Trail Companion
How Trail Companion lets people you meet on trail opt in to a single overdue notification.
Trail Companion is a simple opt-in system for people you meet on trail — fellow hikers, hostel owners, trail family. When someone scans your Safety QR while your trip is active, they can enter their email address to receive a single overdue alert if your timer fires.
That is the entire interaction: one scan, one email if needed, nothing otherwise.
How it works
- Your trip is active and your Safety QR shows the "Trip Active" status page
- Someone on trail scans your QR
- They see the opt-in form and enter their email address
- If your auto-timer fires (you are overdue), they receive one email with a link to your full trip page
- If your trip completes normally, their email is deleted automatically — no further contact, no stored data
What a Trail Companion sees
| State | What they see |
|---|---|
| Before any alert | Nothing — they opted in and are waiting passively |
| After alert fires | A single email with your trip name and a link to the full shared trip page |
Trail Companions do not have an ongoing view of your status. They cannot check in on you between opt-in and alert. The system is entirely passive on their side.
Trail Companion is available on all account tiers — Free and Pro alike. No upgrade required.
Why this matters for thru-hikers
On a long trail — PCT, AT, CDT, Coast to Coast — your emergency contacts at home may not know the terrain well enough to coordinate a response. Trail Companions are people who were recently in the same area, know the conditions, and can give useful context to emergency services.
A typical thru-hiker collects 10–30 companions over the course of a long trail. Each receives one email, only if the timer fires. There is no ongoing communication, no location tracking, and no data shared beyond what is necessary.
Privacy
Trail Companions cannot see your trip details, itinerary, or location in normal state — only the "Trip Active" confirmation. Their email address is stored solely to send the one alert and is not used for any other purpose.
You can see a count of active Trail Companions in the Safety section of your dashboard. Individual email addresses are not displayed to you.
When companion emails are deleted
When you mark your trip as Completed, all Trail Companion email addresses are cleared automatically. Your QR code remains active and will collect new companions when your next trip goes live.