Privacy Policy for SmokeRead

Last updated: October 28, 2026

1. About this app

SmokeRead is a mobile app that helps firefighters record incidents, their personal protective equipment (PPE), passive smoke sampling results, and their location during work. The data may be analyzed by authorized team members for research and development to improve firefighter safety.

This policy explains what the app collects, how it is used, and the choices you have.

2. Information we collect

Account information

• Name and email address.
• Password (stored only in a protected, hashed form; we cannot read it).
• Phone number, if you choose to provide it (optional).

Profile information (entered at sign-up)

• Gender, race, ethnicity and year of birth (all optional).
• Height, weight and dominant hand.
• Firefighting status, type of firefighting, years of experience, fire station name, and the city and state where you work as a firefighter.

Location information

• With your permission, the app records your device's location (latitude, longitude, altitude, accuracy and time) once per minute, including while the app is in the background.
• Background recording only works if you set location access to "Always". You can change this at any time in your device settings, or turn recording off in the app under Settings → GPS Preferences.
• Locations are stored on your device until they are uploaded, which happens about every 15 minutes when you have an internet connection.

Information you enter in the app

• Incident records (date and address).
• PPE details (equipment IDs for helmet, hood, face mask, SCBA, gloves, boots and turnout gear).
• Passive smoke sampling results (detected chemicals and their proportions).

We do not collect contacts, photos, health records from other apps, or advertising identifiers.

3. How we use your information

• For research and development: authorized team members analyze location, incident, PPE and smoke sampling data to improve firefighter safety.
• To manage your account: sign-in, email verification and password changes.
• To send account emails: verification codes, sign-in notifications, password change notices and account deletion confirmations.

We do not use your information for advertising and we do not sell it.

4. How we share your information

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it with advertisers or data brokers. We may share your information only in the following circumstances:

4.1 With authorized personnel

Your data may be accessed by authorized team members for research and development purposes, through a password-protected dashboard.

4.2 With service providers

We may share data with trusted third-party service providers who help operate the app, such as data storage and email services, under strict confidentiality agreements.

4.3 Legal requirements

We may disclose your information if required by law or to protect the rights, safety, or property of users, the public, or our organization.

5. Where your information is stored

Your information is stored on servers and a database provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS) in the United States. Account emails are sent through Amazon Simple Email Service (Amazon SES). These providers process the data only to run the service for us.

6. How we protect your information

• Passwords are stored in hashed form.
• Access to the team dashboard requires an approved account.
• Data sent between the app and our servers is encrypted in transit using HTTPS.

7. How long we keep your information

We will retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required by law. When you delete your account, your data is deleted from our servers.

8. Your choices and rights

• Stop location recording: turn it off in Settings → GPS Preferences, or change location access in your device settings.
• Correct your information: contact us using the details below. You can change your password in the app's settings.
• Delete your account: use the delete-account option in the app's settings. This permanently deletes your account and all associated data on our servers, including your profile, location records, incident records, PPE records and smoke sampling records.

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may also have the following rights regarding your personal data:

• The right to access, correct, or delete your personal information.
• The right to withdraw consent for data processing. You can withdraw at any time by deleting your account in the app, or by contacting us and asking us to delete your data.
• The right to request data portability.
• The right to lodge a complaint with a data protection authority.

To exercise these rights, please contact us using the details below.

9. Children

This app is intended for adult firefighters. It is not intended for anyone under 18, and we do not knowingly collect information from children.

10. Changes to this policy

If we change this policy, we will update the "Last updated" date above. Significant changes will be shown in the app.

11. Contact us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy, please contact us at:

Iowa State University, NexGen PPT
2007 HNSB, 706 Morrill Rd, Ames, IA 50011
icpclab@gmail.com