LOCATION & PRIVACY · DEVELOPMENT OVERVIEW

On your terms.

Encountr is not publicly released. This page explains the current implementation; it is not a promise that background discovery or map coverage is perfect.

Discovery is a choice.

Discovery must be enabled. The app sends location updates to its self-hosted backend to find nearby people and apply residential rules. Nearby results show approximate proximity, not the other person's exact coordinates. You can pause discovery, block people, report a profile, or request account deletion.

A waypoint needs permission.

Exact person waypoints require an accepted sharing request. Sharing lasts up to 10 minutes and either person can end it. Pausing discovery or a positive residential decision ends person sharing. Old location samples expire rather than continuing to display as live.

Residential checks have limits.

The server checks existing OpenStreetMap residential land-use polygons. These are mapped land use, not comprehensive home addresses or authoritative zoning. Only strict residential interiors are excluded; exact boundaries, mapped nonresidential pockets, and unclassified areas remain allowed. No extra geographic buffer is added.

The server receives updates even while residential discovery is suppressed, so it can recognize an exit. Residential observations are not published as discoverable presence. Missing map coverage, inaccurate GPS, delayed updates, or loss of connectivity can prevent immediate suppression. Do not rely on this as a guarantee that you are hidden at home; use Pause whenever you need that control.

Current presence, not a public travel history.

The implementation stores a latest eligible presence record, not a location timeline. Server-side expiry controls what can be discovered. Precise coordinates are kept out of notification payloads. Live-record deletion does not instantly remove information from database backups or write-ahead logs; production retention and restore procedures must be finalized before launch.

About this website.

This static site has no signup form, advertising trackers, analytics scripts, or application login. Its screenshots use sample people, a fixed clock, and an illustrative map. Cloudflare serves the site and processes ordinary network request information for hosting and security. The mobile app's third-party map services are separate from this marketing site.

Map attribution.

Residential data: © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License. Regional extracts are provided by Geofabrik.