Data & Consent Information

This page explains how the Community Bluetooth Signal Mapping Tool prototype works and what you are agreeing to when you use it.

1. What This Prototype Is

• This is an experimental research and demonstration tool.
• It is not part of any active law‑enforcement investigation.
• It does not claim to locate any specific person or medical device.

2. What the Scanner Does

When you enable scanning in a supported browser, the tool may:

• Ask your browser to show nearby Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) devices.
• Let you select a single device from that list.
• Record that device's identifier and name, along with signal strength (when available).
• Record your approximate location (latitude, longitude, accuracy) if you grant location permission.
• Send this scan data to a secure demo backend for analysis and visualization.

3. Data Collected

Depending on your choices and browser support, the following data may be collected:

• Timestamp of each scan.
• Bluetooth device identifier (a UUID exposed by the browser, not a raw MAC address).
• Bluetooth device name, if available.
• Signal strength (RSSI), when available.
• Approximate location (latitude, longitude, accuracy) if you grant location permission.
• Basic browser and platform information (e.g., user agent string).

4. How Data May Be Used

• To explore and illustrate how community volunteers could help map Bluetooth activity in an area.
• To evaluate the feasibility and limitations of Bluetooth‑based search concepts.
• To generate anonymized or aggregated statistics for presentations or research discussions.

Data is not automatically shared with law enforcement or any agency. In limited cases, if a participant explicitly requests that their scan data be shared with an authorized public safety agency, such sharing would occur only with additional consent and under clearly defined conditions.

5. What This Prototype Cannot Do

• It cannot reliably detect or confirm the presence of specific medical implants.
• It cannot, by itself, identify or track a specific person.
• It does not provide any guarantee about the type or purpose of the devices it detects.

6. Risks & Limitations

• Bluetooth identifiers may, in some contexts, be linkable to personal devices.
• Location data can reveal patterns of movement if collected frequently.
• This is a research prototype and may contain bugs or behave unexpectedly.

7. Your Choices

• You may choose not to use the scanner at all.
• You may decline location permission; scans will then be recorded without coordinates.
• You may stop scanning and close the page at any time.

8. Summary of Consent

By checking the consent box and using the scanner, you acknowledge that:

• You understand this is an experimental research tool, not an emergency system.
• You consent to Bluetooth scanning and optional location tracking for demo and research purposes.
• You understand that collected data is handled according to this page and the accompanying Privacy Policy (Prototype) and Terms & Conditions (Prototype).