Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Modernaut LLC (“Modernaut,” “we,” “us”) processes information through the Chillswitch mobile application and chillswitch.app. Chillswitch is a voluntary check-in tool, not an emergency service or monitoring center.

Information we process

Account creation does not require an email address or phone number. We process a generated account name, public keys, device sessions, push tokens, timezone, check-in settings, deadlines, circle membership and routing relationships, optional display name, and account-safety settings needed to operate the service.

We process current check-in and escalation state, signed in-app alert envelopes, and limited delivery records such as notice type, state, attempts, timestamps, and failure codes. We do not keep a server-side history of completed check-in times. Security audit records contain event classes, timestamps, limited details, and keyed hashes rather than plaintext account identifiers.

In-app alert content and encryption

Alert content sent to app users—including notes, instructions, and an optional attached location—is sealed on the sending device. Modernaut’s application servers route the ciphertext but are not designed to hold the keys needed to open it. The server still processes membership, routing, timing, delivery, and other operational metadata. Encryption does not prevent access on an unlocked or compromised device.

What people in your circle can see

Chillswitch is built so that people in your circle learn only what each feature needs. A few features do show one person something about another. You can always decline, leave, or stop.

Who is responding. When a safety contact says they are checking on someone, or that they have seen an alert, their name is shown to the other people alerted about the same person. This is the name or username they chose in the app and, if they have set one, the name their contacts know them by. It is removed when the alert is resolved.

Places. A safety contact can ask you to check in from a particular place, and a person who runs a group can open a roll call that counts only people who are at a particular site. The place, which may include a name, a map pin, and a street address, is shown to the people asked, who can open it in their phone's map app. A pin created with "Use where I am" may have a street address looked up by your phone's mapping service, as described below. The place is sealed on the sender's device in the same way as alert content, so our servers cannot read it.

When you answer, your phone compares your position with the place and sends only whether it believes you are there. We do not receive your coordinates. Location is requested only while the app is open and you are answering. The person who asked is told whether your phone said you were there, were somewhere else, or could not tell. In a roll call, everyone in the group sees the totals, including how many answered from somewhere else. Only the people who can already see the group's roster see names. You can decline a request to check in from a place. Asking from a place does not start an alert and does not change your regular check-in.

Primary contacts. A safety contact can agree to be the first person called when you miss a check-in. If they agree, their name and phone number are included in the sealed alert and shown to your other safety contacts, who may not know them. This is their choice, and they can stop at any time. Contacts you add or label on your own phone, including phone numbers you save for people, stay on your device and are not sent to us.

Optional location

Chillswitch does not request background location permission. Location is off by default and is requested only while the app is open when you choose to attach it at check-in. A selected in-app escalation step may share the sealed location, capture time, and reported accuracy with your chosen contacts. It is a past location, not live tracking. Location is not included in SMS alerts. Place-based check-ins and roll calls are described under What people in your circle can see.

Contacts, invitations, and SMS

We do not upload your address book or offer contact discovery. On iOS, the system picker shares the selected contact. On Android, contact picking requires contacts permission, but selection is processed on the device. You may also share an invitation code without choosing a contact.

If you invite someone by phone, we process that selected number in encrypted form plus a keyed hash. Automated SMS alerts are not sent until the recipient affirmatively enrolls by replying YES or START with the issued code. We process enrollment status, consent and opt-out timestamps, one-way hashes of codes, phone numbers and inbound messages, and limited delivery/cost records. SMS is not end-to-end encrypted: Modernaut, Twilio, mobile carriers, and recipient devices can process message content, phone numbers, timestamps, delivery data, and network metadata. Frequency varies; message and data rates may apply. STOP opts out and HELP requests assistance. Phone numbers and SMS opt-in consent data are collected solely to deliver requested check-in and alert notifications and will never be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing purposes.

Purchases

Apple or Google processes payment information for optional subscriptions. Modernaut receives an Apple transaction identifier or Google purchase token, product, store, entitlement state, expiry, and lifecycle events needed to verify access, prevent fraud, restore purchases, and handle refunds or revocations. Tokens are encrypted at rest and matched using keyed references. We do not receive full payment-card details.

Website, support, and network data

Like any online service, our infrastructure receives connection data such as IP address, request time, user agent, and security events. Application rate limits use keyed representations where implemented, but hosting and security providers may keep standard logs under their policies. The public site does not use advertising or cross-site tracking cookies and does not embed third-party advertising analytics. If you email us, we process your address, message, attachments, and support history.

How we use information

• Provide accounts, check-ins, circles, alerts, roll calls, recovery, support, and account deletion.
• Deliver and troubleshoot push notifications and consented SMS.
• Verify subscriptions, restore purchases, handle store lifecycle events, and prevent fraud.
• Protect users and the service, enforce limits, investigate abuse, and maintain audit and incident records.
• Comply with law, enforce agreements, and respond to lawful requests.

Providers and disclosures

We disclose information as needed to Apple and Google for push delivery and store billing; Twilio and mobile carriers for SMS; hosting, database, queue, security, backup, and support providers; professional advisers; and authorities when legally required. We may transfer information in a corporate transaction subject to appropriate safeguards. Providers process information under their own terms and privacy notices.

Modernaut does not sell personal information for money or share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. We do not use Chillswitch data to build advertising profiles.

No mobile information will be shared with third parties/affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. All other categories of personal data described in this policy exclude text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with, sold to, or transferred to any third parties.

When you pin a place or type an address, your phone may ask Apple's or Google's mapping service to turn it into a street address or a map position. We do not receive those requests.

Retention and deletion

We retain account and configuration data while the account is active; current check-in state while needed to run the schedule; sealed envelopes until delivery or resolution; invitation and enrollment data until expiry, revocation, deletion, or as needed to document consent; opt-out hashes as needed to honor STOP; delivery, billing, security, fraud, and support records for operational, dispute, legal, and audit needs. Rolling audit history is capped by the service. Provider records and encrypted backups follow separate retention schedules and may age out after active-system deletion.

You can delete your account in the app under Settings. Active account records, schedules, circles, keys, and sessions are deleted through the service’s cascade process. Limited hashed deletion, opt-out, billing, security, legal, provider, and backup records may remain where needed for the purposes above. Deleting Chillswitch does not cancel an Apple or Google subscription; cancel it in the applicable store. See Account deletion for instructions.

Security

We use transport encryption, client-side sealing for in-app alert content, access controls, keyed hashes, encrypted sensitive fields, signed alerts, and hardware-backed device key wrapping where supported. No system or transmission method is guaranteed secure. See Security for architecture limits and vulnerability reporting.

Children

Chillswitch is not directed to children under 13, and Modernaut does not knowingly create accounts for them. Users under the age of legal majority should use the service only with permission from a parent or legal guardian where required. A “guardian” relationship inside Chillswitch is a voluntary interval agreement, not parental-control software; either participant can end it.

Your choices and rights

You may decline optional display-name, contacts, notification, location, and SMS features; leave circles; block accounts; withdraw SMS consent with STOP; manage subscriptions in your store; and delete your account. Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, restrict, or obtain information about personal data. Email [email protected]. We may need enough information to verify that a request concerns your account, and some rights have legal exceptions.

International processing

Our providers may process information in the United States and other countries. Applicable protections and legal rights can differ by location. Store and carrier availability may also vary.

Changes and contact

We will update the date above and provide additional notice when required if this policy changes materially. Questions and privacy requests may be sent to [email protected]. Security reports should be sent to [email protected]. Modernaut LLC is the operator responsible for Chillswitch.