Safety and privacy
What Kaaka does to keep callers' data safe, and what it cannot do.
By design
- Works without data. Calls and SMS only. A rejected call costs the caller nothing.
- Only the Kaaka number can start the beacon. Kaaka Sensors reacts to an SMS from the configured number and nothing else; a stranger cannot make a phone report its location.
- Reports go only to the Kaaka number. Never to another number.
- The control room is locked before it goes public. The server refuses a public URL without an admin token. Only the location link page and its endpoint are public, and each link expires after 24 hours and accepts one update per 10 seconds.
- Rate limiting per caller stops one number from flooding responders.
- Nothing sensitive in backups. Both apps opt out of Android cloud backup, since they hold phone numbers, tokens and SMS.
- Every reply names 112. Kaaka is an addition to the emergency number, never a replacement.
What is stored, and where
| Where | What |
|---|---|
| Kaaka number (app) | Settings, the last 200 events with caller numbers, and the ordinary SMS inbox. |
| Control room data directory | Every event: numbers, message texts, alert reports, coordinates, who acknowledged and resolved. The responder registry with names, numbers and home positions. |
| Caller's phone (Kaaka Sensors) | Its own settings and the SMS it sent. |
Treat the data directory as sensitive: restrict who can read it, back it up somewhere equally restricted, and delete history you no longer need.
What Kaaka cannot do
- It cannot talk to the caller. Android gives apps no call audio; Kaaka only screens, rejects and texts.
- It cannot locate a caller who does not share their location, either with Kaaka Sensors or the link.
- Fall detection is a simple, untuned heuristic.
- Distance and ETA are straight-line estimates at an assumed city speed.
- SMS can be delayed or lost by the network. Responders should still call the caller back.
Kaaka 1.0.0 · Edit this page · In immediate danger, call 112.