Privacy zones — Ephemeral Phone

Enable a zone

Open the authenticated console and find Privacy zones.
Select Configure zone.
Enter a name, centre latitude/longitude, and radius—or choose Use my current location while standing at the centre.
Save the zone, enable it, and allow location access when the browser asks.

While the console remains open, a location reading inside the radius triggers lock for each running phone. Open actions from that browser remain blocked until it reports a position outside the zone or the rule is disabled.

What leaves the browser

The named zone and its coordinates are stored in this browser's local storage. Raw latitude, longitude, and accuracy are not sent to the Ephemeral Phone API. When a boundary is crossed, the browser sends only the same phone-lock request available in the console.

Browser and operating-system location providers may use nearby networks, GPS, or platform services. Their data handling is outside this project's control.

What this cannot guarantee

This is a convenience control, not a hardened geofence. It does not run after the page is closed, cannot stop another authorised client from connecting, depends on location permission and device accuracy, and can be bypassed by a compromised or spoofed client.

Location can be especially unreliable indoors, around terminals, on VPN-connected devices, or when the operating system supplies a coarse position. Choose a radius that leaves room for expected error and test the rule before relying on it.

Path to a stronger policy

A server-enforced version needs policy persistence, explicit unlock semantics, background-capable clients, replay-resistant location evidence or trusted presence signals, and careful recovery for false positives. That changes the API and threat model, so it belongs behind a reviewed design proposal rather than a silent frontend claim.