- Surfshark has launched HeyPolo, a privacy-first location-sharing application
- The app abandons continuous "always-on" tracking in favor of user-controlled, timed visibility
- A single subscription allows users to invite unlimited friends and family.
Location tracking apps are a double-edged sword for modern families, incredibly useful for physical safety, but often a complete nightmare for digital privacy.
Now, the cybersecurity team behind Surfshark, one of the best VPN services on the market, is looking to fix that balance with the launch of a brand-new app called HeyPolo.
Announced today, HeyPolo is billed as a privacy-first alternative to conventional location-tracking software.
Article continues belowRather than relying on the continuous, invasive monitoring that powers many existing tracker apps, HeyPolo is built entirely around user consent. Users get to decide exactly who sees their location, how accurate that location is, and exactly when the sharing stops.
The launch marks another major expansion for the cybersecurity company, which already boasts a certified antivirus, a private search engine, and the data-removal tool Incogni.
Announcing the launch, Edvinas Sersniovas, CEO at HeyPolo, explained the personal motivation behind the project: “As a father myself, I wanted to create an app that could help me ensure my family’s safety while respecting and protecting their data at the same time.”
How HeyPolo tackles "ghost" tracking
The core differentiator for HeyPolo is its refusal to rely on default, always-on tracking.
In many conventional apps, users often forget they are broadcasting their coordinates, leading to accidental, round-the-clock surveillance.
To combat this "ghost" tracking, HeyPolo allows users to set specific start and end times for broadcasting their whereabouts. Once the timer expires, the tracking immediately and completely stops.
The app also offers tiered visibility options. Users aren't forced to share their exact pinpoint on a map; they can opt to show a general area or switch to a private mode entirely. Transparency is baked directly into the interface, ensuring you always know exactly who is viewing your location in real-time.
“People want safety, but they don’t want to sacrifice their autonomy or feel controlled by those they trust,” Sersniovas noted. “We are changing the perception that location sharing must equal surveillance.”
A strict stance on data sales
Free location-sharing apps often monetize by selling incredibly sensitive movement data to advertisers and third-party data brokers. HeyPolo, leveraging the privacy pedigree of the Surfshark and Incogni teams, promises a totally different business model that puts user safety first.
The company explicitly guarantees in its launch announcement that it will "never sell, monetize, or exploit user location data," and notes that all location data is encrypted while in transit.
This means that as your location data travels from your phone to the app's servers, it is scrambled and unreadable to potential hackers or snoops.
Instead of secretly selling your data to keep the lights on, the service operates on a premium subscription model. Fortunately, a single subscription goes a long way: it allows a user to create unlimited groups and invite friends, partners, and older relatives at no extra cost.
For those wanting to give it a try, HeyPolo is currently available to download on both the Google Play Store and the iOS App Store.
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