairing, calls, and local alerts.

We do not use this information for advertising.

Permissions

The app asks for access only when a feature needs it. You can refuse, and you can withdraw it later in system Settings.

• Camera. Scan a friend’s QR code, and for video calls.
• Microphone. Voice and video calls.
• Location. Only when SOS is on, to put your position on a signed beacon for nearby phones.
• Contacts. Optional. Find friends who already use HarooLink with their number. Numbers stay on this phone.
• Notifications. Local alerts for chats and SOS while the app process is alive.
• Local network and nearby Wi-Fi. Find and talk to phones around you when the internet is down.

SOS

SOS is off unless you turn it on. When it is on, nearby HarooLink phones can see a signed note and your location. Beacons expire after a few minutes. There is no SOS history stored on a HarooLink server. Turn SOS off at any time to stop broadcasting.

When you use the ordinary internet

Encrypted messages can travel phone to phone over a public peer network. HarooLink does not operate a message inbox on a server. Other peers on that network may see that a phone is reachable. They do not get the contents of your chats.

Maps

If you open Nearby for an SOS beacon, the in-app map may load tiles from Carto. If you tap through to Apple Maps or Google Maps, those apps receive the coordinates so they can show the place. This only happens if you look at a beacon.

This website

haroolink.com is a public site for the app. It does not host your chats or your username directory. The server may keep ordinary web logs, such as IP address, date, and browser type, for security and to keep the site up. Those logs are not used to build a profile of you. The site may set a session cookie so pages can load. You can delete cookies in your browser at any time.

Third parties

We do not sell your information. We do not share app data with advertising or analytics companies. If you open a map for an SOS beacon, Carto, Apple, or Google receive what that feature needs, under their own policies. Those parties must protect that information at least as carefully as this policy requires of us. Hosting for this website is provided by our infrastructure vendor under contract.

How long things stay

On the phone, HarooLink data stays until you delete the app or clear the app’s storage. SOS beacons expire after a few minutes. Because we do not keep a copy of your identity on HarooLink servers, there is nothing for us to hold there, and nothing for us to erase there later.

Your choices, consent, and deletion

You can turn SOS off. You can refuse or withdraw Camera, Microphone, Location, Contacts, and Notifications in the phone’s Settings. To remove the local identity and everything HarooLink stored on that phone, follow how to delete your account and data. You do not need to email us to finish that. Deleting the app is the deletion.

Children

HarooLink is not aimed at children under 13. If you believe a child has used the app in a way that worries you, delete the app on that phone and write to us at [email protected].

Changes

We will post updates on this page. The date at the top will change when we do.

Contact

Privacy questions: [email protected]. If you write to ask us to delete a cloud account, we will not have one to find. The steps on the deletion page are how you remove HarooLink data.