Privacy Policy — PiStarDash

Last updated: September 18, 2026

PiStarDash is developed by David O'Dell ("we", "us"). This policy explains how the PiStarDash Android app handles data.

Summary

PiStarDash has no user accounts and no backend or cloud component of its own — everything it stores lives only on your device. To provide certain features it connects directly to your own Pi-Star device and to a small number of public amateur-radio lookup services, described in detail below. Outside of those direct, in-app-triggered connections, we do not collect, sell, or share your data with anyone.

What the App Does

PiStarDash connects directly, over your local network or your phone's hotspot connection, to a Pi-Star device (an amateur radio digital voice hotspot you own and control) and displays that device's own dashboard data — caller activity, talk groups, mode and network status — in a native app interface. It also offers optional features (a Friends contact list, a net-logger check-in roster, and a net/event Scheduler) that store data you enter directly on your device.

Data the App Handles

• Pi-Star admin credentials (username and password for your own Pi-Star device): stored only on your device, encrypted at rest using Android's Keystore-backed encrypted storage. These credentials are sent only to your own Pi-Star device, over your local network connection, to perform the actions you request (e.g. viewing or managing talk groups). This connection uses plain HTTP, not HTTPS, because Pi-Star's own admin interface does not support TLS — the same limitation applies to any browser or tool that connects to your Pi-Star device directly. Your Wi-Fi/hotspot connection itself is still protected by WPA2/WPA3 encryption; this only affects encryption at the application layer. Your credentials are never sent to us, never logged, and never transmitted to any third party or external server.
• Callsigns you look up or save as Friends are sent to radioid.net's public database API, over HTTPS, to retrieve publicly available registration info (name, city, state, country, last heard) for that callsign — the same information visible on radioid.net's own website. Only the callsign itself is sent; nothing else about you or your device.
• Talkgroup names are looked up from BrandMeister's (api.brandmeister.network) and TGIF's (api.tgif.network) public talkgroup directories, over HTTPS, so the app can show a human-readable name instead of a raw number. No personal data is included in these requests.
• Friends list, net-logger sessions, and Scheduler entries (callsigns, names, phone/email/social links, notes, an optional saved photo, and scheduled net/event times) are data you choose to enter, stored only in a local database on your device. It is never transmitted anywhere by the app.
• Calendar access (only if you use the optional Scheduler feature): with your permission, PiStarDash writes reminder events directly to your phone's own calendar app. Those events are stored by your calendar provider (e.g. your Google account, if that's the calendar you chose) exactly as any calendar event you created yourself would be — PiStarDash does not separately collect or receive this data back.
• Network/device information (e.g. Wi-Fi SSID, local network discovery of the Pi-Star device) is used only on-device, to locate and connect to your Pi-Star hotspot. It is not transmitted anywhere else.
• Purchases (a one-time lifetime unlock or a subscription, after your free trial) are handled entirely by Google Play Billing. Your payment details are collected and processed by Google, not by us — PiStarDash only receives confirmation of whether you hold a valid purchase, not any payment information itself.

What We Do Not Do

• We do not operate any server that stores or receives your data.
• We do not collect analytics, advertising identifiers, or usage tracking of any kind.
• We do not sell your data, or share it with anyone beyond the specific, in-app-triggered lookups described above (which you control — e.g. a RadioID lookup only happens for a callsign you look up or save).

Data Retention and Deletion

All data PiStarDash stores — your Friends list, net-logger history, Scheduler entries, and saved Pi-Star credential — lives only on your device. We do not hold a separate copy of any of it, so there is nothing on our end that needs a separate deletion request.

To delete your data:

• Delete one item at a time: in the Friends screen, tap a contact and choose Remove from Friends; in the Net Logger, close or clear a session to remove its roster.
• Delete everything at once: uninstall PiStarDash, or open Android Settings → Apps → PiStarDash → Storage → Clear Data. This immediately and permanently deletes all Friends, net-logger history, Scheduler entries, and your saved Pi-Star credential from your device.

Deletion is immediate — there is no retention period, because nothing is kept anywhere else once it's removed from your device. (Calendar events created by the Scheduler feature live in your own calendar app/account and are managed and deleted there, the same as any other event you created.)

Children's Privacy

PiStarDash is a utility app for amateur radio operators and is not directed at children. It does not knowingly collect data from anyone, regardless of age.

Changes to This Policy

If this policy changes, the updated version will be posted at the same location, with a revised "Last updated" date.

Contact

Questions about this policy, or requests related to your data, can be sent to: pistardash@mygeeks.com