Privacy policy
What does this Privacy Policy cover?
Taking care of your information is important to us. This Privacy Policy sets out how we collect, use, store and publish your information through Giga Meter, and what steps we take to protect it.
Please read this Privacy Policy carefully before using Giga Meter, and refer back to it regularly to check for updates. It governs the way we collect and use your information from the moment you register and start using the app.
What is personal information?
For the purposes of this Privacy Policy, "personal information" is any information that enables us to identify you, directly or indirectly, by reference to an identifier such as a name, email address, identification number, location data, an online identifier such as an IP address, or one or more other factors specific to you as an individual.
In brief: how do we protect your information?
- We will only use your information for the purposes described in this Policy and for no other purpose.
- We will not sell your information.
- We will not keep your information for longer than is necessary for the stated purposes, except to the extent required by applicable regulations.
- We will take all reasonable and necessary technical and organizational measures to protect your information.
- Where we publish information, we will tell you clearly and in advance via policy document update, because publication is not something we can fully undo once it happens.
Special note for facilities and children
Giga Meter is designed to be registered and operated by facility staff or IT administrators testing institutional network infrastructure, not by children, and it is not intended to be registered or operated by a minor. If a facility has a student run a test under adult supervision, no additional personal information about that student is collected beyond what is described in this policy. If you are under 16, please talk to your parents or the adults who are caring for you, and make sure they agree with how this information is being shared.
1. What information do we collect from you?
Network performance data: Giga Meter automatically runs two kinds of connectivity checks, including when the app is not open, using foreground and background services.
Speed tests: Giga Meter runs a full connectivity test several times a day (currently up to four times daily), using Measurement Lab's NDT7 test. Each speed test measures download and upload speed, latency, jitter and packet loss, along with the test timestamp and duration.
Ping tests: Separately, Giga Meter runs a lightweight ping test every 15 minutes between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. local time, and also immediately before a speed test, using Cloudflare to measure latency. Each ping test records whether the device was connected to the internet at that moment, the measured latency, the timestamp, and a unique check identifier. Ping results are stored on the device and later transmitted to Giga so connectivity can be tracked throughout the day. Daily uptime is calculated from these ping results (the share of checks that reported the connection as online). Ping tests do not measure download or upload speed, and they do not collect GPS location.
Device and network identifiers: Each test also transmits the public IP address of the connection being tested, the name of the Internet Service Provider (ISP) or network operator, the device type and operating system version, and a device hardware identifier used to associate registrations and test results with a specific device.
Some information differs depending on whether Giga Meter is used on Android or Windows; those differences are called out below.
Android: On Android, the device hardware identifier described above is the device's Android ID. Giga Meter for Android also collects precise (GPS) location data, including the accuracy of each reading, and associates it with each test result, so it can flag out-of-facility measurements and give an accurate representation of internet quality in a facility. Because speed tests and ping tests continue to run in the background when the app is closed, Giga Meter requests background location access, in addition to foreground location access, during registration.
Windows: On Windows, the device hardware identifier described above is a machine identifier generated by the desktop app. Giga Meter for Windows also collects, as part of device registration: the local operating-system username the app is running under, the file path where the app is installed, and a list of nearby or connected Wi-Fi networks. This information is used to register and identify the device and to help diagnose connectivity issues. Windows devices don't have GPS, so instead Giga Meter for Windows sends the nearby Wi-Fi access points it detects (their identifiers and signal strength only, not network names or passwords) to UNICEF's server, which resolves an approximate location using Google's Geolocation API, so it can flag out-of-facility measurements the same way GPS does on Android.
Crash and error reporting: Giga Meter uses Sentry, run on UNICEF's own infrastructure, to capture crash diagnostics and error reports. This can include your device's IP address, a screenshot of the app at the time of the crash, and a sampled recording of on-screen app activity, which help us identify and fix problems.
Usage analytics: Giga Meter uses Matomo, run on UNICEF's own infrastructure, to track which screens you visit and how you navigate the app. This helps us understand how Giga Meter is used and where to improve it.
Personal information: Currently, Giga Meter does not collect personal information such as a name or email address.
Facility identification data: UNICEF already holds facility (e.g. school) names and identifiers in its database, collected separately from this app as part of the wider Giga initiative mapping effort. Giga Meter's role is to associate the correct facility identifier with the IP address, speed-test results, and ping results generated during testing, so each result can be attributed to the right facility. A facility's name and identifier are not freshly entered by a user in the app, but are linked, server side, to each new device registration, speed test, and ping check.
Aggregate data: We may de-identify and aggregate information collected through Giga Meter for statistical analysis and other legitimate purposes, including research intended to improve global understanding of facility connectivity. For example, ping results are aggregated into daily uptime and average-latency figures per facility.
2. How do we use your information?
We use the information described above to run and report on connectivity tests, to attribute a test to the correct facility so it can be plotted on Giga Maps, to support UNICEF's connectivity research and infrastructure planning, and to keep Giga Meter stable and working correctly. We do not use your information for advertising, and we do not build advertising profiles from it.
