Transparency
What we do with your data. And what we don't.
An app that knows where your people are has to explain itself better than any other. Here's everything, in the same order you ask us: what we store, for how long, who sees it, where it lives, and how to delete it. What we don't do is here too.
What we store and for how long
What's on our servers about you
Only what the app needs to work. Every piece of data, with its timeframe and who can see it.
Your real-time location
How long and how
Only while you have it active. It's never on by default: you turn it on when you join a circle and pause it whenever you want (from the app or your phone settings).
Who can see it
The people in your circle, at the level you choose: precise, zone only, or invisible (adults).
Arrival and departure alerts
How long and how
The event ("home since 8:43 AM") is stored to show it on the map and notify your circle. No indefinite history.
Who can see it
Your circle.
Route history
How long and how
3 days on the free plan and 30 days max with Premium. There's no indefinite history: after 30 days it's automatically deleted.
Who can see it
Each person turns it on and decides who sees it. Nobody can turn it on for you.
Messages, photos, voice notes, videos, letters, and memories
How long and how
As long as you keep them. They're stored encrypted on servers in the European Union.
Who can see it
Only the people in your circle. Nothing is posted publicly; Mi Estela is not a social network.
Calls and video calls
How long and how
Never recorded. They go directly from one phone to another whenever possible; if not, they pass encrypted through a relay server that only forwards them and doesn't store them.
Who can see it
The people on the call.
Technical data
How long and how
Battery, last connection, and operating system, so your circle knows if your phone is alive.
Who can see it
Your circle (they see the battery on your avatar on the map).
Your account
How long and how
Name or nickname, email, profile photo if you add one, date of birth (for the minimum age), and your preferences. As long as you have the account.
Who can see it
You, and whatever you share, your circle.
Your phone number
How long and how
Only if you verify it someday, and it's not stored in plain text: just an encrypted hash of the number, so the same person can't open two accounts.
Who can see it
Nobody. It's not used for anything else and it's never given to anyone.
Your contacts
How long and how
They're never uploaded. If you choose to invite from your contacts, they're read on your phone and never sent anywhere. You can invite without sharing them: with a link or a code.
Who can see it
Nobody.
Where everything lives
Servers in the European Union and providers with a name
We prioritize providers in the European Union. When any of them processes data outside the European Economic Area, the legal safeguards required by the GDPR apply and we send the bare minimum. Here's who we use and what for:
Supabase and Vercel
The database and the website, where your account, your circle, and everything you share live.
Google Maps
Only for the "see where I am" links you send to someone.
GraphHopper
Calculates walking routes: it receives the start point and the destination, never your name.
RevenueCat, App Store, and Google Play
Premium subscriptions. Mi Estela never sees your card: the stores handle the payment.
Cloudflare
Protects account sign-ups against bots.
Anthropic
The artificial intelligence behind Estela, only if you accept it and with the bare minimum (explained below).
Resend
The emails we send you (welcome, account notifications).
The data controller is AYR GALIC CONSULTANTS, S.L. (Madrid, Spain), with a data protection officer at dpd@miestela.app. The full, up-to-date list is in the privacy policy. Privacy policy →
Estela, the AI assistant
What Estela sees and what she doesn't
Estela is optional and off by default: she's only used if you accept her, and you can stop using her whenever you want. When you ask her something, she receives only the minimum information needed to answer you.
- She doesn't receive your raw GPS coordinates or identifiers she doesn't need.
- She's not used to sell data, build commercial profiles, or make automated decisions about you.
- What you say by voice is converted to text in that moment; Mi Estela doesn't "listen to your surroundings": that doesn't exist in the app.
- On the Camino de Santiago, when she tells you the history of the village where you're sleeping, the AI receives the village name and nothing else: not who you are, not exactly where you are. The answer is cached for the next pilgrim.
- Your conversations with Estela are yours: they're deleted with your account.
Minors
From the digital age of consent, with extra rules on top
To have your own account you need to be at the digital age of consent in your country: 14 in Spain, 13 in Portugal, 16 in Germany. Below that age, you can't create an account or activate location, history, or the AI without authorization from a parent or legal guardian.
- Minor accounts can't use Ghost Mode: they share at least their zone. It's a safety rule designed for families, and the app itself enforces it.
- Between the minimum age and 18, an adult in the circle authorizes social features (other pilgrims on the Camino, Erasmus communities, sports, Interrail, or Behind the Wheel, which also require being of legal age).
- Mi Estela is not a parental control app: it doesn't block apps, read messages from other apps, or measure screen time. If you need that for a young child, there are other tools (we name them in our comparisons).
