Privacy Policy

NetGuard — last updated 2026-05-26

TL;DR: NetGuard does not collect, transmit, or store any personal data on our servers. We don't run analytics. We don't have accounts. We don't have a server.

What NetGuard scans

NetGuard probes devices on your local WiFi network using TCP port probes and Bonjour/mDNS service discovery. All scanning happens on your device. Results are stored locally on your iPhone in an encrypted database (Apple's SwiftData).

What leaves your phone

Public IP lookup (Network tab): a single HTTPS request to ipinfo.io to fetch your public IP, ISP, and city-level location. We do not log or share this. See ipinfo.io's privacy policy.
Speed test (Network tab): downloads a 25 MB blob from speed.cloudflare.com to measure throughput. See Cloudflare's privacy policy.
Ping + DNS lookup (Tools tab): standard network requests to the host you type. Same as using ping or nslookup on a computer.
In-App Purchases: handled by Apple's StoreKit — Apple sees the transaction; we don't.

What never leaves your phone

The list of devices on your WiFi network
Device names, IP addresses, MAC addresses, hostnames you assign
Your WiFi network's SSID/BSSID
Scan history, alerts, settings

Permissions we request

Local Network: required to find devices on your WiFi
Location (When-In-Use): required by Apple to show your current WiFi name. NetGuard never reads your actual location coordinates
Notifications (Pro): optional, for new-device alerts
Camera (Pro): optional, only used by the AR signal heatmap feature

Data retention

All app data lives in NetGuard's app sandbox on your iPhone. Deleting the app deletes everything. iCloud backup is opt-in via standard iOS Settings.

Children

NetGuard is not directed at children under 13. We don't knowingly collect any data, from anyone, of any age.

Changes

If this policy changes, the new version will be posted here and the "last updated" date above will reflect it. Material changes will be announced in-app on the next launch.

Contact

Questions: open an issue at github.com/lawoflarge/netguard/issues