3. How do we share your information?
We promise to always keep your details safe, and we will never sell or swap your personal information with any other organization for commercial purposes. That said, because Giga Meter is a public-interest measurement tool, some of your information is shared and published as follows.
UNICEF's Privacy Policy
Your data is also processed under UNICEF's Privacy Policy, UNICEF's organization-wide policy governing how it handles personal data, as set out in the consent you give when registering (see "Your consent" below). This Giga Meter Privacy Policy describes the specifics of that processing for this app; where the two differ, this page reflects the current practice.
CC-BY-4.0 License
The measurement and other supporting data generated through your use of Giga Meter, not the app itself, is collected and processed by UNICEF under the CC-BY-4.0 License, as set out in the consent you give when registering (see "Your consent" below). UNICEF publishes the aggregated, facility-identified results described below under this same license; raw test data held by M-Lab is separately governed by M-Lab's own terms, described in the next section.
M-Lab: raw test data
Each speed test is run using Measurement Lab's NDT7 test. M-Lab collects the measurement data, connection data (IP address, date and time) and basic test metadata. Under M-Lab's Privacy Policy, this test data is retained indefinitely and published as open data to support research into Internet performance; M-Lab does not offer standard deletion, only anonymization upon a verified request.
UNICEF: aggregated, facility-identified, location-tagged results
UNICEF aggregates test results, together with the associated facility identifier, facility name and location, to populate Giga Maps and support connectivity research and infrastructure planning. UNICEF publishes this aggregated dataset under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits anyone to share and adapt the data for any purpose, including commercially, provided they give appropriate credit. Because published records identify a specific facility by name, this is a more identifying publication than location alone.
We do not sell your information, and we do not share it with advertising networks.
Your consent
By registering and using Giga Meter, you agree to the following, which also appears on the app's registration screen:
"By registering and using Giga Meter, I agree to the collection, processing and publication of my measurement and other supporting data by UNICEF under the CC-BY-4.0 License, UNICEF's Privacy Policy, M-Lab's Privacy Policy."
Android and the Giga Meter landing page contain a simpler consent checkbox:
"I agree to the use and processing of data under the Privacy Policy."
4. How can you control your information?
You can stop future tests for your device directly in the app, by logging out (you'll be asked to re-enter the school ID to confirm). This deactivates the device and clears its data from the app, though it does not remove results already published or already held by M-Lab.
You can also request more information about how we hold and use your information, or make any other request in relation to it, including asking us to stop future tests for a facility without using the app itself, by contacting us at [email protected].
5. How long do we keep your information?
Raw test data held by M-Lab is retained indefinitely, consistent with M-Lab's stated purpose of supporting long-term research into Internet performance. M-Lab anonymizes rather than deletes, and requires proof that you controlled the relevant IP address at the time, for example a written confirmation from your Internet Service Provider.
Aggregated, facility-identified results published by UNICEF under CC BY 4.0 are, by design, released for indefinite public reuse. We can stop displaying a record on Giga Maps going forward and stop future collection for a given facility, but we cannot guarantee removal from copies already made by third parties under the open license.
6. How do we keep your information secure?
We use reasonable technical and organizational measures to prevent unauthorized access to and disclosure of your information. Data in transit between the app and our servers is encrypted (TLS). Only authorized personnel who have been made appropriately aware of our privacy obligations are provided access.
7. Third-party services
Giga Meter integrates M-Lab to run speed tests and Cloudflare to measure latency during ping tests, each governed by their own privacy policy (M-Lab, Cloudflare). Giga Meter itself does not use advertising cookies or trackers.
IP and network lookup
To determine the public IP address, Internet Service Provider and network information described above, Giga Meter queries ipinfo.io directly with the device's public IP address, falling back to geojs.io if that lookup fails. These queries are separate from M-Lab's own test infrastructure and are governed by ipinfo.io's privacy policy and geojs.io's privacy policy.
Google services
On Android, Giga Meter also uses Firebase Crashlytics, alongside Sentry, to help diagnose app crashes. On Windows, the Wi-Fi access point data described above is sent to UNICEF's server, which uses Google's Geolocation API to resolve an approximate location; Giga Meter itself does not contact Google directly for this. Both are governed by Google's Privacy Policy.
Product analytics
Giga Meter uses PostHog, a third-party diagnostic and product-analytics tool, to track which screens you visit and how you navigate the app. Unlike Matomo, PostHog is hosted on PostHog's own servers rather than UNICEF's. It assigns your device an anonymous, per-install identifier and groups your activity under your facility, and is governed by PostHog's privacy policy.
8. Changes to this Privacy Policy
If we make changes to this Privacy Policy, we will post the new version within the app and on our website. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page indicates when it was last revised. The updated Privacy Policy will apply from the date it is posted and will govern the way we collect and use information from then on.
9. Contact us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact the Giga technical team at [email protected].
Last updated: 4 September 2026
