Exclusion Zones & Privacy
Create map circles that suppress shared location output for sensitive areas.
Exclusion zones let you define circles around sensitive locations. When a reported point falls inside one, Bolt flags that point as excluded and suppresses it from public feeds, organization placefiles, and SpotterNetwork relay output.
Why use exclusion zones?
- Home privacy: Keep your home address off the shared map when you're not chasing.
- Workplace: Prevent your commute or office location from being visible to the team.
- Sensitive sites: Research facilities, schools, or any location you'd rather not broadcast.
How they work
Each zone uses a center point and a radius in meters. Bolt checks reported positions server-side, so the behavior does not depend on which client sent the fix.
Exclusion zones are checked server-side, so they work regardless of which tracker or app you're using. No client configuration needed beyond setting them up once.
Setting up exclusion zones
- Go to your Account settings.
- Find the Exclusion Zones section.
- Click Add Zone.
- Set the center point—you can type coordinates or click on the map.
- Adjust the radius.
- Optionally give it a label (e.g., "Home" or "Office").
- Save.
Limits and constraints
- Maximum zones: You can have up to 10 exclusion zones active at once.
Managing your zones
From the same Account settings section you can:
- Edit — Change the location, radius, or label of any existing zone.
- Delete — Remove a zone entirely. Your position will become visible in that area again immediately.
Set up your exclusion zones before chase season starts. You don't want to be fiddling with privacy settings while driving toward a supercell.
Exclusion zones vs. privacy mode
Bolt offers two layers of location privacy that work together:
- Exclusion zones
- Geographic. They apply when the reported point falls inside the zone.
- Privacy mode (Public / Organization / Private)
- Audience-based. It controls who can see your shared location outside excluded points.
Use exclusion zones for place-based privacy and visibility scope for account-wide sharing rules.
Next steps
- Review your device tracking setup to make sure your tracker is reporting correctly.
- Learn about organizations to understand how team visibility works.