Deleting your account
Everything is deleted, instantly, no hassle
Open Mi Estela → Settings → "Delete my account." It asks for confirmation and deletes everything instantly: your profile and photo, your locations and your Camino trail, your messages and voice notes, your memories, your journal, your letters to the future, your circles, and your conversations with Estela. No "just in case" copy is kept.
If you no longer have the app, write to us from the email you signed up with at hola@miestela.app and we'll do it for you. Deleting is not deactivating: there's no going back.
You can also ask us for access, rectification, portability, or restriction of your data, and file a complaint with the AEPD (Spain's data protection authority) if you think something isn't right.
Honestly
What Mi Estela doesn't do
We don't sell or license your location
Never, to anyone, for anything: not advertising, not marketing, not data brokers. It's in the privacy policy and in the code.
No ads
Not on the free plan, not on Premium. The app is funded by the Premium of those who want it, not by your attention.
There's no supervisor
Mi Estela is symmetrical: what you see of someone, they see of you. Nobody sees more than anyone else or watches without the other person knowing.
We don't make driving reports
No speed scores, no hard-braking alerts, no "phone while driving." If someone's in a car, we accompany them; we don't grade them.
We don't listen in the background
The microphone is only used when you talk to Estela, record a voice note, or are on a call.
We're not a parental control app
We don't block apps or read anyone's messages. For young children, there are other tools.
No indefinite history
30 days max, and only if you turn it on. Everything else is deleted.
No profiling or automated decisions
The AI is not used to profile you or make any meaningful decisions about you.
The limits, said clearly
What can go wrong (and why)
We'd rather you know before you install it than find out at a bad moment.
No signal, no alert
Arrival alerts, SOS, and your position need a network connection. What doesn't go out in the moment is saved and sent when the signal comes back; in the meantime, your people see your last known position.
GPS struggles indoors
Inside a building, your phone relies on Wi-Fi and cell towers: the position can be off by tens or hundreds of meters. That's why you'll sometimes see "zone only."
Some phones put the app to sleep
Samsung, Xiaomi, Huawei, or OPPO close background apps to save battery. A sleeping app doesn't share anything, even with permissions granted. We have brand-by-brand guides to prevent this.
No permissions, no alerts
The "Always" location permission and active notifications are needed on both the phone that shares and the phone that receives. We ask for them and explain why.
SOS doesn't replace 112
It alerts your people with your location and puts 112 one tap away, but it doesn't call emergency services for you or guarantee someone will see it.
There may be a delay
Between when you move and when your circle sees it, seconds or minutes can pass, depending on the phone, the network, and battery-saving settings.
Real screenshots
What the app tells you, as it is
The screenshots are from the app in Spanish; the interface is in your language if your phone is set to it (see the note below).
We answer your questions
Frequently asked questions
Does Mi Estela sell my location data?
No. We never sell or share location data with third parties for advertising, marketing, or data brokering. It's written in the privacy policy and it's the reason the app has no ads.
Where is my data stored?
On encrypted servers in the European Union. We prioritize European providers, and when any of them processes data outside the European Economic Area, the GDPR safeguards apply and we send the bare minimum.
How long do you keep my location?
Your real-time position only while you have it active. History is 3 days on the free plan or 30 days max with Premium, and only if you turn it on. There's no indefinite history.
Can someone see me without me knowing?
No. Every person accepts joining the circle, can see at all times that they're sharing, and chooses how they appear: precise, zone only, or invisible (adults). There's no supervisor who sees more than everyone else.
What does Estela, the AI, see when I talk to her?
Only the minimum needed to answer you. She doesn't receive your raw GPS coordinates or unnecessary identifiers, and she's not used to sell data, profile you, or make decisions about you. She's optional and off by default.
How do I delete my account?
From the app: Settings → "Delete my account." Everything is deleted instantly, with no "just in case" backup. If you no longer have the app, write to us from your sign-up email at hola@miestela.app.
Is Mi Estela a parental control app?
No. It doesn't block apps, read messages, or measure screen time. It's a presence app for families with kids from the digital age of consent (14 in Spain), aging parents, couples, and friends.
Further reading
What backs it up
Privacy policy
The full legal text, with the data controller, legal bases, providers, and your rights.
Read →What Mi Estela will never be
The list of red lines we drew before writing the first line of code.
Read →The ten articles
The house rules, public on purpose.
Read →The manifesto
Why Mi Estela exists: presence, not surveillance.
Read →How privacy works in the app
Precise, zone only, or Ghost; the Pact; what minors see.
Read →The comparisons
What other apps do with your data, with sources and dates.
Read →
Try it knowing exactly what you're getting.
Download it free, invite someone, and see if it clicks. No card, no ads.
Free to start · No ads · We never sell your data