Emergency contact texts: how they work

Singletrack is a mountain bike app, a product of tukool.dev.

Singletrack lets a rider name a few people to be told if the rider needs help on a ride. Those people may not use the app, so they are told by text message. Nobody is ever texted until they have agreed for themselves. This page explains exactly how that agreement works.

How a person opts in

The rider adds them. In the app, the rider enters the person's name and mobile number. Singletrack sends nothing at this point.
The rider sends them a link. The app opens the rider's own share screen with a short message and a personal link. The rider sends it from their own phone, in a normal text or chat message. Singletrack does not text the person.
The person opens the link. The page shows who is asking, the last four digits of the number, exactly what texts they would get, how rare they are, that message and data rates may apply, and how to stop. See the screen yourself: the opt-in page (preview).
They ask for a code. They tap Text me a code. This is their request for the first text, and it comes right under the full disclosure. We send one text with a 6-digit code. Entering it proves the number is theirs.
They agree. After the code is entered we record that they agreed: the time, the IP address, the device and the exact wording they saw. We then send one confirmation text.

Until step 5 is done, the person is shown in the rider's app as "waiting for them to agree" and is never sent an alert. A person who is not the intended contact, or who never opens the link, receives nothing from us other than at most one code they asked for. Codes are limited to one a minute and three a day per number.

What they receive afterwards

Only if the rider needs help during a ride (an unanswered crash or stop alert), and only for safety. Never marketing.

SINGLETRACK ALERT: Sam needs help at 3:30 PM UTC. Last location: https://maps.google.com/?q=44.98000,-93.26500. Riding with Joel and Clayton, who have been alerted.

SINGLETRACK UPDATE: Joel is on the way to Sam.

SINGLETRACK UPDATE: Sam says they are OK.

Stopping

Reply STOP to any text and nothing more is ever sent to that number. Reply HELP for help.
The rider can also remove the person in the app at any time.
Message and data rates may apply. Message frequency is tied to alerts, so it is usually none at all.

See also the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. Contact: tukool.dev [at] gmail [dot] com.