WanderCompass
Off-grid direction tool — GPS creates a subpoenable location record, magnetometer + LoRa mesh navigation leaves no digital footprint, buildable with off-the-shelf parts now.
Safety & PrivacyAbout
GPS devices and apps create a continuous location history that is subpoenable, hackable, and in the case of smartphone GPS, shared with advertising platforms. For activists, immigrants, DV survivors, and anyone operating in an environment where location data is a liability, GPS is a threat vector. WanderCompass uses a magnetometer — compass direction — combined with WanderSafeMesh LoRa mesh relative positioning to navigate without generating a location record. No server receives your position. No carrier knows where you are. Built on ESP32 with off-the-shelf parts, open-source firmware, and a WanderForge-printable enclosure — anyone can build one today. Designed specifically for protest environments, off-grid travel, disaster response, and situations where cell infrastructure is unavailable or actively surveilled.
Features
- No GPS: magnetometer + LoRa mesh positioning leaves no traceable location record
- WanderSafeMesh mesh integration: relative positioning from nearby nodes without carrier infrastructure
- Protest-safe: no location data generated in environments where surveillance is active
- Immigration-safe: no device location logging means no subpoenable location history
- Off-grid travel: works with zero internet, zero cellular, zero infrastructure
- Disaster response: direction and relative positioning when all other infrastructure fails
- ESP32 hardware: off-the-shelf parts, buildable today, no supply chain dependency
- Open-source firmware: auditable, modifiable, community-extensible
- WanderForge-printable case: enclosure files published, fabricate locally
- Battery-efficient: magnetometer power draw minimal — days of operation per charge