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Privacy Policy

Last updated: June 8, 2026

This policy explains what information the Arizona Meshtastic Community handles when you visit this website (azmsh.net), sign in to our tools, or send traffic across the mesh that our collectors can see.

We are a volunteer-run community group, not a company. We try to collect as little as possible and to be clear about the parts of the mesh that are public by design.

The short version

  • This website does not use cookies, analytics, or trackers.
  • To use our tools (like the map and node viewer at view.azmsh.net), you sign in with Discord. Discord tells us who you are and which servers you belong to, so we can confirm you are part of the community and let you in. We do not see your Discord password or read your private messages.
  • The mesh data we show (nodes, positions, signal reports, telemetry, and public text messages) is collected from the public Meshtastic channel over MQTT. Traffic on that channel is not private. If you broadcast on it, treat it as public.

Signing in with Discord

Access to our tools is gated behind Discord. We use Discord's OAuth2 sign-in only to confirm who you are and that you are allowed to use the tools. We do not run our own password system.

When you sign in, we request three Discord permissions (scopes):

  • identify lets us see your basic account, such as your Discord user ID, username, and avatar.
  • guilds lets us see the list of Discord servers you belong to.
  • guilds.members.read lets us see your membership details in a server, such as your roles and nickname.

We use these to confirm that you are a member of the Arizona Meshtastic Community Discord and to check your roles so we can give you the right level of access. We may keep your Discord user ID to manage your access and your session. We do not receive your password, and we do not read your direct messages or server messages.

Your use of Discord is also covered by Discord's own terms and privacy policy:

You can review or remove our app's access at any time in your Discord account settings under Authorized Apps.

Mesh network data we collect and display

Our tools display data about the Arizona Meshtastic network. That data is gathered by ad-hoc MQTT collectors that listen to the network. On the other end of those MQTT links are Meshtastic radios that people in the community operate.

Meshtastic devices that are set to bridge to MQTT send their traffic to a broker, where our collectors can receive it. Depending on how a node is configured, that traffic can include:

  • Node information, such as the node ID and the short and long names a user chose
  • GPS position and altitude, if the node is set to share location
  • Telemetry, such as battery level, voltage, and any attached sensor readings
  • Public text messages
  • Routing, neighbor, and traceroute information
  • Signal data, such as signal-to-noise ratio and received signal strength

We collect this so we can show the health of the network: which nodes are online, how they connect to each other, and how well the mesh is performing.

How the data reaches us

A typical packet travels like this:

  1. A Meshtastic radio sends a packet over the air.
  2. A node on the mesh that is connected to MQTT relays that packet to an MQTT broker.
  3. Our ingestion tool reads the packet from the broker and decodes it using the public default key (AQ==).
  4. The decoded data is shown in our tools, such as view.azmsh.net.

Our broker is set up for uploads only. Nodes can send data to it, but downlink is disabled, so the broker does not send anything back to nodes or the mesh, and people cannot pull data back out of it. Only our own ingestion tools read from the broker so we can display the data. Nothing we run transmits on the network or changes how your node behaves.

Important: public-channel data is not private

Meshtastic's standard channels are secured only with a default encryption key (AQ==) that ships with every device and is publicly known. This is not unique to one channel. The same default key is used by the common presets, such as LongFast and MediumFast, whenever a channel is left on the default key. Because that key is public, anyone running Meshtastic can read traffic that uses it. It is not private, even though it is technically "encrypted."

When a node is configured to uplink to MQTT, that traffic can be received by any collector connected to that broker, including ours and others around the world. Please keep this in mind:

  • Anything you send on the public channel can be seen by other people.
  • If your node shares its location, that location can be collected and displayed.
  • If you want privacy, do not put sensitive information on the public channel.

If you connect a node to MQTT, please follow best node practices as described in the Meshtastic MQTT documentation.

To learn more about how this works, see the Meshtastic documentation on MQTT and encryption.

Your choices and control

You control what your own node puts on the air. To limit what can be collected:

  • Turn off MQTT uplink on your node if you do not want it bridged to a broker.
  • Turn off position sharing, or reduce your location precision, if you do not want your location collected.
  • Use a private channel with your own key for anything you do not want to be public.

If you would like us to remove specific data tied to your node or your Discord account from our tools, contact us and we will do our best to help. To help us find the right data quickly, please include:

  • A screenshot of the node in our tools, if you can get one.
  • The node ID and name, along with any other naming information that helps identify it.
  • What you want removed: location only, text messages only, or all information for the node.

Note that we cannot remove data that other collectors or the wider Meshtastic ecosystem may have already received from the public channel.

How we share information

We do not sell your information, and we do not share it for advertising. Limited sharing happens as a normal part of running the site and the network:

  • Discord handles sign-in, as described above.
  • Our hosting providers serve the website and run the tools.
  • The public Meshtastic network is shared by design. Public-channel traffic reaches other collectors and viewers beyond us, and we do not control them.

How long we keep information

Most of our tools keep mesh data for about two weeks and then let it age off automatically. We keep the Discord account information needed to manage your access for as long as you have access to the tools. If you would like your information removed, please reach out.

Children's privacy

Our website and tools are meant for a general audience and are not directed to children under 13. Access to our tools requires signing in with Discord, and Discord's own terms require users to be at least 13 years old (or older where local law requires it). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information through our tools, please contact us and we will delete it.

By connecting to the network and using our tools

By connecting a node that uplinks to MQTT on the public channel, or by signing in to and using our tools, you acknowledge and agree that:

  • Traffic you send on the public Meshtastic channel is public and may be collected, stored, and displayed by us and by others.
  • Position, telemetry, and text data your node broadcasts on the public channel may appear in our tools.
  • You are responsible for configuring your own node, including whether it shares location and whether it uplinks to MQTT.
  • Our tools are provided by volunteers, as-is, with no guarantee of accuracy or availability.
  • You will use the tools and the network in line with Meshtastic's guidelines and applicable law, and you will not use them to harass others or to disrupt the network.

If you do not agree with this, please do not uplink to the public channel or use our tools.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as the network and our tools change. When we make a meaningful change, we will update the date at the top of this page.

Contact us