azom.dev / PrivacyPin
Self-hosted, federated location sharing app and server that prioritizes user privacy and security
end-to-end-encryption location-sharing privacy self-hosted federated
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Kotlin 57%
Rust 27%
Shell 15%
Just 1%
Assembly <1%
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app
server
.gitignore
.rustfmt.toml
API.md
justfile
LICENSE
README.md
ROADMAP.md
README.md

PrivacyPin #

PrivacyPin is (going to be) a secure self-hosted location sharing app designed to prioritize user privacy. It offers complete control over location sharing, allowing users to determine who can access their location and when. PrivacyPin is federated, so different servers can interoperate and users are not locked into a single provider. Additionally, it might provide real-time notifications when someone accesses their position (that will require self-hosted notifications, which I'm unsure how much of a pain that is).

Important

I’m in the process of rapidly iterating to establish a base on which testing can begin. The current tech stack is NOT the final one.

If you’re interested in contributing to this exciting project, I’d love to hear from you! My primary challenge lies in native mobile development, but any assistance is greatly appreciated!

Key Features #

  • User-Controlled Location Sharing: Users have full control over who can view their location and when it is visible.
  • Real-Time Access Notifications: Receive notifications whenever someone accesses your position. (if I ever feel like adding that)
  • Self-Hostable Server: The server is self-hostable, ensuring that users do not rely on big tech companies to access their location data.
  • Federated Architecture: Servers can interoperate, allowing people on different servers to share locations with each other.
  • Robust Security: Implements strong encryption and security measures to ensure data integrity and protection against potential threats, making security a core focus of the project.

Usage #

PrivacyPin is still in early development, and the usage instructions will be provided once the app reaches a stable version. Stay tuned for updates!

Roadmap #

Phase 1 — Core Functionality (MVP) #

  • Android mobile app.
  • Self-hostable backend server with basic API functionality.
  • On/off control for location sharing.
  • Simple UI for sharing location.
  • Basic user authentication system.
  • Basic background location service for location sharing.

Phase 2 — Security & Usability Enhancements #

  • Improved and polished UI/UX for the mobile app.
  • Server-side data validation.
  • More robust API design and error handling on the client.
  • End-to-end encryption (e2e).
  • Account creation via QR code.
  • Adding friends via QR code.

Phase 3 — Advanced Privacy & Architecture #

  • Utilization of trusted computing environments for key storing and computing.
  • Federation/multi-server support.
  • Fine-grained control over location sharing.

Phase 4 — Extended Security Features #

  • Fingerprint/PIN app access.
  • Real-time access notifications.

Contributing #

Contributions to PrivacyPin are welcome! If you'd like to contribute, you can work on an issue, open an issue yourself or message me. Currently, I'm working on an MVP, but if you would want to help this project in literally any way, send me a message 😄

Getting Started (Development) #

Prerequisites #

Make sure you have the following installed:

  • Rustup
  • just
  • A local Android SDK + JDK (see app/AGENT_CONTEXT.md — everything lives in ~/android-sdk/, nothing system-wide)

Running the Environment #

# Terminal 1: start the server (prints the admin signup key at startup)
just server # "just s" also works

# Terminal 2: start the emulator (with a window), then build + deploy the app
just emu
just app # "just a" also works

# Optional helpers
just perms                 # grant all app permissions via adb (skip the dialogs)
just mock 45.5017 -73.5673 # send a fake GPS fix to the emulator
just logs                  # tail app logs

Testing with a second user (no second device needed) #

just peer is a curl-driven fake user for exercising the sharing flows locally:

just peer create <signup_key>  # create the peer's account (generate a key in the app, or use the admin key)
just peer invite               # peer wants to SEE you: paste the printed token in the app ("Accept invite")
just peer accept <token>       # peer agrees to SHARE with you: accepts an invite created in the app
just peer send <user_id>       # push a fake position to whoever the peer shares with
just peer get <user_id>        # dump the pings a user is sending to the peer

The app's default server URL (http://10.0.2.2:3000) points the emulator at the server running on your host machine.

Contact #

Email : azomDev@pm.me
Signal : @azom.01
Discord : azom.dev