Ember
Who sees what
When you hunt with a group, the first fair question is simple: does everyone now see my spots? Here is the honest answer, feature by feature.
Every pin, sighting, and harvest carries one switch — Share with group. On, your group sees it. Off, only you do.
Every item, your choice
Each pin, zone, trail, sighting, harvest, and target animal carries a single "Share with group" switch. On, your group sees it. Off, only you do. Nothing in between to misread.
Where you hunt vs. what you saw
Map pins start shared, because a shared map is the point of hunting together. Your journal — sightings and harvests — starts private, because what you saw is yours until you decide to share it.
Your group, and no further
Sharing means your group, all of it or none of it — never a stranger, never a data broker, never the public. Posting a harvest outside Ember is a separate, deliberate step you take on purpose.
What starts shared, and what starts private
Two things default to shared, because a group map is useless empty: your map pins and any trail-camera photos. Everything from your journal starts private. Every row below has the switch, so a default is only a starting point.
| Item | Starts as | Who can see it | You control it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stand & map pinsstands, cameras, plots, access points | Shared | Everyone in your group | Yes, per item |
| Boundary zonesdrawn areas and plots | Private | Only you | Yes, per item |
| Trailssaved routes | Private | Only you | Yes, per item |
| Sightingswhat you saw, from your journal | Private | Only you | Yes, per item |
| Harveststhe animals you take | Private | Only you | Yes, per item |
| Target animalsthe buck you are after | Private | Only you | Yes, per item |
| Trail-camera photosuploaded from a camera pin | Shared | Everyone in your group | Yes, per item |
A private item shows a small lock on your map, so you can always tell at a glance which of your spots the group can see.
Your big buck stays yours
The worry we hear most: log the buck of a lifetime and the whole camp knows where it walks by morning. That does not happen unless you choose it.
- Sightings and harvests start private. You log them for your own journal. No one else sees them until you flip the switch.
- Share on your timeline. Keep it to yourself all season and open it up after the tag is filled — or never. It is your call, made per entry.
- The map follows the same rule. That honey-hole stand? Turn its switch off and it is yours alone, lock icon and all, even on a shared group map.
What a group admin can and can’t do
An admin runs the group — the roster, the lease, dues, and the shared map. So an admin can edit any pin or zone that is shared to the group, the same way any member can work the shared map. An admin cannot open your private journal: the sightings, harvests, and unshared spots you have kept to yourself stay yours. Being the admin is not a key to everyone else’s private data.
Where you are is its own promise
Your live location is separate from all of this, and we guard it hardest. Ember keeps no track log of where you walk, your position never uploads while nothing is happening, and the one spot an SOS sends goes only to the people it reaches. The full ledger of what we hold and what we never keep lives on the safety page.
Why most members end up sharing anyway
None of this is a nudge — Ember never shares an item you didn’t switch on, and every group sets its own habits. But sharing tends to win on its own, because a group that puts its cards on the table hunts better:
- Pressure spreads out — two hunters stop crowding the same trail by accident.
- Sightings stack into a pattern nobody sees alone, season over season.
- Everyone knows who’s where, which is half of hunting safe together.
Share what helps the group, hold back what’s yours to hold. The switch is right there either way.
What we’re still building
Two controls aren’t shipped yet. We won’t pretend they are, and we won’t invent a date.
- Choose who sees your location. Your emergency contacts only, your crew only, or both — set per person.
- Turn sharing off, keep checking in. A switch inside Ember that keeps your safety check-ins working while your stand stays private.
And to be plain: there is no per-person or per-crew sharing of pins and journal entries today. Sharing is you, or the whole group.
Common questions
Does my group see my sightings and harvests?
Not unless you share them. Sightings, harvests, and target animals start private — only you can see them. Each one has a "Share with group" switch you can flip when, and if, you want to.
Can I keep a stand or spot to myself?
Yes. Map pins start shared with your group, but every pin has the same switch — turn it off and only you can see that spot. It shows a lock icon on your map so you always know which pins are private.
Can I share with just one person instead of the whole group?
Not today. Sharing is all-or-nothing to the group — on means every member, off means only you. Per-person and per-crew sharing is something we are building; there is no date yet.
Can a group admin see everything I do?
No. An admin manages the roster, the lease, and dues, and can edit any pin or zone on the shared map. An admin cannot open your private journal — your unshared sightings, harvests, and spots stay yours.