Your privacy, by design

Privacy Policy

No account No phone number No central server No analytics Your LoRa network carries your data

Last updated: October 23, 2026

Nelos is an offline-first team communication and coordination app for LoRa mesh devices. This policy explains, in plain English, what information Nelos processes, what it does not collect, and how data is handled on your device. The legal details follow below.

A few more specifics

No ads. Nelos does not show advertising.
No sale of personal data. We do not sell or rent your personal information.
Keep GPS on in the background is off by default and only runs when you turn it on.

No account required

Nelos does not require you to create an account, provide a name, email address, or phone number to use the app. There is no profile and no social network.

How your messages and locations are transmitted

Team messages, direct messages, Need Help messages, and shared locations are transmitted through your own LoRa mesh device and network. Nelos does not operate a backend chat server, and these messages are not sent to or stored on Nelos servers.

Please note that LoRa mesh is a radio technology. Depending on your device configuration and encryption settings, messages may be receivable by other nodes within radio range. You are responsible for how your mesh network and devices are configured.

If you are in more than one team, messages and locations you share with a team go only to that team; each team has its own encrypted channel.

Location

Nelos uses your device location to show your position and to share it with the team members you choose. Location data is used on your device and transmitted over your LoRa mesh only when you choose to share it. We do not upload, collect, or store your location on Nelos-operated servers. You can control location permissions at any time in your device settings.

Keep GPS on in the background (optional)

Keep GPS on in the background (formerly “Background location sharing”) is off by default. If you turn it on, Nelos keeps your phone's GPS on while the app is in the background or the screen is locked. This records your own movement history on your device, so you can see where you have been and find your way back. It works with or without a team or a LoRa device. On Android, a persistent notification is shown while it runs. You can turn it off at any time in the app or in your device settings, and keeping GPS on may use more battery.

Whether your location is sent to a team is a separate setting, Share Location. Your location is sent only while Share Location is on and you are in a team, only to that team, and only over your LoRa mesh device - never to a Nelos server. Updates are periodic, not continuous real-time tracking; with Keep GPS on in the background they come more regularly. If you have allowed background location (“Always” on iOS, “Allow all the time” on Android), Nelos can still read your location in the background to send to your team while Share Location is on, even with Keep GPS on in the background off. Turn off Share Location to stop sending your location.

Location history

Nelos keeps a local location history on your device - for you, for team members, and for trackers - built from the locations this device receives. This history is stored only on your device: it is not uploaded, backed up to the cloud, or re-synced over the network. It is kept for up to 90 days, after which older entries are removed automatically; this applies to all users. The free plan lets you view the last 24 hours; Nelos Pro lets you view up to 90 days. Changing plans only changes how far back you can look, not what is stored. Uninstalling the app or clearing its data deletes this history.

Your own history comes from your phone's GPS while Nelos runs. With Keep GPS on in the background turned on, it is recorded with the screen locked too; with it off, it may have gaps.

Bluetooth

Nelos uses Bluetooth to connect to and communicate with your MeshCore-compatible LoRa device. Bluetooth is used solely to talk to your hardware. We do not use Bluetooth to track you or to collect information about nearby devices for advertising.

Notifications

With your permission, Nelos may send local notifications on your device - for example, to alert you to a new message or a Need Help signal from your team. You can disable notifications at any time in your device settings.

Local storage on your device

Team data, message history, location history, waypoints, downloaded offline maps, and app preferences are stored locally on your device so the app works offline. If you are in more than one team at the same time, each team's data is stored separately on your device. Information you choose to share may also be transmitted through your LoRa mesh network. Uninstalling the app or clearing its data removes all of this information from your device.

User-controlled team sharing

You decide what to share and with whom. Messages and location are only sent to your team when you choose to send or share them. Nelos does not broadcast your information without your action.

In-app purchases (Nelos Pro)

Nelos Pro is a one-time purchase processed by the App Store (Apple) or Google Play (Google). Nelos uses RevenueCat to confirm your Nelos Pro status and to support restoring your purchase on a new device. Payment is handled by the App Store or Google Play; Nelos does not directly receive your payment card details. Nelos does not ask you to create an account to make a purchase. RevenueCat and the app stores may process data related to the transaction under their own privacy policies.

Email support

If you contact us at support@nelos.app, we will receive the email address you write from and the contents of your message. We use this only to respond to and resolve your request. We do not use it for marketing, and we do not sell it.

Feedback and diagnostic reports

Nelos lets you send feedback and diagnostic reports directly from within the app. Diagnostic reports may include information such as your device model, operating system version, app version, permission states, and device connection status, to help investigate technical issues.

This is user-initiated only: you review the report and choose to send it yourself (for example, through your email app). Nelos does not collect or upload diagnostic data automatically, performs no background upload, uses no analytics service, and operates no diagnostic backend or server.

Information you submit through feedback or a diagnostic report is used only to investigate, respond to, and resolve the issue you reported.

Analytics

The Nelos website does not use Google Analytics or any other third-party analytics or tracking service. The Nelos app does not use third-party advertising or behavioral analytics, and does not use any third-party analytics or crash-reporting service.

Children

Nelos is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us so we can address it.

Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the "Last updated" date above. Continued use of the app after changes means you accept the updated policy.

Contact

Questions about privacy? Email us at support@nelos.app.