Every answer is verifiable.
No promises we cannot keep.

Anchor is a free, offline-first mobile app for iOS and Android that helps people securely document important incidents, protect what happened, and alert trusted contacts quickly. It works without an account, without an internet connection for core features, and without storing your identity.

Core features include one-tap secure recording, encrypted local evidence storage, encrypted vault backup, trusted contact alerts, and bilingual rights guidance.

Anchor is for people in the United States who want a safer way to document important incidents and protect evidence. That includes families, college students, journalists and field reporters, people concerned about immigration status, community members who want to know their rights, and organizations that support people under pressure.

Anchor is also designed for trusted contacts such as family members, attorneys, and advocates who may receive a safety alert on behalf of someone who has just used the app.

Anchor is built for high-stress moments where having a protected record matters. That can include law-enforcement encounters, immigration situations, public incidents, campus safety concerns, field reporting, harassment, threats, or other situations where you may need secure documentation and trusted alerts.

That does not mean every recording situation is legally the same. Recording laws vary by state and by context, especially for private conversations and calls. Anchor gives general guidance where appropriate, but it does not provide blanket permission to record in every situation.

No. Everything in Anchor, including rights scripts, warrant guidance, and informational content, is general information only. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for advice from a licensed attorney.

Laws vary by state and circumstances vary by situation. If you need legal help, Anchor includes a legal aid directory to help you find representation.

No. Anchor is not emergency services. If you are in immediate danger, call 911.

Anchor is a documentation tool designed for recording and preserving evidence, not for dispatching emergency response.

Yes. Anchor is free. Recording, rights scripts, local encrypted storage, vault backup, and trusted contact alerts are all part of the core free experience.

A future upgrade option may extend vault backup retention beyond 24 hours, but the core app is free and will remain free.

No. Anchor works without an account, email address, phone number, or identity credential. We do not collect your identity.

The app is fully functional offline for core use and you can record, review evidence, and access guidance without ever creating an account.

Anchor is available for iPhone (iOS) and Android phones. It is designed for modern devices. Specific version requirements are listed in the App Store and Google Play listings.

Yes. Every core screen in Anchor is available in English and Spanish. Rights scripts are bilingual and can be played aloud in either language without stopping your recording. The language follows your phone's language setting automatically.

Yes. Recording, encryption, rights scripts, local evidence storage, the legal aid directory, and warrant guidance all work completely offline. No internet connection is required for those core features.

Vault backup and safety alerts to trusted contacts require a connection and will queue automatically. If you go offline during a recording, your evidence is saved locally first and the vault upload resumes when you reconnect.

Your recording is encrypted and stored inside the Anchor app on your device, in the app's private sandbox, not in your Photos library. It is not visible to other apps and does not appear in iCloud or Google Photos unless you explicitly choose to save it there.

It stays on your device until you delete it or share it.

Recording behavior when the app is backgrounded or the screen is locked depends on the operating system. Anchor will not claim to record in situations the OS does not allow. This is a truthful UX commitment built into the app.

On Android, Anchor uses a foreground service with a visible notification when recording, as required by modern Android policies. Check your device settings and the in-app guidance for your specific device.

Anchor is designed to handle interruptions safely. If an interruption occurs, such as an incoming call, audio session interruption, or app backgrounding, any recording up to that point is preserved.

The exact behavior depends on your device and OS version.

Local recording is saved encrypted on your device. That is the primary protection: your evidence is on your phone until you delete it.

Vault backup is best-effort. It uploads encrypted chunks in real time while you record. If your phone is taken mid-recording, what has already uploaded to the vault may still be preserved. However, vault backup depends on having an internet connection and the upload completing before the phone is taken.

No app can guarantee evidence preservation in every scenario. Anchor is designed to improve the chances your evidence survives.

No. Anchor does not embed your location in recording metadata by default. Your GPS coordinates do not travel with your evidence unless you explicitly enable that for a specific action.

Precise location is not collected or stored passively.

Yes. Anchor has a Quick Exit button that immediately returns you to a neutral screen without deleting your recordings. Your evidence is preserved and your screen shows nothing sensitive.

This is designed for situations where you need to stop showing what you are doing in the app right away.

No. Your recordings are encrypted with AES-256-GCM on your device before they are uploaded. The encryption key is generated on your device and stored in your device's secure enclave, iOS Keychain or Android Keystore. The key never leaves your device.

Anchor receives only ciphertext, meaning encrypted data we have no means to decrypt. This is a technical constraint, not a policy promise. The architecture makes it impossible for us to read your recordings.

See our Privacy and Security page for the full architecture.

