Your Group.
Always Connected.
See your whole group on a live map and message them with zero cell service. No cloud. No subscription. No monthly fees.
Built and field-tested for a year before launch. The numbers below are measured, not marketed.
No problem. Works without cell service.
Instant location sharing to your group.
Ping your whole group with your location.
Dual tracking for precision outdoors.
Features
Everything You Need
Past the Last Cell Tower
Smoke Signal replaces the gear bag full of radios, paper maps, and hope. One app, one device, total group awareness.
Live Group Map
See every member of your group on a real-time map with GPS breadcrumb trails. Know exactly where everyone is, even deep in the backcountry.
Encrypted P2P Chat
Private by design. Messages travel device to device, never to a server or the cloud, and they're location-tagged so your group always has context.
Group Alert
Press the button to instantly ping your whole group with your exact location, so the people closest to you know right where you are.
GPX Import & Export
Import routes from GPX files or record your own with live elevation tracking. Export any route with full waypoint and elevation data.
Weather Overlay
Live weather conditions layered right on your map. Make smarter calls about when to push forward and when to find shelter.
Your Data, Your Device
All data lives on your device. No accounts, no cloud sync, no telemetry. Messages and locations move directly between devices. There's no server in the middle to leak, subpoena, or shut down.
Smoke Signal is not a satellite messenger and does not contact emergency services (911). Group Alert reaches only group members within radio range. For life-threatening emergencies, carry a satellite communicator or ensure cell coverage.
The App
What You'll See Out There
Real screens from the Smoke Signal app. The live map is at the top of the page; this is the rest of what your group sees.
Setup
Up and Running in Minutes
No accounts, no subscriptions, no complicated setup. Power on your device and go.
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Get Your Devices
Your Tags or Pockets arrive pre-configured for your group. Nothing to source, nothing to flash. They work the moment they ship.
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Pair Over Bluetooth
Open the app, turn on your device, and they connect automatically. No accounts to create, no cloud to configure.
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Add Your Group
Other Smoke Signal users nearby are discovered automatically. Everyone in your group appears on the shared map in real time.
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Go Explore
Hit the trail. Your group stays connected with live locations, offline messaging, and Group Alert. No cell towers required.
GO
Field Report
A Year of Building
I'm Cameron Cooper. I spent the last year building Smoke Signal because keeping a group together off-grid shouldn't require sourcing radio boards and flashing firmware the night before a trip.
I built the app I wanted on the trail, then paired it with hardware that works out of the box. Every release gets tested the same way: real devices, real terrain, in the SoCal chaparral where ridges block line of sight and canyons eat signal.
Seven miles through coastal chaparral, the kind of place your phone gives up on before you're out of the parking lot. Rolling ridges, deep canyons, no bars anywhere.
I handed the devices out at the trailhead. Nothing to set up, no apps to configure, nothing to plug in. We just started walking.
The whole way out, everyone stayed on the same live map. I could see where the group was without shouting over a ridge or doubling back to find someone. Spread more than a mile apart through the hills, our messages still went through: private, device to device, with no cell service and nobody else in the loop. When a ridgeline dropped between two of us, the message simply hopped through another device to get where it was going. Leaving one device up high at camp stretched the whole group's range even farther.
Nobody had to know how any of it worked. That's the point. It kept the group together where phones quit.
- Distance
- 7 miles
- Terrain
- Coastal chaparral, ridges and canyons
- Group spread
- Over a mile, through the hills
- Cell service
- None
- Setup
- None
Treat any fixed range number with suspicion, including ours. Range depends on terrain and line of sight, and every device you add extends the mesh. Test with your group before you depend on it.
Tested the way you'll use it. No spam, just the launch email.
The Hardware
No Monthly Fees. Ever.
Satellite messengers cost hundreds up front plus a monthly plan. Smoke Signal is a one-time purchase: buy your devices once and your whole group stays connected, with no subscription. Devices talk to devices, so start with a kit. Every Tag texts through the app on your phone; a Pocket only adds a built-in screen and dramatically longer range.
Trail Leader Package
Cover a full crew. Three Tags keep everyone on the map and texting through their phones; one Pocket gives the leader a screen and dramatically longer range. Save $136 vs. buying all four separately ($496).
Group Kit
A two-person starter. Two Tags in one box, paired before they ship: enough for a pair to see each other on the map and text through their phones.
Add to your group
Smoke Signal Tag
Compact and pocketable. Clip it to a pack strap: it puts you on the group map and texts through the app on your phone.
Smoke Signal Pocket
Upgrade a group member. Adds a built-in screen and dramatically longer range: read the map, send messages, and trigger a Group Alert without your phone.
Waitlist only. No payment until launch.
Built For
Wherever the Signal Drops
Designed for anyone who ventures beyond cell coverage with a group they need to stay connected to.
Hiking & Backpacking
Split up on the trail without losing track. Regroup faster. Know who's ahead and who's behind without shouting into the wind.
Backcountry Skiing
Track your group across runs and bowls. Record lines for later. Ping everyone instantly if you get separated between laps.
Camping & Hunting
Keep tabs on your campsite, mark points of interest, and message the group without relying on spotty radio coverage.
Paddling & Water Sports
Stay connected across open water where cell service is nonexistent. Track drift, share locations, coordinate meetups at the takeout.
Search & Rescue
Run a coordinated grid search with every team member on one live map. Mark cleared zones and keep the whole team in sync off the grid.
Festivals & Events
Find your crew in a sea of people when the cell network is jammed. Drop a pin at camp and regroup without a signal.