Privacy and consent
Location is personal. Warden treats it that way: shared on purpose, visible only to the people you chose, and paused whenever you like.
Consent you can see
- Sharing is off by default, in every circle.
- Only you can switch your sharing on, on your own phone, separately for each circle. Nobody can do it for you.
- Before you switch it on, Warden shows exactly what the circle will see.
- You can always see who can see your location.
- Everyone in a circle is told who joins and who leaves.
- New people join only with an invite code they enter on their own phone, and only after the circle's owner approves them.
What your circle sees
| While you share | While you're paused | |
|---|---|---|
| Your name and membership | Yes | Yes |
| Live location on the map | Yes | No, they see “Paused” |
| Battery level | Yes | No |
| Arrive and leave alerts | Yes | No |
| “Hasn't moved” alert | Yes | No |
| Location history | Last 30 days, from when you started sharing | Nothing new is stored |
| Messages and SOS | Yes | Yes |
Pause, stop, leave
Pause your sharing with one switch, stop it for one circle, or leave a circle completely, anytime. While you share with no circle, Warden stores no new locations, and your people see “Paused” instead of a guess.
What Warden will never do
- Listen in. Warden has no listening feature and no microphone access.
- Run hidden. There is no hidden mode; Warden always shows on the phone that shares.
- Show ads or sell data. No ad SDKs, no third-party tracking, no profiling.
- Be used against someone. Warden's terms forbid locating anyone without their knowledge, setting it up on someone else's phone, stalking and employee monitoring.
Where your data lives
- Your circle's data is stored in the EU, and Warden is built for the GDPR.
- Data is encrypted in transit and at rest.
- Location history is deleted after 30 days, alerts after 90 days.
- Delete your account and data in the app anytime.
SOS goes to your circle
Hold SOS for two seconds and your position goes to everyone in your circles, even while you're paused. It doesn't reach emergency services, so in an emergency call 112 (EU) or 911 (US) too.
The legal texts
The full privacy policy, terms and imprint, in English and German:
Questions people ask
Can someone switch on my location sharing for me?
No. Only you can switch your sharing on, on your own phone. The circle's owner can't do it either.
Can I see someone in Warden who doesn't know about it?
No. Warden only shows people who joined a circle and switched sharing on themselves, on their own phone. Its terms forbid locating anyone without their knowledge.
How long does Warden keep my location history?
30 days. Older history is deleted automatically, and alerts after 90 days.
Does Warden sell my data or show ads?
No. Warden has no ads, no third-party tracking and sells no data.