Under a valid legal demand, we can produce only what we have. What we have is encrypted recording chunks we cannot decrypt, HMAC-keyed incident identifiers we cannot reverse to your identity, device push tokens, and vault access link metadata.

We cannot produce your recordings in plaintext, your contact list or phone numbers, your identity, or your location. The architecture determines this. It is a technical limitation, not a policy choice.

This describes what our architecture makes technically impossible. It is not a guarantee about every legal process or outcome.

See the full architecture .

No. Anchor contains no analytics SDKs, no advertising identifiers, no session replay tools, no attribution trackers, and no third-party tracking of any kind, in the app or on this website.

The same privacy standard that governs the app governs this site.

No. Anchor does not access, harvest, or import your device contact list. You manually enter the information for your trusted contacts within the app.

Contact phone numbers are encrypted to your public key on your device before they are stored. We cannot decrypt them.

Encrypted vault backup data is automatically deleted from Anchor's servers 24 hours after your recording ends. This happens automatically. You do not need to request it.

Your local recording on your device is not affected by vault deletion and remains until you choose to delete it.

Anchor generates a unique encryption key for each recording. A key for one incident does not protect any other recording.

If one key were ever compromised, it would expose only that recording, not your entire history. Keys are stored in your device's secure enclave, iOS Keychain or Android Keystore, and never leave your device.

A trusted contact is a person you designate in advance to receive a safety alert when your recording ends. You can designate up to three trusted contacts. They might be a family member, an attorney, an advocate, or anyone you trust to receive and act on an alert.

Setting up trusted contacts is part of required onboarding so the system is ready before you need it.

No. A trusted contact can accept an invite and receive safety alerts without downloading the Anchor app. They receive alerts via push notification or SMS and can access the secure vault link using a standard web browser.

When your recording ends, your trusted contacts automatically receive a safety alert. Push notification is the primary delivery method and SMS is a backup if push notification is unavailable.

The alert is delivered as two separate messages. The first contains a secure vault link. The second contains the access code needed to open it. Both messages are required. Separating the link and code means intercepting one message alone is not enough to access the evidence.

Yes. Trusted contacts can reply STOP to any SMS to opt out. You can also remove a trusted contact from within the app at any time.

Push notification is the primary delivery method and SMS is the backup. If neither is received, the vault link remains accessible for 24 hours as long as your trusted contact has both the link and the access code.

After 24 hours the vault copy is deleted automatically, but your local recording on your device remains.

The alert messages are intentionally neutral. They do not describe what is inside the vault link, what type of content it is, or where it was made. This is by design to protect you and your trusted contact.

Your trusted contact provides their phone number when they accept your invite. That number is encrypted to your public key on your device before it is stored. We cannot decrypt it.

Rights scripts are bilingual, English and Spanish, phrases you can tap to play aloud during an encounter without stopping your recording. They are designed for calm, clear assertion of rights.

“I am going to remain silent.” “I do not consent to a search.” “Am I free to leave?” “I want to speak with an attorney.”

The scripts are drawn from established civil rights and legal aid guidance. They are conservative, factual, and designed to be respectful and direct.

No. The rights scripts and all content in Anchor are general information only, not legal advice. They are based on reputable civil rights and legal aid guidance but are not a substitute for advice from a licensed attorney.

Laws and outcomes vary by state and by situation.

Anchor includes general information about judicial warrants versus administrative warrants, what each type is and what it authorizes. This is presented as general educational information, not legal analysis of any specific situation.

If you believe you have been subject to an unlawful search or seizure, consult a licensed attorney.

No. Recording laws vary by state and situation, especially for private conversations and phone calls. Anchor does not provide blanket permission to record any person in any setting.

The app may help you document public incidents and includes general rights guidance, but you are responsible for following the law where you are. If you are unsure, speak with a licensed attorney or local legal aid organization.

No. Anchor helps you document what happens and assert your rights. It cannot prevent an arrest, prevent a deportation, provide legal protection, or guarantee any specific legal outcome.

For legal protection, contact an immigration attorney or civil rights organization.

No. Anchor is designed to help people document important incidents and preserve evidence lawfully. It does not provide guidance on evading authorities, concealing wrongdoing, destroying evidence, deceiving officials, or taking unlawful action.

No. Vault backup is best-effort and depends on having an internet connection. If you are offline, uploads queue and resume when you reconnect.

If your phone is taken before an upload completes, only what has already uploaded is safe in the vault. Your local recording on your device is always the primary copy.

No. Anchor is a standard app visible in your installed app list like any other. Quick Exit returns you to a neutral screen, and recordings are stored privately inside the app sandbox rather than your Photos library.

But Anchor cannot make itself invisible or uninstallable without your action.